Moving to
Prairie Ridge.

All Prairie Ridge data Compare Prairie Ridge

12,074people live here $114,356median household income▲ 42% above US $1,965median rent per month▲ 39% above US $462,000median home value▲ 39% above US

Prairie Ridge is an unincorporated community in Pierce County, WA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Prairie Ridge

Prairie Ridge is an unincorporated community in Washington with household incomes running above the national average and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Prairie Ridge deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, long average commutes, and college degree attainment below the national average.

The good

Higher-than-average incomes
Average class sizes

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Long commutes
Low college degree attainment
High rent burden for renters
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options

How Prairie Ridge compares

Median household income

Prairie Ridge$114,356

Washington avg$98,141

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Prairie Ridge$1,965

Washington avg$1,760

US$1,413

Median home value

Prairie Ridge$462,000

Washington avg$564,600

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Prairie Ridge

Based on Prairie Ridge's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,930

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $78,600 a year
52% of Prairie Ridge renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$92,400

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $46,200
Homes cost 4.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 39% above US

$1,965/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $1,965 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices run above average, with a median around $462,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $462,000 · 52% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.0% county unemployment

Unemployment in Pierce County is 5.0%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Pierce County (county-wide)

Safety

226 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Prairie Ridge doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1070/100k · Policed by Pierce County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 40% above US

36 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 36.4 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 13% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

72%

Carpool

13%

Work from home

13%

Other

1.8%

Public transit

1.2%

Climate

Summers are comfortable, with highs around 74°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 33°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 60% below US

14% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

1 public school inside the boundary

There is 1 public school inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Mount Rainier National Park (28 miles away). There are 5 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Prairie Ridge's strongest point is household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,965/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget, people who dread long commutes, and anyone who doesn't drive.

See all the data for Prairie Ridge →·All Washington cities →