These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Washington


We used data and science to identify which places in Washington are total snoozefests.

Nick Johnson, RoadSnacks
January 28, 2016 - 24,018 views
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This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Washington that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.

Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in WA are so lucky.

Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Washington’s borders. You know the places: the ones where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.

Like Bainbridge Island, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Washington. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Bainbridge Island. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Washington as well.

Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement:

  1. Bainbridge Island
  2. Ocean Shores
  3. Edgewood
  4. Anacortes
  5. Normandy Park
  6. Ridgefield
  7. Gig Harbor
  8. Lynden
  9. Poulsbo
  10. Mercer Island

Before you get all upset if your city’s name is on the list, rest assured that we didn’t use personal opinion when it comes to what classifies a city or town as “boring” or “exciting”. We crunched actual numbers to figure out which towns are statistically more boring. And yes, we’re aware that many of these are coastal cities (or cute, quiet places on the water.) But does that make them fun and exciting? A bunch of older, married people boating around gets old after a while. They’d be the first to admit it.

But peace and quiet is probably what they want and that’s why they are there.

By the way, where are the most exciting places in Washington, according to science? They are Pullman, Cheney, Ellensburg, Bellingham and Seattle. That sounds about right.

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How we determined the boring cities in the Evergreen State

To figure out how boring a place is, we rely on a complex algorithm that factors in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people. We used the U.S. Census data to gather the information. Here are some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring:

  • % of Population Over 35 (higher is more boring)
  • % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
  • Average Age (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households with People Over 65 (higher is more boring)
  • Population density (lower is more boring)

Then, our algorithm generates several lists of the cities that have plenty of residents with high rankings in all of these categories. After a crunching of the numbers, a list of all of the cities magically appears listing them from most boring to most exciting.

For this list, we used every Washington city that qualified for our rankings based on having a population of at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.

Grab your rocker and hold on.

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1. Bainbridge Island

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 23,084
Average Age: 48.2
Married Households: 63.4%
Households With Kids: 31.6%

2. Ocean Shores

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 5,584
Average Age: 58.2
Married Households: 57.1%
Households With Kids: 15.3%

3. Edgewood

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 9,482
Average Age: 45.3
Married Households: 62.7%
Households With Kids: 30.7%

4. Anacortes

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 15,879
Average Age: 46.9
Married Households: 57.6%
Households With Kids: 26.6%

5. Normandy Park

Boring Washington

Source: Public Domain

Population: 6,432
Average Age: 46.7
Married Households: 62.8%
Households With Kids: 32.6%

6. Ridgefield

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 5,070
Average Age: 38.1
Married Households: 64.3%
Households With Kids: 46.1%

7. Gig Harbor

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 7,367
Average Age: 50.0
Married Households: 49.4%
Households With Kids: 22.5%

8. Lynden

Boring Washington

Source: Public Domain

Population: 12,334
Average Age: 39.6
Married Households: 63.7%
Households With Kids: 33.2%

9. Poulsbo

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 9,310
Average Age: 39.3
Married Households: 53.9%
Households With Kids: 34.1%

10. Mercer Island

Boring Washington

Source: wikipedia

Population: 23,301
Average Age: 45.4
Married Households: 67.8%
Households With Kids: 31.7%

Now That You’re Asleep

On a list like this, there are usually no winners, but since Washington isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this list can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.

Just not these places.

Detailed List Of Boring to Exciting Cities In Washington

City Rank Population Average Age Married Households Households With Kids
Bainbridge Island 1 23,084 48.2 63.4% 31.6%
Ocean Shores 2 5,584 58.2 57.1% 15.3%
Edgewood 3 9,482 45.3 62.7% 30.7%
Anacortes 4 15,879 46.9 57.6% 26.6%
Normandy Park 5 6,432 46.7 62.8% 32.6%
Ridgefield 6 5,070 38.1 64.3% 46.1%
Gig Harbor 7 7,367 50.0 49.4% 22.5%
Lynden 8 12,334 39.6 63.7% 33.2%
Poulsbo 9 9,310 39.3 53.9% 34.1%
Mercer Island 10 23,301 45.4 67.8% 31.7%
Sequim 11 6,602 57.6 46.7% 15.3%
West Richland 12 12,301 37.5 62.4% 37.6%
Liberty Lake 13 7,774 36.7 62.4% 38.5%
Port Townsend 14 9,136 54.3 45.6% 18.7%
North Bend 15 5,951 37.3 62.5% 42.7%
Camas 16 19,998 36.9 60.3% 48.0%
Brier 17 6,193 43.3 62.8% 33.0%
Steilacoom 18 6,045 43.9 54.3% 30.3%
Lake Forest Park 19 12,811 44.6 60.2% 28.9%
Ephrata 20 7,794 34.6 51.8% 37.1%
Sammamish 21 47,766 37.5 72.7% 56.4%
Richland 22 49,933 37.5 54.3% 32.9%
Kenmore 23 20,935 40.1 59.0% 35.2%
Fircrest 24 6,547 39.0 54.5% 36.5%
Ferndale 25 11,766 35.1 53.5% 38.3%
Arlington 26 18,139 35.4 54.6% 39.3%
Prosser 27 5,752 34.5 51.3% 33.6%
Hoquiam 28 8,625 38.9 41.1% 28.7%
Newcastle 29 10,599 39.8 62.6% 32.9%
Edmonds 30 40,139 46.5 54.3% 23.8%
Mill Creek 31 18,439 40.5 61.4% 31.1%
Woodinville 32 11,089 39.4 53.1% 30.5%
Longview 33 36,656 41.2 46.8% 27.4%
Mukilteo 34 20,457 42.4 53.4% 33.9%
Bothell 35 34,220 39.1 54.7% 31.9%
Spokane Valley 36 90,385 38.3 50.3% 30.7%
Sumner 37 9,506 36.0 46.0% 35.5%
Issaquah 38 31,607 38.0 59.8% 32.4%
Snoqualmie 39 11,087 33.9 71.9% 60.9%
Port Angeles 40 19,099 42.1 42.9% 24.3%
University Place 41 31,507 38.8 51.5% 33.6%
Washougal 42 14,319 35.9 54.5% 40.5%
East Wenatchee 43 13,293 36.1 55.1% 33.5%
Covington 44 18,008 36.1 59.3% 46.9%
DuPont 45 8,548 31.8 72.0% 51.7%
Tumwater 46 17,813 35.7 48.4% 29.3%
Aberdeen 47 16,683 35.2 46.1% 34.2%
Shoreline 48 53,791 41.2 49.1% 29.7%
Shelton 49 9,830 35.7 42.0% 35.2%
Woodland 50 5,460 31.0 52.4% 55.3%
Enumclaw 51 11,193 36.2 47.8% 37.0%
Bellevue 52 129,209 37.8 57.2% 31.1%
Chehalis 53 7,284 36.0 40.1% 33.5%
Moses Lake 54 20,757 32.1 50.2% 42.1%
Snohomish 55 9,246 39.7 42.3% 35.9%
Bonney Lake 56 17,688 33.8 57.3% 42.9%
Othello 57 7,445 26.4 58.9% 55.7%
Yelm 58 7,086 29.4 56.9% 51.9%
Quincy 59 6,906 25.3 52.7% 54.6%
Port Orchard 60 12,260 34.1 49.3% 34.5%
Stanwood 61 6,349 34.7 50.7% 36.7%
Centralia 62 16,611 35.1 44.8% 31.6%
Auburn 63 71,846 35.9 48.0% 35.7%
Maple Valley 64 23,449 34.9 60.9% 49.4%
Airway Heights 65 6,234 35.0 29.2% 45.7%
Mount Vernon 66 32,059 32.2 48.7% 38.4%
Des Moines 67 30,139 37.7 47.0% 31.4%
Puyallup 68 37,720 37.7 44.9% 32.3%
Marysville 69 61,274 34.2 53.2% 37.4%
Lacey 70 43,316 34.1 52.0% 32.0%
Duvall 71 6,962 33.6 57.0% 54.3%
Wenatchee 72 32,301 33.8 50.5% 34.7%
Orting 73 6,817 32.4 53.6% 45.8%
Selah 74 7,243 32.4 47.3% 46.6%
Lake Stevens 75 28,710 33.7 56.0% 45.3%
Walla Walla 76 31,772 36.5 41.0% 29.5%
Battle Ground 77 17,797 30.0 58.6% 50.2%
Vancouver 78 164,111 36.6 46.1% 32.2%
Oak Harbor 79 22,178 29.5 60.8% 37.5%
Kirkland 80 75,835 37.4 54.5% 29.6%
Union Gap 81 6,021 29.2 41.6% 40.6%
Kennewick 82 74,969 32.6 49.7% 37.0%
Pacific 83 6,816 33.1 49.8% 43.5%
Yakima 84 92,082 33.0 45.3% 37.7%
Olympia 85 47,335 37.1 42.5% 27.0%
Pasco 86 63,560 28.1 49.8% 50.3%
Milton 87 7,180 35.6 46.2% 34.0%
Monroe 88 17,428 34.1 46.0% 47.7%
Lakewood 89 58,762 37.2 44.1% 25.7%
Clarkston 90 7,290 36.9 38.3% 28.3%
Grandview 91 10,893 26.9 42.8% 56.1%
Federal Way 92 90,720 35.1 47.0% 34.9%
Kelso 93 11,878 32.8 37.4% 30.7%
Burien 94 45,865 37.3 43.9% 31.6%
Sedro-Woolley 95 10,585 35.0 42.6% 32.8%
Burlington 96 8,419 32.8 42.5% 32.8%
Sunnyside 97 15,940 25.3 44.0% 53.6%
Lynnwood 98 36,107 37.3 44.3% 28.7%
Redmond 99 55,505 34.8 56.5% 30.9%
Kent 100 115,703 33.2 47.8% 39.5%
Renton 101 93,601 35.5 46.7% 32.2%
SeaTac 102 27,303 35.0 43.4% 30.0%
Tukwila 103 19,366 33.3 43.4% 34.7%
Spokane 104 209,478 35.2 43.3% 29.1%
Tacoma 105 200,890 35.3 42.7% 30.1%
Bremerton 106 38,614 30.7 37.9% 30.1%
Fife 107 9,226 31.8 45.1% 33.2%
Mountlake Terrace 108 20,157 37.2 42.4% 28.6%
Toppenish 109 8,970 24.6 46.5% 62.3%
College Place 110 8,828 31.6 44.5% 21.5%
Everett 111 103,918 34.6 42.1% 29.1%
Wapato 112 5,031 23.8 38.0% 61.1%
Seattle 113 624,681 36.1 40.1% 19.9%
Bellingham 114 81,576 30.9 35.5% 22.6%
Ellensburg 115 18,312 23.7 29.7% 22.0%
Cheney 116 10,828 23.0 24.9% 21.4%
Pullman 117 30,388 21.9 26.0% 19.1%

About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

 Boring