About Kitsap County

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Kitsap County is situated on the west shore of Puget Sound across from the city of Seattle.  It’s located on the Kitsap Peninsula, and is considered by many the Gateway to the Olympic Mountains. The County is an attractive mix of increasingly busy urban communities, serene rural landscapes, scenic forest lands, and shoreline communities.

The County’s real estate market is one of Washington State’s most stable.  The major real estate markets in Kitsap County are, from north to south, Kingston, Poulsbo/North Kitsap, Silverdale (to the west), Bainbridge Island (to the east), Seabeck, Bremerton, Port Orchard, and South Kitsap.

The County boasts a growing population of over 248,000, and is expected to grow by another 26,000 within 5 years’ time.  Employment is stable as is job growth, with the median income being $60,719.  Major employers are an eclectic mix of specialty and big box retail stores, technology-driven companies, defense contractors, manufacturing, health and medical, finance, architectural professionals, and the U.S. military.  About 30% of the employed labor force is commute-out workforce, primarily to East Sound (Seattle) jobs.  Approximately 55% of all economic activities of the County are directly or indirectly linked to the activities at Naval Base Kitsap, which is made up of 2 primary installations: Bangor Naval Submarine Base located north and within the boundaries of the township of Silverdale, and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, which is in the City of Bremerton just 10 miles away.  Together, the 2 bases provide nearly 40,000 jobs for the area, plus an additional 15,000 retirees on their payroll, with total labor earnings of $1.8 billion.