Appearances can be deceiving. Despite its mostly rural appearance, Bainbridge Island is, in fact,  The City of Bainbridge Island.

Bainbridge is governed by a mayor-council system and has it own professional police and fire departments , each of which is run by a full time chief. There is a municipal court located on the Island, but most legal matters go to court in Port Orchard.

The City of Bainbridge Island was the response of Island residents to gain control of Bainbridge Island’s development. The Island has a master plan that calls for concentrated commercial and high density residential development in several urban density zones, with the rest of the Island remaining as low density and rural residential.

Bainbridge Island is a part of Kitsap County, which covers most of the primarily rural Kitsap Peninsula.