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 Evergreen State are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Washington’s’ borders. You know the places 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 Buckley, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Washington according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Buckley. 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.
42.6 median age · 36.0% married households · #16 oldest in Washington
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.6 median age · 17.0% married households · #33 oldest in Washington
Located in
Franklin County, Washington
Connell is a city in Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,209 at the 2010 census. The Washington State Office of Financial Management’s 2015 estimate placed the population at 5,446.
Data | Movers
63.9 median age · 20.0% married households · #1 oldest in Washington
Located in
Grays Harbor County, Washington
Ocean Shores is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 5,569 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
47.4 median age · 29.0% married households · #6 oldest in Washington
Located in
Snohomish County, Washington
Brier is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is bordered by Mountlake Terrace to the west, Lynnwood to the north, Bothell to the east, and the Lake Forest Park to the south. The population was 6,087 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
49.0 median age · 15.0% married households · #5 oldest in Washington
Located in
Kitsap County, Washington
Bainbridge Island is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, and is coextensive with the eponymous island in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
38.8 median age · 20.0% married households · #39 oldest in Washington
Located in
Pierce County, Washington
Edgewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,387 at the 2010 census. Neighboring towns include Milton to the northwest, Federal Way to the north, and Puyallup to the south.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
38.1 median age · 19.0% married households · #46 oldest in Washington
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.4 median age · 21.0% married households · #34 oldest in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
North Bend is a city in King County, Washington, United States on the outskirts of the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area. The population was 6,739 in a 2016 census estimate.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
43.4 median age · 32.0% married households · #12 oldest in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Normandy Park is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 6,335 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.7 median age · 21.0% married households · #32 oldest in Washington
Data | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
On the map
Where the quiet settles in Washington
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Evergreen State
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in Washington. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored 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. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. Some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (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)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every Washington city with 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.
