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An editorial illustration of Bonney Lake, Washington
Pierce County · Washington

Bonney Lake, WA

Bonney Lake reports no employer large enough to qualify for the state commute program.

Population
23,510
0% more from 2021 to 2026
Family households
80.0%
±5 points at 90% confidence
Local jobs
5,574
20% more from 2018 to 2023
Median income
$136,845
±$10,470 at 90% confidence
City overview

The forces shaping Bonney Lake now.

01
The employers behind the economy

Bonney Lake reports no employer large enough to qualify for the state commute program.

Bonney Lake contains 5,574 workplace jobs. Retail accounts for 37% of them. Hospitality is next at 20%.

The city says no local worksite has 100 or more full-time employees beginning the workday in the morning commute window. That does not mean there are no jobs; it means employment is dispersed across smaller workplaces, making regional commute access more consequential than any single local campus.

Workplace jobs: 2023
02
The trajectory

Job growth outpaced population growth by 20 points in Bonney Lake.

Bonney Lake’s population rose 0% from 2021–2026; its workplace job count rose 20% from 2018–2023. The source periods differ because the two series are released on different schedules.

Bonney Lake’s faster-growing workplace base gives local businesses more daytime customers. It also makes inbound travel—including the resident connection to Seattle and nearby housing part of the city’s labor strategy.

Population: 2021–2026 · jobs: 2018–2023
03
The housing choices

Only about one in 6 Bonney Lake homes is something other than a detached house.

82% of homes are detached houses; attached homes and two-to-four-unit buildings together make up 6%.

With 82% of Bonney Lake homes detached, aging in place or entering the city becomes harder when a full house is the wrong size or price.

ACS 2024 five-year estimates
04
The commute that shapes the city

Seattle matters more to Bonney Lake’s workday than its own city line does.

16% of observed resident job destinations are in Seattle, followed by Tacoma at 10%.

Current GTFS schedules 19 weekday stop departures at 1 stops inside Bonney Lake; that supply still needs to be tested against the route to Seattle, the largest outside job destination. Schedule supply is not ridership.

Workplace flows: 2023 · commute modes: ACS 2024
05
The family infrastructure

Families are 80% of households, making Bonney Lake’s 6 public-school sites consequential infrastructure.

80% of households are estimated to be families. Bonney Lake contains 6 public-school locations, but attendance boundaries may also send resident students across the city line.

Bonney Lake’s 6 public-school locations cannot measure quality or available seats. They do make enrollment change, grade-level capacity, safe routes, and the location of new homes part of the same local question.

Households: ACS 2024 · public-school locations: OSPI 2025–26
People

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

The typical household estimate is 2.9 people. 80% are estimated to be family households, while 16% are estimated to be people living alone.

Average household size
2.9

±0.1 people at 90% confidence

Median age
36.9

±1.7 years at 90% confidence

Living alone
16%

±3 points at 90% confidence

Bachelor’s degree+
30%

Among residents age 25 and older. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

Estimated share of all Bonney Lake residents. Each percentage uses the city’s total population as its denominator.

White, non-Hispanic76% ±4 pts
Hispanic / Latino, any race9.0% ±3 pts
Two or more races, non-Hispanic9.0% ±2 pts
Black, non-Hispanic2.2% ±1 pts
Filipino1.2% ±0.8 pts
Two or more Asian groups1.0% ±1 pts
Korean0.6% ±0.6 pts
Japanese0.6% ±0.6 pts
Another race, non-Hispanic0.4% ±0.4 pts
Chinese, except Taiwanese0.4% ±0.3 pts
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic0.3% ±0.4 pts
American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.2% ±0.2 pts
Asian Indian0.2% ±0.2 pts
Vietnamese<0.1% ±0.2 pts

0% published estimate: Hmong, Mongolian, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Other East Asian, Burmese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Thai, Other Southeast Asian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Pakistani, Sikh, Sri Lankan, Other South Asian, Afghan, Kazakh, Uzbek, Other Central Asian, Other Asian, specified, Other Asian, not specified. Zero is not proof that no residents identify with that group.

ACS 2020–2024 · 5-year estimates
Dataset
U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates · tables B03002 and B02015
Period
2020–2024
Geography
Bonney Lake Census place
Definition
Race and Hispanic/Latino origin are self-reported Census concepts. Hispanic/Latino may be of any race; the broad display uses non-Hispanic race categories plus Hispanic/Latino of any race.
Method
Every percentage is shown with its 90% margin of error. Detailed Asian estimates use the Asian-alone universe and are divided by the city population for display.
Open the official source ↗
Work

What powers the local economy—and how dependent is it?

