Vashon is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Washington. With a population of 11,055 people and two constituent neighborhoods, Vashon is the 87th largest community in Washington.
Vashon home prices are not only among the most expensive in Washington, but Vashon real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Of important note, Vashon is also a town of artists. Vashon has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Vashon’s character.
Also of interest is that Vashon has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 29.87% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
In addition, Vashon is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
Because of many things, Vashon is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Vashon really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Vashon perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
Residents will find that the town is relatively quiet. This is because it is not over-populated, and it has fewer college students, renters, and young children - all of whom can be noisy at times. So, if you're looking for a relatively peaceful place to live, Vashon is worth considering.
One of the nice things about Vashon is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Vashon, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 30.96 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
Even though Vashon is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly a ferryboat for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.
If knowledge is power, Vashon is a pretty powerful place. 51.70% of the adults in Vashon have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Vashon in 2018 was $56,316, which is wealthy relative to Washington and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $225,264 for a family of four. However, Vashon contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Vashon home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Vashon residents report their race to be White, followed by Native Hawaiian. Important ancestries of people in Vashon include German, English, Irish, European, and Scottish.
The most common language spoken in Vashon is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.