Bainbridge Island is a city that covers an entire island in Puget Sound, across the water from Seattle in Kitsap County, Washington. It is both a municipality and a roughly 28-square-mile island, connected to the mainland by bridge and to downtown Seattle by a Washington State Ferries crossing of about 35 minutes from Eagle Harbor. The geography defines the character of the place: forested uplands, shoreline coves, and a compact, walkable commercial core at Winslow. The community's modern shape took hold in the early 1990s. For decades the harbor town of Winslow, incorporated in 1947, was the island's only incorporated city. In 1990 Winslow voted to annex the entire island, and the following year residents voted to rename the expanded city Bainbridge Island, unifying what had been a patchwork of smaller communities under a single government. Bainbridge Island is best known as a ferry-linked residential community with strong ties to Seattle. Nearly half of working islanders commute to Seattle-side jobs, a pattern enabled by frequent ferry sailings and connecting Kitsap Transit bus service. The island also supports a substantial local economy and civic life of its own, including a highly regarded school district, IslandWood's 255-acre environmental learning center, and employers such as the fly-fishing rod maker Sage. With a population of roughly 24,800, Bainbridge Island is the second-largest city in Kitsap County. Its housing ranges from waterfront and view properties to forested inland homes, and its quality of life centers on shoreline access, parks, trails, and a strong arts and small-business scene in Winslow. It tends to appeal to households seeking a small-town, outdoors-oriented island setting within an easy ferry commute of a major city.