We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the most boring cities in Washington.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In Washington For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Boring Score | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buckley | 23.10 | 5,371 | 42.6 | 36.0% | 32.6% |
| 2 | Connell | 26.00 | 5,054 | 39.6 | 17.0% | 40.0% |
| 3 | Ocean Shores | 30.90 | 7,302 | 63.9 | 20.0% | 10.3% |
| 4 | Brier | 32.60 | 6,545 | 47.4 | 29.0% | 32.3% |
| 5 | Bainbridge Island | 33.30 | 24,631 | 49.0 | 15.0% | 30.1% |
| 6 | Edgewood | 33.90 | 13,032 | 38.8 | 20.0% | 37.3% |
| 7 | Black Diamond | 34.60 | 5,961 | 38.1 | 19.0% | 38.1% |
| 8 | North Bend | 36.40 | 7,953 | 39.4 | 21.0% | 36.0% |
| 9 | Normandy Park | 37.20 | 6,659 | 43.4 | 32.0% | 28.3% |
| 10 | Omak | 37.60 | 5,036 | 39.7 | 21.0% | 40.3% |
| 11 | Anacortes | 38.10 | 17,966 | 50.5 | 18.0% | 23.0% |
| 12 | Kelso | 39.30 | 12,684 | 39.9 | 25.0% | 26.8% |
| 13 | Poulsbo | 39.90 | 12,165 | 43.3 | 18.0% | 27.9% |
| 14 | Sumner | 40.20 | 10,733 | 37.6 | 21.0% | 32.2% |
| 15 | Enumclaw | 40.80 | 12,798 | 42.1 | 28.0% | 26.8% |
| 16 | Gig Harbor | 41.60 | 12,424 | 46.6 | 16.0% | 24.4% |
| 17 | Liberty Lake | 41.70 | 12,737 | 37.1 | 24.0% | 39.5% |
| 18 | Snoqualmie | 43.50 | 13,798 | 38.9 | 18.0% | 54.7% |
| 19 | West Richland | 44.10 | 17,586 | 35.5 | 24.0% | 44.0% |
| 20 | Snohomish | 44.30 | 10,239 | 42.5 | 20.0% | 29.0% |
| 21 | Hoquiam | 45.20 | 8,800 | 40.2 | 17.0% | 25.4% |
| 22 | Woodinville | 45.30 | 13,438 | 40.8 | 15.0% | 31.2% |
| 23 | Sequim | 45.60 | 8,161 | 62.6 | 12.0% | 13.8% |
| 24 | Port Townsend | 46.20 | 10,438 | 60.8 | 13.0% | 16.1% |
| 25 | Tumwater | 46.90 | 26,956 | 37.1 | 19.0% | 28.5% |
| 26 | Bonney Lake | 47.00 | 22,090 | 36.9 | 27.0% | 46.5% |
| 27 | Arlington | 51.10 | 21,095 | 36.6 | 22.0% | 36.4% |
| 28 | Edmonds | 51.60 | 42,735 | 46.9 | 21.0% | 23.4% |
| 29 | Ephrata | 51.80 | 8,560 | 31.9 | 24.0% | 40.9% |
| 30 | Port Angeles | 51.80 | 20,118 | 42.6 | 15.0% | 22.3% |
| 31 | Camas | 51.80 | 27,007 | 40.7 | 11.0% | 45.2% |
| 32 | Blaine | 51.90 | 6,100 | 43.4 | 11.0% | 26.9% |
| 33 | Pacific | 52.20 | 7,066 | 38.0 | 17.0% | 44.0% |
| 34 | Bothell | 52.20 | 49,610 | 38.6 | 17.0% | 34.2% |
| 35 | Ridgefield | 53.10 | 13,408 | 35.7 | 13.0% | 44.0% |
| 36 | Spokane Valley | 53.10 | 106,365 | 38.3 | 20.0% | 28.4% |
| 37 | Marysville | 53.40 | 73,002 | 38.0 | 21.0% | 33.1% |
| 38 | Monroe | 54.30 | 19,755 | 35.7 | 19.0% | 39.0% |
| 39 | Orting | 54.80 | 8,978 | 34.1 | 32.0% | 46.2% |
| 40 | Sultan | 55.10 | 6,116 | 36.7 | 11.0% | 45.8% |
| 41 | Stanwood | 55.80 | 8,373 | 36.3 | 21.0% | 38.5% |
| 42 | Lake Forest Park | 55.80 | 13,335 | 42.1 | 17.0% | 27.6% |
| 43 | Mercer Island | 55.90 | 25,307 | 46.4 | 14.0% | 32.0% |
| 44 | Lynden | 56.00 | 16,234 | 35.2 | 23.0% | 34.2% |
| 45 | Shoreline | 56.00 | 61,431 | 42.9 | 17.0% | 27.3% |
| 46 | Ferndale | 56.20 | 15,999 | 35.1 | 16.0% | 40.4% |
| 47 | Chehalis | 56.90 | 7,587 | 34.7 | 19.0% | 36.0% |
| 48 | Mill Creek | 56.90 | 20,956 | 39.3 | 18.0% | 32.3% |
| 49 | Woodland | 57.20 | 6,487 | 42.1 | 17.0% | 28.5% |
| 50 | Mukilteo | 57.20 | 21,323 | 42.8 | 16.0% | 30.2% |