Retail accounts for 37% of jobs located in Bonney Lake. The city’s job base changed +115% between 2010 and 2023.

Jobs by sector

Workplace jobs inside the city—not the industries of residents who commute elsewhere.

Retail37%
Hospitality20%
Healthcare & Social Assistance9%
Construction / Real Estate7%
Government (Public Administration)7%

Verified employer anchors

City finding using Washington’s commute-trip-reduction definition of a major employer · Current or recent profile · 2024 comprehensive-plan update. The stated employer vintage is within the current two-year publication window.

The city says no local worksite has 100 or more full-time employees beginning the workday in the morning commute window. That does not mean there are no jobs; it means employment is dispersed across smaller workplaces, making regional commute access more consequential than any single local campus.

No local worksite meets the state’s commute-trip-reduction definition of a major employer.

City of Bonney Lake Community Mobility Element ↗. Headcounts change faster than Census employment totals.

Housing

What kinds of homes exist—and where is pressure showing?

79% of occupied homes are estimated to be owner-occupied and 21% rented. The firmer current signal is construction intent: 30 homes were authorized in 2025, versus a recent pace of about 28 per year.

Home value profile

What owner-occupied homes are worth

Owner estimates from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey—not listings, recorded sales, or appraisals. The final Census band is open-ended: $2 million and above.

Median estimate$608k±18773.0 at 90% confidence
Middle half of homes$478k–$739kLower to upper quartile of owner estimates
Luxury-home concentration0%≈13 homes · estimated at $2M+
Under $500k29%
$500–749k48%
$750–999k11%
$1–1.49M10%
$1.5–1.99M1%
$2M+0%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year tables B25075–B25078. Values cover owner-occupied homes only and do not measure current asking prices or recent purchase prices.

The housing mix we can estimate confidently

This describes the existing stock. It does not imply that one building type is preferable.

Detached houses82%
Attached houses4%
2–4 unit buildings2%
5+ unit buildings8%
Other4%
Owner-occupied
79%

±6 points at 90% confidence

Owner cost-burdened
17%

Spending 30% or more on selected owner costs. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Homes authorized, 2025
30

Permit authorizations—not construction starts or completed homes.

Residential buildings, 2025
29

One building can contain one home or many housing units.

Permit activity: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, final annual estimate for 2025. Housing units authorized are not starts or completions.

Mobility

Where do residents need to go—and who has a real alternative to driving?

Current transit schedules include 1 stops and 19 weekday stop departures inside Bonney Lake. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures
19

Scheduled stop departures in the current covered-feed snapshot—not riders.

Transit stops
1

Matched inside city limits; nearby cross-border stops are separate.

Top outside workplace
Seattle

16% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Usually drive alone
69%

Workers age 16+; ACS 2020–2024 estimate. ±7 points at 90% confidence

Where resident workers go

Top observed workplace destinations.

Seattle16%
Peak drive: 65–120 min
Tacoma10%
Peak drive: 25–60 min
Kent9%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Auburn9%
Peak drive: 20–40 min
Sumner8%

The strongest outside connection is Seattle. Employer or corridor changes there can alter everyday life in Bonney Lake, even when nothing changes inside the city boundary.

How residents usually get to work

Citywide ACS 2020–2024 estimates describe workers’ usual commute—not every trip made today.

Drive alone
69%

Share of workers usually driving alone. ±7 points at 90% confidence

Work from home
16%

Share of workers usually working from home. ±3 points at 90% confidence

Use public transit
0.9%

Usual commute mode—not all transit trips. ±0.6 points at 90% confidence

Commute 45+ minutes
27%

Share of workers with a one-way commute of at least 45 minutes. ±5 points at 90% confidence

For someone choosing a home in Bonney Lake, the practical test is the trip to Seattle, the leading outside workplace destination in the published flows. These citywide shares cannot show whether that trip works from a particular address.

Typical drive times

About how long does it take to get where people go?

Work destinations are selected from observed resident job flows. These are broad, reviewed planning ranges from representative parts of Bonney Lake—not live-traffic or door-to-door predictions.

Starting area
Downtown Seattle employment core

Seattle is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bonney Lake, representing 13% of matched resident jobs from this city.

65–120 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Tacoma employment area

Tacoma is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bonney Lake, representing 8% of matched resident jobs from this city.

