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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-SHORELINE-WA · Shoreline, WA 59,280 pop · income 85th 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 Shoreline
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Shoreline on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Kokomo · lowest
54,195
Kokomo · lowest
54,195 median HH income
23.8% of the leader · rank #1
Summerlin Sou… · near
113,301
Summerlin Sou… · near
113,301 median HH income
49.9% of the leader · rank #2
Fort Fetter · near
113,333
Fort Fetter · near
113,333 median HH income
49.9% of the leader · rank #3
Shoreline · this city
113,336
Shoreline · this city
113,336 median HH income
49.9% of the leader · rank #4
Potosi · near
113,340
Potosi · near
113,340 median HH income
49.9% of the leader · rank #5
South Floral… · near
113,362
South Floral… · near
113,362 median HH income
49.9% of the leader · rank #6
Sammamish · highest
227,273
Sammamish · highest
227,273 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Shoreline on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 59,280.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Shoreline - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Shoreline lands in the 85th percentile for household income and the 19th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
85th
percentile, household income
94th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
19th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Shoreline, WA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 59,280 residents in Shoreline, a small city within Washington. Households in Shoreline report a median income of $113,336 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 5.7%. Shoreline's housing stock carries a median value of $759,400, and the median resident age is 42.1 years. 52.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 63.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 324 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 44% from five years earlier. Shoreline's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2744.5 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Washington scores 107.0 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,472 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Washington run around $188, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 21.5 minutes, with 59.1% driving alone and 22.6% working from home, per Census ACS commuting 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 Shoreline'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 work and mobility to reported crime to schools and households to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Shoreline, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Shoreline 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 +7,851 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +13.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 324 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 journey to work look like in Shoreline?
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 59.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 21.5 minutes.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Shoreline?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2744.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 20% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Shoreline?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Lacey (57,088 residents, $87,277 income); Richland (61,912 residents, $92,550 income); Olympia (55,583 residents, $76,930 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Dubuque, IA (59,271 residents); Petaluma, CA (59,321 residents); Kokomo, IN (59,375 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Shoreline?
The NCES join finds 16 public schools within the city match. 52.8% 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.
Matched public schools
16
Bachelor's degree+
52.8%
Poverty estimate
5.7%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Shoreline?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.7%, 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
$113,336
Home value
$759,400
Value / income
6.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
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.
Bachelor's+ share A
52.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income A-
$113,336
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime D
212 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
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.
Shoreline profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 86/100 (A) · 52.8%
Household income: 83/100 (A-) · $113,336
Poverty rate: 61/100 (C+) · 5.7%
Violent crime: 46/100 (D) · 212 /100k
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Shoreline sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Shoreline's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Shoreline highlighted among 13 peers.Read the chart values
Shoreline, WA (this city): home $759,400, crime 2,745/100k
Dubuque, IA : home $193,100, crime 1,836/100k
Petaluma, CA : home $834,900, crime 1,445/100k
Kokomo, IN : home $126,500, crime 1,902/100k
Hanford, CA : home $323,600, crime 1,636/100k
Des Plaines, IL : home $318,200, crime 1,260/100k
Blue Springs, MO : home $241,500, crime 2,684/100k
Lacey, WA : home $427,900, crime 2,655/100k
Richland, WA : home $401,800, crime 2,190/100k
Olympia, WA : home $457,900, crime 4,000/100k
Lakewood, WA : home $420,500, crime 4,270/100k
Sammamish, WA : home $1,240,300, crime 567/100k
Burien, WA : home $609,300, crime 3,820/100k
How does Shoreline compare to other US cities?
Shoreline measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income85% higher than other cities
Home value94% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety19% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Washington alone, Shoreline ranks #104 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Shoreline 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 Shoreline near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Shoreline ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Shoreline only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#133 of 565
76th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#62 of 565
89th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#294 of 598
51st percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#59 of 599
90th 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
85th percentile nationally for median household income · 19th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Shoreline's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Shoreline's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Shoreline's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$759,4006th percentilemore affordable than 6% 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
Shoreline's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,531 of 15,516
More affordable than 6% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#630 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 6.7×, Shoreline sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,531 of 15,516 and #630 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
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
$113,336Shoreline, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Shoreline, 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 Shoreline, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)52.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
59,280
Median Income
$113,336
Median Home Value
$759,400
Median Age
42.1
Poverty Rate
5.7%
Labor force participation
63.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
52.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2744.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
212.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2532.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
16
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Shoreline's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
58,691 residents
2021
59,136 residents
2022
60,074 residents
2023
62,008 residents
2024
65,453 residents
2025
66,542 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
324
housing units authorized
Single-Family
25
detached homes
Multifamily
299
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
575
108
467
$102.9M
2020
182
152
30
$43.9M
2021
983
160
823
$193.7M
2022
1,121
16
1,105
$174.3M
2023
1,428
11
1,417
$250.6M
2024
324
25
299
$86.1M
Permit volume decreased 44% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
21.5 minutes
Drive Alone
59.1%
Carpool
7.8%
Public Transit
7.0%
Walk
1.9%
Work from Home
22.6%
Other
1.6%
Based on 30,699 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 Shoreline. 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 Shoreline 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 Shoreline sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Shoreline 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, FBI UCR, 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.