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Cost of living, pay and housing

47.40° N · 122.60° W · GEOID 5356660

Purdy

Pierce County, Washington · part of the Seattle, WA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

WashingtonPurdy, WAPurdyPurdy

The short answer

Purdy is home to 1,344 people. Median household income is $91,204 a year and median rent is $2,584 a month, 34.0% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). That is above the usual 30% line for cost burden. The median home is valued at $358,600, about 3.9x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$2,584
89% above the median place
Median household income
$91,204
14% above the median place
Median home value
$358,600
12% above the median place
Unemployment
5.2%
5% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Purdy

  • Owning with a mortgage costs about $610 a month less than the median rent, which is rarer than in 99% of the 2,469 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 190 Washington places.
  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent rose 13.5% a year while household income rose 5.9%, so rent outran pay by more than in 95% of places its size. It is the highest of 190 Washington places.
  • The median resident is 66.4 years old, older than in 99% of places its size. It is the highest of 190 Washington places.
  • The median rent takes 34.0% of the median household's income, a bigger share than in 98% of places its size. It is the highest of 190 Washington places.
  • Households average 2.02 people, smaller than in 92% of places its size.
01

Moving to Purdy

Pierce County gains about 0.7 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in50,429
Moved out49,870
Net+559

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within Washington, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within WashingtonOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$74K
Leavers$71K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Pierce County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
6.8% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.0% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Pierce County report $73,600 a year in income on average; those leaving, $70,700.
Income you would need
$103,400 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $2,584 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,974 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $358,600.
Getting to work
21 minutes each way on average; 13.9% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Sun City Center, FL matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
0.0%
below the median place (median 2.0%)
Moved here in the past year1
6.8%
18% above the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people6
0.7
above the median place (median -0.6)
All 5 moving measures
MeasurePurdyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure6.8%18% above
Moved from another state10.0%below (median 2.0%)
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure0.7above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$73,5504% above
Income of households moving out6County figure$70,7181% above
02

What it costs to live here

Vacant homes is 0.0%, below the median place (median 7.1%).

Purdy34.0%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$103,360
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
34.0%
67% above the median place
Home price to income
3.9x
3% above the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
34%
over the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$58,300
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Purdy, $2,584 a month, and local prices for everything else (102.9 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Purdy, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Cortez, FL28.4% vs 34.0%$300Compare
Flagler Beach, FL20.7% vs 34.0%$10,300Compare
Beach Haven West, NJ17.1% vs 34.0%$35,600Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Purdy.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Purdy? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Vacant homes1
0.0%
below the median place (median 7.1%)
Median year built1
1993
1% above the median place
Homeownership1
79.2%
19% above the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasurePurdyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$2,58489% above
Rent to income134.0%67% above
Property tax rate11.0%7% above
Home price to income13.9x3% above
Prices vs US average2Metro figure111.110% above
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$2,06428% above
Property tax paid (median)1$3,4716% above
Median home value1$358,60012% above
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure2.9%9% below
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure45.5%12% below
Homeownership179.2%19% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure53.0%5% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,9745% above
Vacant homes10.0%below (median 7.1%)
Median year built119931% above
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Income per person1
$60,708
52% above the median place
Mean commute1
21 min
16% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasurePurdyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$91,20414% above
Income per person1$60,70852% above
Unemployment1County figure5.2%5% above
Average annual pay5County figure$73,97312% above
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure5.1%38% above
Jobs5County figure337,071124% above
Poverty rate1County figure8.8%18% below
Mean commute121 min16% below
Works from home1County figure13.9%12% above
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Median age is 66.4, 70% above the median place.

Median age1
66.4
70% above the median place
Homes with broadband1
98.8%
7% above the median place
Household size1
2.0
19% below the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasurePurdyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,3446646th largest
Median age166.470% above
Bachelor's or higher134.8%9% above
High school or higher195.4%3% above
Household size12.019% below
Born abroad1County figure10.9%23% above
No health insurance1County figure5.9%8% below
Homes with broadband198.8%7% above
05

Life in Purdy

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places, 6 of them National Historic Landmarks.

  • Purdy Bridge listed 1982

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k29.8 3.2×
Grocery stores per 10k7.4 3.5×
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k37.2 3.3×
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi2.1 9.9×

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars18.3 −12%
Shops22.9 −24%
Arts, recreation and fitness3.3 −20%
Doctors' offices and clinics16.9 −16%
Child care centers2.3 +0%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools10
274
above the median place (median 9)
Public school students10
137,738
above the median place (median 4,897)
Shops per 10k7
22.9
24% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasurePurdyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10County figure274above (median 9)
Public school students10County figure137,738above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher10County figure18.721% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure18.312% below
Shops per 10k7County figure22.924% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure3.320% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure16.916% below
Child care centers per 10k7County figure2.30% above
Parks per 10k80.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k829.8216% above
Grocery stores per 10k87.4251% above
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k837.2234% above
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails80.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi82.1above (median 0.2)
National Register listings9192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

July average high is 73°F, 16% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Purdy. Larger places are fetched first.

July average high11
73°F
16% below the median place
Annual precipitation11
65.4 in
49% above the median place
Average temperature11
47°F
14% below the median place
All 10 weather and risk measures
MeasurePurdyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure73°F16% below
January average low11County figure31°F24% above
Average temperature11County figure47°F14% below
Annual precipitation11County figure65.4 in49% above
Natural hazard risk12County figure98.57% above
Tornado risk12County figure41.249% below
Wildfire risk12County figure76.825% above
Heat wave risk12County figure97.38% above
Median air quality index13County figure442% above
Good air days13County figure73.2%7% above
08

Purdy in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 35% of the median income in 2030, up from 34% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$2,584/mo (2024)$3,420/mo$2,800 to $4,160/mo+4.8%
Median household income$91,204 (2024)$116,000$98,000 to $137,000+4.1%
Median home value$358,600 (2024)$519,000$376,000 to $715,000+6.3%

The median home would be worth 4.5 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.9 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Purdy

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Sun City Center, FL$2,156$73,528Compare
Pecan Plantation, TX$2,167$104,993Compare
Ocean Pines, MD$2,069$91,824Compare
Carolina Shores, NC$1,973$76,087Compare
Carolina Shores, NCOcean Pines, MDPecan Plantation, TXSun City Center, FLPurdy, WAPurdySun City CenterPecan PlantationOcean PinesCarolina ShoresPurdySun City CenterPecan PlantationOcean PinesCarolina Shores

Common questions

Is Purdy a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Owning with a mortgage costs about $610 a month less than the median rent, which is rarer than in 99% of the 2,469 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 190 Washington places. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent rose 13.5% a year while household income rose 5.9%, so rent outran pay by more than in 95% of places its size. It is the highest of 190 Washington places. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Purdy expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 34.0% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $358,600.

What salary do you need to live in Purdy?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $103,360 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Purdy?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Sun City Center, FL, Pecan Plantation, TX, Ocean Pines, MD and Carolina Shores, NC.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  13. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Purdy with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Purdy itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/purdy-washington

Citytistics. “Purdy, Washington.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/purdy-washington/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.