25–50 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Kent employment area

Kent is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bonney Lake, representing 7% of matched resident jobs from this city.

35–70 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Auburn employment area

Auburn is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bonney Lake, representing 7% of matched resident jobs from this city.

20–40 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Method, review date, and sources

Planning estimate; actual time varies by departure time, route, traffic, weather, incidents, and closures.

Estimates are derived from reviewed origin/destination coordinates using a documented distance-to-time heuristic (circuity factor and assumed effective speed by corridor type and period), then deliberately widened and rounded to a broad band. No live routing or traffic API was called.

Estimates reviewed 2026-09-10. Starting point: selected representative area.

City boundary and regional context● nearby   ● work destinations
Daily life

Community institutions and local activity

Public schools, libraries, pharmacies, and listed everyday places show part of the local inventory inside Bonney Lake; taxable sales show the scale and direction of local commercial activity. Residents also use places across city lines, so a boundary count is not the same as access.

Local field guide

Places for everyday needs in Bonney Lake

Care, errands, food, fitness, and personal services gathered into one browsable directory.

Hospitals0 in cityFind nearby
Explore all hospitals near Bonney LakeOpen
Clinics and urgent care7 listedView all
Brian J. Schoos, MdMapHeather Cooper, MdMapJoan C Tsang, MdMapMultiCare Bonney Lake EmergencyMapSound Same-Day ClinicMapWoodcreek PediatricsMapYuehua Jeff Gao, MdMapExplore all clinics and urgent care in MapsOpen
Pharmacies10 listedView 8 places
Bonney Lake Pharmacy19102 SR 410 E STE B · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98391-8449MapCostco Pharmacy #12789801 204TH AVE E · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98391-6559MapCvs Pharmacy #170739400 192ND AVE E · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98391-8564MapFred Meyer Pharmacy20904 HWY 410 · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98390MapMulticare Bonney Lake Pharmacy10004 204TH AVE E · SUITE 1200 · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98391-6539MapRite Aid Pharmacy 0526721302 STATE ROUTE 410 EAST · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98391-8468MapRxpress Pharmacy21509 STATE ROUTE 410 E · 4 · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98391-4190MapSafeway Pharmacy #054421301 STATE ROUTE 410 E · BONNEY LAKE, WA 98391-8468MapExplore all pharmacies in MapsOpen
Coffee14 listedView 8 places
Avanti EspressoMapBen's EspressoMapBigfoot JavaMapBonney Lake CoffeeMapCafé EliteMapCafe VieMapEspresso StopMapJava2GoMapExplore all coffee in MapsOpen
Fitness11 listedView 8 places
9Round FitnessMapBadAsh AthleticsMapElite Total FitnessMapElite Training And FitnessMapGet Hot YogaMapHOTWORX - Bonney Lake, WAMapPlanet FitnessMapPrime FitnessMapExplore all fitness in MapsOpen
Groceries5 listedView all
Bonney Lake GroceryMapGrocery OutletMapHi-Way Grocery and DeliMapJubilee Naturals, LLCMapSafewayMapExplore all groceries in MapsOpen
Convenience3 listedView all
ampmMapExtraMileMapRite AidMapExplore all convenience in MapsOpen
Restaurants55 listedView 8 places
Alfy's PizzaMapApplebee'sMapBanda BurritoMapBurcheMapThe Burger DenMapBurger KingMapButtered Biscuit TooMapChipotle Mexican GrillMapExplore all restaurants in MapsOpen
Salons and barbers30 listedView 8 places
Arch Envy Brow StudioMapBirch beauty barMapBrittany LawberMapClassy CutsMapClassy Cuts Hair SalonMapDaniel Ross Salon & Skin CareMapDown Home Roots SalonMapElevate Salon and SpaMapExplore all salons and barbers in MapsOpen

Counts reflect current directory records associated with the city, not a complete business census or a measure of access. Large categories show a sample.

Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), snapshot 2026-08-13; Overture Maps Foundation, release 2026-08-19.0; U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (NPPES NPI Registry), snapshot 2026-09-09.

Public library footprint

Bonney Lake Library

Floor area shows the scale of the physical branches. Physical circulation is 2024 checkouts—not visits, unique users, or digital borrowing—and people routinely use libraries across city lines.

Branch floor area
6,480 sq ft

All matched branches must report floor area before a city total is shown.

Physical checkouts
178,710

Annual branch activity; not limited to city residents. All matched branches must report before a city total is shown.

