Kitsap County, Washington

Kitsap County
County
Kitsap County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Washington
Washington's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 47°38′N 122°39′W / 47.64°N 122.65°W / 47.64; -122.65
Country	United States
State	Washington
Founded	January 16, 1857
Named for	Chief Kitsap
Seat	Port Orchard
Largest city	Bremerton
Area
• Total	566 sq mi (1,470 km2)
• Land	395 sq mi (1,020 km2)
• Water	171 sq mi (440 km2)  30%
Population  (2020)
• Total	275,611
• Estimate  (2023)	277,658
• Density	644/sq mi (249/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional district	6th
Website	kitsap.gov

Kitsap County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611.^[1] Its county seat is Port Orchard;^[2] its largest city is Bremerton. The county, formed out of King County and Jefferson County on January 16, 1857, is named for Chief Kitsap of the Suquamish Tribe. Originally named Slaughter County, it was soon renamed.^[3]

Kitsap County comprises the Bremerton–Silverdale–Port Orchard, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Seattle–Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area.

The United States Navy is the largest employer in the county, with installations at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport, and Naval Base Kitsap (which comprises former NSB Bangor and NS Bremerton).

Kitsap County is connected to the eastern shore of Puget Sound by Washington State Ferries routes, including the Seattle-Bremerton Ferry, Southworth to West Seattle via Vashon Island, Bainbridge Island to Downtown Seattle, and from Kingston to Edmonds, Washington. Kitsap Transit provides passenger-only fast ferry service between Bremerton and Seattle, Kingston and Seattle, and Southworth and Seattle.