After a full decade of preparations and a system that offered online, offline, phone line and in-person data collection, the preliminary data from the 2020 U.S. Census is in.

The data shows growth on Bainbridge Island is actually one of the slowest areas in Kitsap County. Meanwhile, the fastest-growing areas in Kitsap were the smallest places — Poulsbo, Kingston and Port Orchard.

The BI population is now 24,825, living in 10,115 households. That number is up by 1,800 residents (or 7.8%) over the past 10 years. About 25% of the island population is 65 years old or more.

Countywide, BI Bainbridge has the lowest rate of increase since 2010, far below growth leader Port Orchard, which grew five times as much with 4,443 residents, or almost 40%. Poulsbo grew the second-most with 30% with 2,775 residents. Kingston grew by 1,172 residents, or 10.3%. Silverdale grew by 8% and Bremerton 15.3%.

The county grew by almost 10%, with 275,611 people, about 20,000 being new residents. This decade has been the slowest rate of county-wide growth in the past six decades.

Statewide, the population grew by almost $15%, or a little more than 7.7 million people.

BI is divided into five Census tracts. Winslow grew the most with up to 18% more people. The Central area was next with up to 15% growth. The Southwest and Southeast showed about the same growth, up about 9%. The Northwest showed up to 6% growth, while the Northeast was even or may have declined a little.

Despite the growth in Winslow, housing units only grew 6.4%, resulting in high occupancy rates and high housing prices.

Other BI facts

• The 18+ population of Bainbridge has risen 12.8%, but the under-18 group has increased by a far smaller number.

• 98.4% of Bainbridge adults have a high school diploma, 40% have a bachelor degree and 32% a post-graduate degree.

• 94.6% of islanders list English as their main language, with the next-largest groups speaking German (1.5%) and Spanish (1.2%)

• While racial diversity has increased, especially among Latino and mixed-race communities, the island is still 85% white.

• The island is home to 1,780 U.S. current or retired military personnel, including 80 World War II vets.

More Kitsap facts

• The fastest growing ethnic group in Kitsap is the Hispanic population, up 54% since 2010 (but lower than the 63% growth between 2000-10).

• The second-fastest growing ethnic group in Kitsap is Pacific Islanders (up 28%)

• Those identifying as being members of two or more races jumped by 119%.