These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Washington

By Chris Kolmar - Jun. 27, 2016

Find a Job You Really Want In

.street-view{width:100%;height:300px;pointer-events:none;}

Swipe left for slideshow. Article continues below.

What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something bigger–something wholly unnamable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in Washington. And here they are:

  1. Sammamish
  2. Snoqualmie
  3. Mercer Island
  4. Newcastle
  5. Woodinville
  6. Mill Creek
  7. Dupont
  8. Issaquah
  9. Mukilteo
  10. Normandy Park

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. There’s a method to this madness.

For more WA reading, check out:

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In Washington

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success is–money. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think there’s a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Sammamish

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 49,077Median Income: $144,775
Poverty Level: 2.2%
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%

2. Snoqualmie

Population: 11,625Median Income: $130,060
Poverty Level: 1.5%
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

3. Mercer Island

Population: 23,636Median Income: $125,651
Poverty Level: 3.5%
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%

4. Newcastle

Population: 10,792Median Income: $110,456
Poverty Level: 6.0%
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%

5. Woodinville

Population: 11,201Median Income: $97,604
Poverty Level: 5.2%
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

6. Mill Creek

Population: 18,667Median Income: $88,770
Poverty Level: 4.8%
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%

7. Dupont

Population 2014: 8,851 Median Income: $80,754
Poverty Level: 4.2%
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%

8. Issaquah

Population: 32,551Median Income: $88,770
Poverty Level: 4.6%
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%

9. Mukilteo

Population: 20,635Median Income: $89,942
Poverty Level: 4.5%
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

10. Normandy Park

Population 2014: 6,491 Median Income: $90,446
Poverty Level: 2.8%
Unemployment Rate: 7.2%

Measuring Success

If you’re still looking at this post thinking, “Surely, such superficial methods can’t possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that city’s success!” well, you’re probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Sammamish and our winners. And for those who didn’t make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In Washington

Rank City Median Income Poverty Rate Unemployment Rate
1 Sammamish $144,775 2.2% 4.4%
2 Snoqualmie $130,060 1.5% 4.7%
3 Mercer Island $125,651 3.5% 4.5%
4 Newcastle $110,456 6.0% 5.0%
5 Woodinville $97,604 5.2% 5.3%
6 Mill Creek $88,770 4.8% 4.8%
7 DuPont $80,754 4.2% 5.0%
8 Issaquah $88,770 4.6% 6.0%
9 Mukilteo $89,942 4.5% 6.1%
10 Normandy Park $90,446 2.8% 7.2%
11 Redmond $99,586 7.1% 5.8%
12 Camas $84,643 5.3% 7.0%
13 Bainbridge Island $95,976 6.3% 7.2%
14 Maple Valley $97,809 4.2% 8.5%
15 Brier $98,125 5.9% 7.7%
16 Kirkland $90,611 6.8% 7.0%
17 Ridgefield $91,205 5.4% 8.0%
18 Covington $87,315 6.8% 7.0%
19 Bellevue $92,524 8.1% 7.1%
20 Lake Forest Park $90,495 8.3% 7.3%
21 Edmonds $72,926 8.6% 6.3%
22 Kenmore $88,472 9.1% 7.1%
23 Edgewood $78,328 6.1% 8.2%
24 West Richland $81,778 7.4% 8.0%
25 Richland $69,372 8.8% 6.5%
26 Bothell $75,643 7.6% 7.8%
27 Duvall $105,729 7.8% 9.2%
28 Milton $67,069 6.3% 7.9%
29 Bonney Lake $79,725 8.2% 8.0%
30 Poulsbo $57,296 7.5% 5.3%
31 Liberty Lake $71,898 3.5% 9.9%
32 North Bend $73,571 12.9% 5.7%
33 Lynden $59,021 7.4% 6.2%
34 Tumwater $62,258 10.6% 6.3%
35 Lake Stevens $70,345 8.6% 8.5%
36 Mountlake Terrace $61,477 8.6% 7.5%
37 Fircrest $60,544 6.8% 8.6%
38 Steilacoom $57,434 10.1% 6.1%
39 Seattle $67,365 14.0% 6.5%
40 Monroe $66,649 10.1% 8.3%
41 Anacortes $59,369 10.6% 6.8%
42 Renton $65,223 11.0% 7.5%
43 Orting $72,810 10.3% 9.3%
44 Selah $50,333 10.8% 5.0%
45 Shoreline $64,096 10.4% 8.7%
46 Enumclaw $56,764 11.9% 7.4%
47 Marysville $64,328 9.3% 10.3%
48 Snohomish $52,250 12.8% 6.7%
49 Lacey $59,885 9.7% 9.4%
50 Stanwood $53,600 12.1% 7.6%
51 Puyallup $63,009 9.6% 10.4%
52 Ephrata $54,563 16.3% 6.7%
53 Kennewick $51,739 15.9% 6.5%
54 Battle Ground $57,347 11.0% 8.7%
55 Sumner $52,275 10.7% 8.8%
56 College Place $43,133 17.4% 5.5%
57 Arlington $61,131 11.8% 10.4%
58 Wenatchee $47,168 12.5% 7.9%
59 Fife $57,500 12.7% 9.1%
60 Pasco $54,700 16.6% 7.7%
61 Connell $51,094 17.1% 7.1%
62 Lynnwood $50,562 14.3% 8.1%
63 Des Moines $58,308 14.8% 8.9%
64 Gig Harbor $64,087 12.0% 11.2%
65 Federal Way $54,186 14.4% 8.7%
66 University Place $59,164 10.1% 12.5%
67 Washougal $60,353 10.7% 12.1%
68 Auburn $57,635 14.9% 9.5%
69 Kent $57,490 15.1% 9.4%
70 Burien $52,140 17.4% 8.5%
71 Oak Harbor $48,362 11.9% 9.8%
72 Olympia $52,834 16.6% 9.0%
73 East Wenatchee $52,989 13.5% 10.4%
74 Ferndale $51,944 14.0% 10.0%
75 Spokane Valley $48,274 14.1% 9.6%
76 Prosser $53,736 12.4% 11.7%
77 Port Townsend $43,050 13.5% 10.4%
78 Woodland $65,065 20.1% 14.1%
79 Moses Lake $47,914 13.7% 11.3%
80 Pacific $55,907 14.2% 13.5%
81 Port Orchard $55,521 15.3% 12.0%
82 Vancouver $50,379 14.5% 11.3%
83 Mount Vernon $44,404 19.5% 9.4%
84 Burlington $48,399 16.6% 10.6%
85 Everett $48,562 16.1% 10.9%
86 Walla Walla $42,348 20.8% 8.8%
87 Tacoma $51,269 16.4% 11.3%
88 Spokane $42,814 19.7% 9.5%
89 SeaTac $45,573 19.6% 10.1%
90 Ocean Shores $43,496 10.7% 17.3%
91 Yelm $49,658 18.8% 11.8%
92 Bellingham $42,440 26.8% 9.6%
93 Union Gap $34,624 30.8% 9.0%
94 Tukwila $44,820 20.7% 11.1%
95 Sedro-Woolley $44,014 18.1% 11.8%
96 Othello $42,414 23.8% 10.4%
97 Bremerton $43,527 21.1% 11.2%
98 Pullman $24,487 51.7% 9.1%
99 Chehalis $34,967 16.8% 11.4%
100 Yakima $40,189 20.7% 11.2%

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Related posts

Topics: Rankings