IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Shelton, WA
Shelton is a big small town of 10,612 people in Mason County, Washington. It's about 16 miles from Olympia, WA and 45 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 78°F and winter highs 47°F, with about 4 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $346k and rent runs about $1k a month.
10,612people
$346kTypical home
$1,365/moRent
78° / 47°Summer / winter
4"Snow
169Sunny days
167Rain/snow days
Is Shelton right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Big small town of 10,612
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 1,641 people per sq mi
- 45 mi to Seattle, WA
- 16 mi to Olympia, WA
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $346k (≈$2,180/mo)
- Median rent $1,365/mo
- Median household income $70k
- Property tax about 0.9% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 78°F
- Winter highs around 47°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 55°F)
- 169 sunny days a year (62 totally clear)
- 196 cloudy days a year
- 65 of 90 winter days are gray
- 167 days a year with rain or snow
- 4" of snow a year
- 1 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- About average violent crime (423 per 100k)
- About average property crime (2,058 per 100k)
People
- Median age 33
- 34% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 18% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 27 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 20 mi to OLM airport
- 41 mi to SEA (major hub)
- 22 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 71% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1976
- 94% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 240 ft
- 6 mi to the ocean
- 135 mi to a big lake
- Trailhead in town
- 79 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 21 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 264 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 31 bars within 25 mi
- 135 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 24 museums within 25 mi
- 9 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- Farmers market in town
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 17% of Washington districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 2 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 26 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- 12 mi to the nearest dog park
- 3 congregations per 10k people
- 16 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Mason County: R+3 in 2024
- Washington: D+18 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk