Counties / Washington / Kitsap County

Kitsap County, WA

FIPS 53035 · population 277,881 · part of Bremerton, WA

$588k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$588k
▲ 1.4% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$2,084
▲ 3.5% year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
4.3%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$2,031
market rent is 1.03x the standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+41.1%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+1.4%FHFA HPI2025+2.7%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$555k
Surveyed gross rent$1,822
Rent burden 30%+52.8%
Median year built1986
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
7.2%vacant
116,970estimated housing units
Occupied tenure29.9% renter
owner 70.1%renter 29.9%
Structure mix74.9% single-family
Single-family 74.9%20+ units 6.1%Mobile home 5.8%Other 13.2%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs94,349▲ 0.8% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments6,882annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,420▲ 3.1% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorEducation and health services23.8% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.8%WEEKLY WAGE+3.1%Education and health services23.8%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Kitsap’s county-level tension is entry value against pre-expense income return: Zillow’s June 2026 median home value is $588,437, while median asking rent is $2,084 per month and stated gross yield is 4.25%. This is a diligence case for buyers able to verify property-level expenses and rent, not a countywide affordability conclusion. Buyers relying on a narrow expense cushion should be cautious.

02Housing economics

The yield uses measured market asking rent, not HUD. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $2,031, a payment standard rather than an asking-rent estimate; it cannot replace the published market-rent input or generate a new yield. The effective property-tax rate is 0.77%, so gross yield remains before taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, management and financing. Those unreported costs prevent a net-yield or cash-flow conclusion.

03Demand & competition

Price evidence should not be merged into one appreciation rate. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 2.71%; it is an index movement, not a dollar home value. Zillow’s June 2026 value rose 1.42%, using a different vintage and method. Realtor.com’s June 2026 MLS data show median listing price down 3.05% and 18.30% of listings reduced; these are asking-price and seller-concession signals, not closed sales or proof of buyer demand. QCEW’s 2025 annual data identify Education and health services as the largest disclosed private supersector; covered jobs are at county workplaces, not resident employment or unemployment. Net migration was 625 tax-return households, with incoming average AGI $7,562 above outgoing. Investors represented 6.70% of 3,658 purchase mortgages.

04Risk & next checks

Earthquake is the dominant hazard, and modeled climate loss is 0.21% of building value per year. This is a county model, not a parcel condition assessment or insurance quote. Next checks are parcel tax and insurance quotes, seismic and condition review, lease and closed-sale comparables, vacancy, and operating history. Missing submarket vacancy, property condition, insurance terms and transaction comparables prevents asset-level underwriting.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Kitsap County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Bremerton city44.8KBainbridge Island city24.6KSilverdale CDP20.7KPort Orchard city17.1KPoulsbo city12.2KParkwood CDP6.9KTracyton CDP6.1KBangor Base CDP6.1K
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

28 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Bremerton cityIncorporated place
    44,830
  2. 02
    Bainbridge Island cityIncorporated place
    24,631
  3. 03
    Silverdale CDPCensus-designated place
    20,685
  4. 04
    Port Orchard cityIncorporated place
    17,149
  5. 05
    Poulsbo cityIncorporated place
    12,165
  6. 06
    Parkwood CDPCensus-designated place
    6,873
  7. 07
    Tracyton CDPCensus-designated place
    6,137
  8. 08
    Bangor Base CDPCensus-designated place
    6,112
  9. 09
    Manchester CDPCensus-designated place
    5,956
  10. 10
    East Port Orchard CDPCensus-designated place
    4,725
  11. 11
    Bethel CDPCensus-designated place
    4,394
  12. 12
    Suquamish CDPCensus-designated place
    4,084
Show 16 more places
  1. 13
    Indianola CDPCensus-designated place
    3,468
  2. 14
    Hansville CDPCensus-designated place
    3,384
  3. 15
    Chico CDPCensus-designated place
    3,336
  4. 16
    Navy Yard City CDPCensus-designated place
    2,672
  5. 17
    Kingston CDPCensus-designated place
    2,496
  6. 18
    Burley CDPCensus-designated place
    2,443
  7. 19
    Enetai CDPCensus-designated place
    2,387
  8. 20
    Southworth CDPCensus-designated place
    2,286
  9. 21
    Kitsap Lake CDPCensus-designated place
    2,186
  10. 22
    Lofall CDPCensus-designated place
    1,800
  11. 23
    Rocky Point CDPCensus-designated place
    1,716
  12. 24
    Erlands Point CDPCensus-designated place
    854
  13. 25
    Seabeck CDPCensus-designated place
    787
  14. 26
    Port Gamble Tribal Community CDPCensus-designated place
    624
  15. 27
    Gorst CDPCensus-designated place
    550
  16. 28
    Keyport CDPCensus-designated place
    221

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardearthquake

0.210% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.77%

$4,279 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+625

9,334 in · 8,709 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$7,562

$85,076 arriving · $77,514 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors6.7%

245 of 3,658 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings674▲ 2.4% year over year
Median days on market38▲ 2.7% year over year
Listings price-reduced18.3%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 3.0% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Property-level expenses, taxes and insurance could make the county gross yield non-transferable to a specific asset.
  2. MLS price reductions may not translate into closed-sale pricing or obtainable acquisition terms.
  3. Earthquake exposure, retrofit needs or insurance terms may differ materially by parcel from the county model.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

What rent basis supports the stated gross yield?

Published median monthly market asking rent; the yield is before property and financing costs.

What is the HUD two-bedroom FMR intended to represent?

A payment standard, not an estimate of market asking rent.

What does the QCEW labor evidence measure?

Annual covered employment at workplaces in the county, not resident employment or unemployment.