WA-List » Pierce County

Pierce County

FACT SHEET

  • Name origin: Named for Franklin Pierce (1804–1869), 14th President of the United States (1853-57), although he was merely the president-elect at the time the county was created.
  • Established: 1852 Dec 22
  • County seat: Tacoma
  • County government website
  • Upcoming events (via WA-List’s events calendar)
  • Population (2010): 795,225 (Rank: 2 of 39)
  • Area (2010): 1,669.51 square miles (Rank: 23 of 39)
  • Density (2010): 476.3 people per square miles (Rank: 4 of 39)
  • Highest elevation: 14,411 feet, Mount Rainier.

 

Cities and Towns Population Area Density Elevation Zip code
(sq miles) (pop/sq miles) (feet)
1. Tacoma ⊕ city 198,397 49.72 3,990.2 150 984**
Auburn 1 city 70,180 See King County
2. Lakewood ⊕ city 58.163 17.17 3,387.5 100 984**
3. Puyallup ⊕ city 37,022 13.93 2,658.3 45 9837*
4. University Place ⊕ city 31,144 8.42 3,697.9 9846*
5. Bonney Lake ⊕ city 17,374 7.94 2,187.6 585 98391
Enumclaw 1 city 10,669 See King County
6. Sumner ⊕ city 9,451 7.51 1,258.8 60 98390
7. Edgewood city 9,387 8.41 1,115.9 400 9837*
8. Fife city 9,173 5.68 1,613.5 30 98424
9. DuPont ⊕ city 8,199 5.86 1,399.6 225 98327
10. Gig Harbor city 7,126 5.95 1,198.3 175 983**
11. Milton 1 city 7,048 2.51 2,778.3 150 98354
12. Orting city 6,746 2.73 2,472.9 286 98360
Pacific1 city 6,606 See King County
13. Fircrest ⊕ city 6,497 1.58 4,114.6 380 98466
14. Steilacoom ⊕ town 5,985 2.04 2,933.8 25 98388
15. Buckley city 4,354 3.87  1,125.1 720 98321
16. Eatonville town 2,758 1.82 1,515.4 800 98328
17. Roy city 793 0.49  1,618.4 315 98580
18. Ruston city 749 0.26  2,880.7 50 98407
19. Carbonado town 610 0.42  1,452.4 1,000 98323
20. Wilkeson ⊕ town 477 0.47 1,014.9 805 98396
21. South Prairie town 434 0.39 1,112.8 430 98385

1 Auburn, Enumclaw, Milton, and Pacific span the King-Pierce county lines. Milton is mostly in Pierce County so it is listed here.  Most of Auburn, Enumclaw, and Pacific are in King County and are thus listed there.

Unincorporated communities (CDPs)  among the 20 largest in the state (with 2010 population):

  • South Hill, 52,431
  • Parkland, 35.803
  • Spanaway, 27,227
  • Graham, 23,491
  • Frederickson, 18,719

Additional facts

  • Pierce County has the 2nd largest population in Washington. It also has the 4th largest population density.
  • Tacoma is the 3rd most populated city in the state. Lakewood is 17th.
  • Tacoma has the 3rd largest land area for a city in Washington.
  • Not only is Pierce County home to the highest point in the state — Mount Rainier ⊕ — it is one of only 4 counties that has at least one peak about 10,000 feet in elevation.

Notes

  • This page is updated periodically in an effort to keep information accurate and offer additional data.
  • ⊕ = link to map
  • All population and area data are from the 2010 United States Census. All population density figures for cities greater than 5,000 people are as well. Densities of smaller towns and cities were calculated separately using US Census data.
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