Bonney Lake LibraryPierce County Library System
6,480 sq ft178,710 physical checkouts55 scheduled hours/week

Source: Washington State Library public-library statistics, 2024. System-wide visits, digital circulation, and program attendance cannot be assigned honestly to one branch, so they are not folded into these city totals.

Education footprint

The schools inside Bonney Lake.

Institution counts and enrollment will remain separate. A school can serve students from outside the city, and residents may attend a school across the boundary or elsewhere in their district.

Public elementary3
  • Bonney Lake Elementary SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
  • Emerald Hills Elementary SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
  • Victor Falls Elementary SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
Public middle2
  • Lakeridge Middle SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
  • Mountain View Middle School (Bonney Lake)Sumner-Bonney Lake School District
Public high1
  • Bonney Lake High SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
Other public programs0

None in the current OSPI city-boundary match.

Public-school names and levels come from OSPI. Private schools, complete IPEDS college coverage, enrollment by level, and graduate destinations are active additions; absence here should not yet be read as “none.”

Retail role

Bonney Lake has an unusually large retail economy for its population.

Retail sales per resident rank among the 85% highest of the cities tracked by Metroscope. That is consistent with a city serving shoppers from beyond its borders, although sales records do not reveal where customers live.

Retail sales per resident, 2024
$22,233

Higher than 85% of 82 tracked cities.

Change from 2023
−1%

Nominal retail-sales change; inflation can account for some or all of an increase.

See the underlying sales totals
Retail trade, 2024
$522.7M

Sales reported by businesses classified in retail trade.

All taxable sales
$906.7M

Includes taxable activity outside retail trade.

Retail share
58%

Retailing industries’ share of all taxable sales.

Tracked-city median
$10,670

Median retail sales per resident across cities with comparable data.

Civic life

In Bonney Lake, voters directly choose who runs City Hall.

Bonney Lake voters elect the mayor separately from the council. The mayor leads city administration, while the council adopts laws, policy, and the budget—so executive accountability sits directly with an elected office.

Government form
Mayor–Council

The mayor is separately elected to lead administration.

Mayor listed
Terry Carter

The separately elected chief executive.

Council representatives listed
7

Current directory entries; vacancies or updates can make this differ from authorized seats.

Incorporated
1949

Code city under Washington law.

Where decisions happen

When does the Bonney Lake council meet?

Regular meeting schedule listed in the current municipal directory:

2nd & 4th Tue - 6:00pm1st & 3rd Tue - 6:00pm Workshops

Schedules change and special meetings are separate. Check the city site for the live agenda, staff reports, public-comment rules, and video.

Official city site ↗Current officials directory ↗
Election record

Where to check Bonney Lake election results.

Regular municipal offices generally return in 2027. Special measures can appear earlier, and charter provisions can differ.

The next data step is city-specific turnout, contested-seat share, ballot measures, and campaign money. Until those are normalized, Metroscope links the official record instead of guessing from partisan elections.

Structure, meetings, and current officials: Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC), checked 2026-09-08. Election administration and certified results: the county election offices listed above. Confirm live agendas and officeholders at the source.

Change

What is changing the city’s trajectory?

Population and jobs do not always move together. Reading both helps distinguish a growing employment center from a city whose households are increasingly tied to opportunities elsewhere.

Residents
23,510

0% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs
5,574

20% more from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024
−1%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places
Local jobs
LODES
5,574
1,506656,821
Higher than only 15% of places
Long-run job change
LODES
+115%
−3%+166%
Higher than 97% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
19
19256,385
Higher than only 1% of places
Multifamily permitting
Census BPS
Faster than usual
Recent annual pace compared with this city's own 2010–2025 record
2BR Fair Market Rent
HUD, county-level
$2,064
FY2027 HUD program benchmark; chart shows FY2020–FY2027 history. Shared across this HUD metro area—not a place-specific market rent.
Work — sector breakdown
Share of local jobs by sector · LODES · workplace location, not resident industry
Retail37% (2,059)
Hospitality20% (1,133)
Healthcare & Social Assistance9% (512)
Construction / Real Estate7% (398)
Government (Public Administration)7% (392)
Other5% (281)
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)3% (183)
Administrative & Support Services2% (127)
Finance2% (117)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)2% (117)
Logistics / Industrial2% (113)
Education (includes academia/research)2% (86)
Information (partial technology proxy)1% (56)
Where Bonney Lake's workforce lives (inbound)
LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs
Bonney Lake
15.0%
Tacoma
11.5%
Auburn
7.5%
Federal Way
6.2%
Puyallup
6.1%