| 51 | Milton | 57.40 | 8,894 | 37.9 | 20.0% | 32.5% |
| 52 | Centralia | 58.00 | 18,830 | 39.0 | 16.0% | 26.3% |
| 53 | Fircrest | 58.10 | 7,069 | 44.5 | 18.0% | 26.4% |
| 54 | University Place | 58.50 | 34,911 | 40.1 | 19.0% | 31.4% |
| 55 | Sammamish | 58.50 | 66,463 | 39.9 | 10.0% | 51.1% |
| 56 | Covington | 59.20 | 21,233 | 36.4 | 20.0% | 36.0% |
| 57 | Washougal | 59.40 | 17,490 | 38.4 | 12.0% | 34.7% |
| 58 | Richland | 59.90 | 62,753 | 36.4 | 17.0% | 29.8% |
| 59 | Newcastle | 60.20 | 12,989 | 37.5 | 12.0% | 29.9% |
| 60 | Moses Lake | 60.20 | 26,083 | 32.3 | 22.0% | 33.2% |
| 61 | Lake Stevens | 60.30 | 40,253 | 34.7 | 21.0% | 47.1% |
| 62 | Prosser | 60.60 | 6,305 | 33.1 | 18.0% | 40.4% |
| 63 | Port Orchard | 61.00 | 17,149 | 35.0 | 15.0% | 34.3% |
| 64 | Longview | 61.10 | 38,069 | 40.1 | 16.0% | 27.0% |
| 65 | Mount Vernon | 61.70 | 35,377 | 36.0 | 18.0% | 35.0% |
| 66 | Olympia | 62.00 | 55,951 | 40.5 | 12.0% | 23.5% |
| 67 | East Wenatchee | 62.30 | 14,199 | 35.4 | 21.0% | 46.3% |
| 68 | Quincy | 62.80 | 7,998 | 32.6 | 17.0% | 46.1% |
| 69 | Puyallup | 62.80 | 42,746 | 36.5 | 19.0% | 29.9% |
| 70 | Union Gap | 63.00 | 6,584 | 34.5 | 16.0% | 36.8% |
| 71 | Kenmore | 63.50 | 23,741 | 39.1 | 14.0% | 28.8% |
| 72 | Maple Valley | 63.90 | 28,287 | 36.7 | 19.0% | 51.3% |
| 73 | Issaquah | 64.10 | 39,591 | 37.5 | 11.0% | 29.9% |
| 74 | Selah | 64.60 | 8,437 | 33.0 | 21.0% | 32.9% |
| 75 | Sedro-Woolley | 64.60 | 12,831 | 34.0 | 21.0% | 35.1% |
| 76 | Duvall | 65.20 | 8,526 | 36.0 | 16.0% | 46.9% |
| 77 | Burlington | 67.00 | 10,003 | 35.7 | 15.0% | 31.3% |
| 78 | Aberdeen | 68.00 | 17,088 | 37.7 | 16.0% | 25.9% |
| 79 | Burien | 68.20 | 51,513 | 40.4 | 13.0% | 29.8% |
| 80 | Auburn | 68.30 | 85,676 | 36.0 | 14.0% | 34.8% |
| 81 | DuPont | 68.50 | 9,931 | 34.3 | 9.0% | 40.4% |
| 82 | Steilacoom | 69.30 | 6,686 | 39.8 | 15.0% | 26.0% |
| 83 | Airway Heights | 69.70 | 11,245 | 33.1 | 10.0% | 34.0% |
| 84 | Yelm | 69.80 | 11,102 | 31.0 | 12.0% | 44.9% |
| 85 | Pasco | 70.70 | 79,575 | 30.3 | 15.0% | 48.8% |
| 86 | Kirkland | 70.80 | 92,621 | 38.3 | 13.0% | 27.9% |
| 87 | Fife | 71.60 | 10,949 | 31.3 | 12.0% | 37.7% |
| 88 | Wenatchee | 71.80 | 35,484 | 35.9 | 21.0% | 31.1% |
| 89 | Tacoma | 72.00 | 222,758 | 37.2 | 16.0% | 27.2% |
| 90 | Mountlake Terrace | 72.10 | 23,104 | 38.3 | 14.0% | 24.3% |
| 91 | Bellevue | 72.50 | 151,847 | 38.5 | 8.0% | 29.1% |
| 92 | Spokane | 72.70 | 230,293 | 37.2 | 18.0% | 25.9% |
| 93 | Des Moines | 72.90 | 32,823 | 38.0 | 14.0% | 30.2% |
| 94 | Lacey | 74.20 | 57,737 | 37.3 | 11.0% | 27.2% |
| 95 | Tukwila | 74.30 | 21,451 | 35.4 | 9.0% | 27.1% |
| 96 | SeaTac | 74.40 | 32,414 | 36.8 | 9.0% | 31.5% |
| 97 | Kennewick | 75.10 | 85,295 | 35.7 | 16.0% | 32.3% |
| 98 | Everett | 75.20 | 111,845 | 37.2 | 13.0% | 26.6% |
| 99 | Shelton | 75.30 | 10,612 | 32.5 | 15.0% | 34.1% |
| 100 | Othello | 75.90 | 8,795 | 23.2 | 12.0% | 53.5% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 122 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking 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 ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
The most boring cities in Washington are Buckley, Connell, Ocean Shores, Brier, Bainbridge Island, Edgewood, Black Diamond, North Bend, Normandy Park, and Omak.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in Washington, according to science.
