Everett is a bay city. It sits on a peninsula between the Snohomish River and Port Gardner Bay, and the Port of Everett’s waterfront is a few minutes from downtown. It is the Snohomish County seat. OFM’s April 1, 2026 estimate puts it at 114,900 residents, up from 110,629 in the 2020 Census. Buyers get waterfront trails and a marina, a downtown with a regular event calendar, and bus, commuter rail and Amtrak service from one downtown station.
The waterfront
The Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place has more than four miles of continuous waterfront trail, according to the Port, along with parks and plazas, picnic shelters and a splash fountain. The Port says more than half of the waterfront property it owns is dedicated to public access. It also counts more than 75 waterfront events a year, from concerts and outdoor movies to car shows. Two waterfront hotels and a mix of restaurants sit along the walkways. The Port’s marina has 2,300 permanent slips, guest moorage and a 13-lane boat launch.
Across the channel is Jetty Island, a Port-owned island with a sandy beach. You can reach it by personal watercraft year-round. In summer, during Jetty Island Days, a passenger ferry runs from Jetty Landing next to the boat launch, and reservations are required. Check the Port’s site for each season’s dates and fares.
Downtown, bay to river
The city was laid out with East Coast money. In 1890, Tacoma lumberman Henry Hewitt Jr. persuaded Charles L. Colby to locate industry on the peninsula, HistoryLink writes, and by spring 1891 crews had cut Hewitt Avenue, a mile and a half long and 100 feet wide, from the bay side to the river side. The town was named for Colby’s son and incorporated in April 1893. Hewitt Avenue still crosses downtown.
Each June brings Sorticulture, Everett’s free garden arts festival along Colby and Hewitt avenues. Nearly 150 garden artists and nurseries came in 2026, and the 2027 dates are June 11–13. The Everett Farmers Market on Wetmore Avenue ran its 33rd season from May 10 to October 25, 2026.
Where people work
Everett was once called the “City of Smokestacks,” HistoryLink notes. Boeing built its Everett factory to make the 747, and its public factory tour starts at Boeing Future of Flight in neighboring Mukilteo. Naval Station Everett began operations on the bay in January 1994.
Getting around, now and planned
As of October 2026, Community Transit says Community Transit, Sound Transit and Everett Transit all run buses in the city. Everett Station is the hub. Sounder’s N Line runs from there to Seattle during weekday peak hours, and Amtrak trains and highway buses go to other Pacific Northwest cities. The Swift Blue Line runs from Everett Station to Shoreline North/185th Station, which is on Link light rail. The Swift Green Line runs from Seaway Transit Center, near Boeing-Everett, to Canyon Park in Bothell. Paine Field has commercial flights.
Light rail is planned, not built. Sound Transit’s Everett Link Extension would add 16 miles of track and six stations between Lynnwood and Everett Station. As of October 2026 the project is in environmental review, and Sound Transit’s target openings are 2037 for the segment to SW Everett Industrial Center and 2041 for Everett Station. Those dates and station plans may change. Drive times are traffic-dependent.
Living here
Everett pairs more than four miles of waterfront trail and a beach across the channel with a train to Seattle from Everett Station and a downtown street first cut in 1891. If you’re comparing a home near downtown with one toward Mukilteo or Mill Creek, or planning to sell in Everett, Chase Hedin, Managing Broker, can help you weigh it. Start a conversation · What’s my home worth?