Kitsap County profile

Washington state map with Kitsap county highlighted by Jim Vleming, regional labor economist - updated February 2020

Overview

Regional context

Kitsap County, originally part of King and Jefferson counties, is the northern end of the Kitsap peninsula, jutting into the Puget Sound positioned between the Olympic Peninsula to the west and King County to the east. It is located between Hood Canal and Admiralty Strait. Water transportation is dominant in the culture and economy of the county. The county, initially named Slaughter County for a U.S. Army officer, was formed in 1857. Voters later changed the name to honor Kitsap, the Suquamish war chief. The county seat is at Port Orchard.

Kitsap County is one of the smallest counties in the state in terms of land area at about 395 square miles. It ranks third, however, in the state in terms of its population density, with 636 people per square mile.

Local economy

Native Americans were the first residents in the area. They lived in permanent settlements, fishing, hunting and gathering. Contact with Europeans and the introduction of diseases such as smallpox in the 1780s decimated their numbers.

The 1850 gold rush in California triggered non-native settlement in the area as the demand for lumber spurred migration to the region’s great stands of timber. Shipyards sprang up near the mill towns, where lumber was shipped mainly to California but also across the Pacific to Asia. In the mid to late 19th century, the Kitsap Peninsula had the distinction of having the greatest per capita income on Puget Sound.

Port Orchard was selected in the 1880s as a ship repair facility nearer to the open Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Navy established the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1891, which soon became a magnet for other businesses and workers. During other periods of conflict, military installations dotted the coastline of the county, including Fort Ward on Bainbridge Island. Today spending by the Department of Defense, including U.S. Navy centers at Bremerton, Keyport and Bangor, continues to dominate the economy of the county as demonstrated by an annual military and defense payroll in excess of $1.5 billion.

Because of Kitsap County’s geographic configuration, the Washington State Ferry system is an important infrastructure link for Kitsap residents. In 2019, more than 6.21 million passenger trips were taken on the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry run, and more than 2.46 million trips were taken on the Seattle-Bremerton route. In the north part of the county, the ferries serving the Edmonds and Kingston run hosted over 4.12 million passenger trips during the year. More than half of all ridership on the Washington State Ferries originates or ends in Kitsap County.

The Hood Canal, bordering the west side of the Kitsap Peninsula, is traversed by the Hood Canal floating bridge linking Kitsap and Jefferson counties. The bridge is the third longest floating bridge in the world and the longest crossing salt water. (Washington state’s 520 and I-90 bridges across Lake Washington are the first and second longest floating bridges in the world, respectively.)

This infrastructure supports the economy based on public sector Department of Defense jobs, as well as over 15,000 uniform service personnel based there. The balance of economic activity in the county includes a thriving gaming industry with large casinos located on tribal properties, a major medical center and a regional retail hub attracting shoppers from Kitsap County as well as the surrounding rural counties: Clallam, Jefferson and Mason.

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Geographic facts

	Kitsap County	Rank in state
Land area, 2010 (square miles)	394.94	36
People per square mile, 2010	635.9	3

(Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts)

Outlook

Kitsap County, while facing economic hardships during the slow growth post-recession period, is located well geographically to take advantage of the thriving Puget Sound region’s growth. With affordable real estate and expanding options for commuting, the area is poised to benefit in economic growth.

The economic outlook for Kitsap County also appears to be steadily improving. The county has registered an unemployment rate close to the state and national averages over the past two years, with the preliminary 2019 rate for not seasonally adjusted unemployment at 4.8 percent.

Nonfarm employment has grown since 2011. Between 2017 and 2018, nonfarm job growth was 2.9% just above the statewide average of 2.5%. Nationally, nonfarm payrolls expanded by 1.7% between 2017 and 2018.

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Labor force and unemployment

Current labor force and unemployment statistics are available on the Labor area summaries page.

In 2019, the preliminary civilian labor force averaged 128,363, higher than the 2018 level of 122,885. On an annual average basis, there has been yearly increases in the labor force since 2014, another indicator of a healthy job market.

In 2019, the preliminary county unemployment rate was 4.8 percent compared to 4.6 percent in 2018. The over-the-year increase in the rate can be attributed to an increase pf nearly 5,000 in the labor force. The unemployment rate should remain low as confidence in the labor market conditions grow and new opportunities appear.

From 2004 through 2008, Kitsap County experienced average annual unemployment rates under 5.9 percent, with lower rates during periods of stronger growth. This contrasts with the much higher rates beginning in 2009 (7.7 percent) and continuing through 2013 (7.2 percent).

The military and its federal employees continue to be a steady source of economic fuel for the economy with over 15,000 active military and nearly 20,000 civilians based in Kitsap County; it is a city on to itself. In addition, over 500 prime and sub-contractors add to the benefits seen by this federal presence.

Industry employment

Current industry employment statistics are available on the Labor area summaries page.

