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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-OCEAN-SHORES-WA · Ocean Shores, WA 7,076 pop · income 39th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Ocean Shores
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ocean Shores on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Mecca · lowest
45,011
Mecca · lowest
45,011 median HH income
30.9% of the leader · rank #1
Ocean Shores · this city
62,750
Ocean Shores · this city
62,750 median HH income
43.0% of the leader · rank #2
Portal · near
62,750
Portal · near
62,750 median HH income
43.0% of the leader · rank #3
Ualapue · near
62,750
Ualapue · near
62,750 median HH income
43.0% of the leader · rank #4
Pierron · near
62,750
Pierron · near
62,750 median HH income
43.0% of the leader · rank #5
San Pierre · near
62,750
San Pierre · near
62,750 median HH income
43.0% of the leader · rank #6
Woods Creek · highest
145,773
Woods Creek · highest
145,773 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ocean Shores on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 7,076.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Ocean Shores places in the 39th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
39th
percentile, household income
75th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Ocean Shores, WA
Washington's Ocean Shores is a small town, with 7,076 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Ocean Shores report a median income of $62,750 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.1%. Typical homes in Ocean Shores are valued around $378,000, and the median resident age is 64.0 years. 22.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 35.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 162 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Slowing), down 10% from five years earlier.
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 107.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,472 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Washington run around $188, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 out of 100 (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ocean Shores's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ocean Shores, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Ocean Shores growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,117 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +16.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 162 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the education layer cover for Ocean Shores?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 22.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ocean Shores?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Fircrest (7,082 residents, $107,781 income); Pacific (7,064 residents, $102,976 income); Woods Creek (7,027 residents, $145,773 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Benton, IL (7,076 residents); West Miami, FL (7,077 residents); Logan, OH (7,077 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
What does the journey to work look like in Ocean Shores?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 58.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Ocean Shores?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$62,750
Home value
$378,000
Value / income
6.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 7.1% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
F
City profile score · Ocean Shores, WA
37/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate C-
7.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$62,750
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
107.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Ocean Shores profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 52/100 (C-) · 7.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 41/100 (D) · 22.2%
Household income: 39/100 (F) · $62,750
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
How does Ocean Shores compare to other US cities?
Where Ocean Shores sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income39% higher than other cities
Home value75% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Ocean Shores against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Washington only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Washington-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Ocean Shores near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ocean Shores ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ocean Shores only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#430 of 565
24th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#328 of 565
42nd percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#248 of 598
58th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#356 of 599
40th percentile in Washington
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Washington only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
39th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Ocean Shores's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$378,00025th percentilemore affordable than 25% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Ocean Shores's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,113 of 15,516
More affordable than 9% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,468 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 6.0×, Ocean Shores sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,113 of 15,516 and #10,468 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$62,750Ocean Shores, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ocean Shores, WA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Ocean Shores, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)35.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
7,076
Median Income
$62,750
Median Home Value
$378,000
Median Age
64.0
Poverty Rate
7.1%
Labor force participation
35.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.2%
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ocean Shores's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
6,775 residents
2021
7,096 residents
2022
7,364 residents
2023
7,593 residents
2024
7,755 residents
2025
7,892 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
162
housing units authorized
Single-Family
129
detached homes
Multifamily
33
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
22.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
181
177
4
$30.9M
2020
223
219
4
$40.2M
2021
244
242
2
$47.1M
2022
216
194
22
$44.5M
2023
129
115
14
$32.5M
2024
162
129
33
$39.1M
Permit volume decreased 10% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
58.3%
Carpool
10.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
9.5%
Work from Home
17.0%
Other
5.2%
Based on 2,350 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Washington statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $188
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Washington at $188 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Washington statewide averages, not a meter reading for Ocean Shores. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Washington's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Ocean Shores is $1,472/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Washington statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Washington statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Ocean Shores sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ocean Shores compares to similar-size Washington cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.