Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA

Metro Area Profile

299,067 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA metropolitan area.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 47% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 15% of 379 metros measured76
GrowthTop 17% of 821 metros measured72
Housing affordability723rd of 822 metros measured70
ClimateTop 42% of 822 metros measured69
Physical resilience644th of 822 metros measured32
Access416th of 822 metros measured76
Economic stabilityTop 14% of 822 metros measured80
The quick read

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ranks in the top 15% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.1% and median household income of $96,563.

Housing sits below most published city profiles for affordability: rent takes 22% of median household income and the median home is 5.0 times it — each just short of the thresholds that would count as strained, but both toward the costly end.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by earthquake, heat wave and landslide.

At a glance

Population
299,067
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$96,563
Top 5% nationally
Density
414/sq mi
722.5 sq mi of land
Median age
40.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA
Nearest major airport
SEA
43 mi · Seattle-Tacoma Intl
Median home value
$480,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.1% is lower than 54% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 0.8% over the past year, to 138,322 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 87% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 95% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,945$96,563Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$865$46,136Top 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.5%Bottom 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute27.8 minTop 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher38.5%Top 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment138,322Top 44%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.9%Top 28%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.8%Top 16%of 379June 2026
Labor force144,209Top 44%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation61.5%Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$75,470Top 5%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$61,960Top 3%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment130,300Top 43%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 25%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate4.1%Bottom 46%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.02.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.1% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,910$36,110
General and Operations Managers3,670$122,210
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,370$44,060
Retail Salespersons3,180$37,350
Management Analysts2,770$88,790
Cashiers2,470$37,340

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,736 takes 22% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.0 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,736
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$480,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income4.97Top 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate67.7%Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±92125,163Top 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$30$1,736Top 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,565$480,300Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.6%Top 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate5.0%Bottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
72/ 100
Top 17% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 302,912 in 2024.

At 6.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,788
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.0
Top 20% nationally
Year over year
+12%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
56.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024303k296k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 78°F and January a low of 33°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.6 inches, including 3.9 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station OLYMPIA AP, 4.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND8.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation50.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall3.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low33°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high78°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing25°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

32 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, heat wave and landslide.

LandslideModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Volcanic activityModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, ice storm, coastal flooding, wildfire, winter weather, lightning, strong wind, tornado, tsunami, drought, hail, avalanche, cold wave.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 43 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA43 mi11,901 ft
Boeing Fld/King County IntlBFI48 mi10,007 ft
Portland IntlPDX94 mi11,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.