In Kitsap County, job numbers are continuing to rebound and have surpassed the losses, which occurred from 2006 to 2012. In fact, nonfarm payrolls have expanded every year since 2012. Specifically, there were on average 95,400 nonfarm jobs in the county in 2019 compared to 87,400 in 2006.

The largest component of Kitsap County nonfarm employment is government. This sector typically accounts for a third of the nonfarm total with a preliminary 2019 total of 33,800 jobs. Of that total, 20,100 was federal government employment. The second largest group was local government, with 11,700 jobs.

For historical industry employment data, contact an economist.

(Source: Employment Security Department)

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Industry employment by age and gender

The Local Employment Dynamics (LED) database, a joint project of state employment departments and the U.S. Census Bureau, matches state employment data with federal administrative data. Among the products is industry employment by age and gender. All workers covered by state unemployment insurance data are included; federal workers and non-covered workers, such as the self-employed, are not. Data are presented by place of work, not place of residence.

Kitsap County highlights:

Industry employment by age in 2018 shows younger workers ages 14 to 24 dominating employment in the accommodation and food services industry and also having strong participation in retail trade. They are minimally represented in public sector jobs, mining, utilities or private sector educational services jobs. Workers age 55 and over are evenly represented in all sectors except for accommodation and food services and construction. Their numbers are most concentrated in utilities, educational services, healthcare and social assistance and management.

Gender divisions in the labor force also follow typical patterns with males dominating construction, transportation and warehousing and manufacturing, while females make up the majority of the labor force in healthcare and social assistance, finance and insurance and educational services.

In 2018, females held 53.5 percent and men held 46.5 percent of the jobs in Kitsap County. There were substantial differences in gender dominance by industry.

Male-dominated industries included construction (83.0 percent), mining (86.6 percent), manufacturing (73.2 percent) and transportation and warehousing (73.7percent).
Female-dominated industries included healthcare and social assistance (79.1 percent), finance and insurance (72.9 percent) and educational services (73.0 percent).

Source: The Local Employment Dynamics

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Wages and income

In 2018, Kitsap County recorded 90,031 jobs covered by unemployment insurance, with a total payroll of nearly $4.7 billion.

The 2018 the average annual wage for Kitsap County was $52,198, below the state’s average annual wage of approximately $66,156. Kitsap county ranks 8th in the state in this category.

The Kitsap County median hourly wage in 2018 was $21.73, less than the state’s median at $25.98 and the state less King County at $22.37 (unadjusted for inflation).

Personal income

Personal income includes earned income, investment income, and government payments such as Social Security and Veterans Benefits. Investment income includes income imputed from pension funds and from owning a home. Per capita personal income equals total personal income divided by the resident population.

Per capita income in the county in 2018 was $56,244, below that of Washington state at $ 62,026 and above the nation at $54,446. Kitsap County ranks third in per capita income in the state.

The median household income in Kitsap County was $76,945 in 2018. This figure was above the median household income of the state ($74,073) and the nation ($61,937).

Kitsap County’s poverty rate was 9.1 percent in 2018. The state rate was 10.3 percent, while the nation posted a rate of 13.1 percent. The state and national rates are not directly comparable to the county rate because they each use different data sources.

(Source: Employment Security Department; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey)

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Population

Kitsap County’s population in 2018 was 269,805. It grew from 251,143 in 2010. Kitsap County’s largest city, Bremerton, recorded a population of 41,235 in 2018. The city had a population of 37,876 in 2010.

Population facts

	Kitsap County	Washington state
Population 2018	270,100	7,535,591
Population 2010	251,143	6,724,540
Percent change, 2010 to 2018	7.4%	12.1%

Age, gender and ethnicity

Kitsap County’s population is somewhat older than that of the state.

Those residents 65 years and older made up 17.8 percent of the county’s population in 2018 compared to 15.4 percent of the state’s population.
There were also proportionately fewer residents under 18 years of age and less than five years of age in Kitsap County compared to the state.

In 2018, females made up 48.9 percent of the population compared to 50.0 percent for the state.

Kitsap County showed less diversity in 2018 than did the state in all racial/ethnic categories including American Indians and Alaskan Natives, who accounted for 1.7 percent of the population in the county.

Demographics

	Kitsap County	Washington state
Population by age, 2018
Under 5 years old	5.8%	6.1%
Under 18 years old	20.5%	22.1%
65 years and older	17.8%	15.4%
Females, 2018	48.9%	50.0%
Race/ethnicity, 2018
White	82.6%	78.9%
Black	3.1%	4.3%
American Indian, Alaskan Native	1.7%	1.9%
Asian, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander	6.5%	10.1%
Hispanic or Latino, any race	8.0%	12.9%

Educational attainment

Most Kitsap County residents age 25 and older (94.4 percent) were high school graduates, which compares favorably with 91.1 percent of Washington state’s residents and 87.7 percent of U.S. residents in the period 2014 to 2018.

Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher made up 32.2 percent of Kitsap County residents age 25 and older compared to 35.3 percent of state residents and 31.5 percent of U.S. residents during the same period.

(Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts)

Useful links

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