Washington > Pierce County > Lakewood
Lakewood, WA
Pierce County · population ~64,980
Population
64,980
↑ 12% since 2010
Jobs
29,363
↑ 16% since 2010
Renters
52%
↓ 1pp since 2009
Median income
$74,720
↑ 76% since 2009 (nominal)
Overview
People
Work
Housing
Mobility
Life
Change
Compare
What stands out
- 1Only 57.1% of households here are family households — well below the regional median (67%).
- 2Renter-occupied housing outnumbers owner-occupied more than is typical here (48% owner-occupied vs. a regional median of 68%).
- 330% of Lakewood's local jobs sit in a single sector (Healthcare & Social Assistance) — a signature of one dominant employer rather than broad-based economic diversity.
- 430% of the people who work in Lakewood commute in from a single place (Tacoma) — the largest single commuting relationship measured here.
Key facts
Population
64,980
Jobs
29,363
Renters
52%
Median income
$74,720
Nearby places
Straight-line distance, not drive time
The story so far
Local job base moved from 25,413 in 2010 to 29,363 by 2023, with the pace of change shifting noticeably around 2020 (+0.3%/year before, +3.3%/year after). That trend is still underway as of the most recent data. Family-household share has fallen 1 percentage points since 2009 (58% to 57% by 2024) — measured across non-overlapping ACS survey windows to avoid over-reading a single year's release.
Local jobs, 2010–2023
The numbers
Each row: the current value, its trend over time, and where it falls among all 82 places we cover.
Family households
ACS 5-yr
57.1%
higher than only 7% of places
Owner-occupied
ACS 5-yr
47.5%
higher than only 11% of places
Local jobs
LODES
29,363
higher than 67% of places
Job growth since 2010
LODES
16%
higher than only 17% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
11,226
higher than 79% of places
Tesla share of local EVs
WA DOL
38%
higher than only 32% of places
Multifamily permitting
Census BPS
100th pctl
vs. this place's own 2010–2025 permitting history (not a cross-place comparison)
2BR Fair Market Rent
HUD, county-level
$2,064
FY2020 → FY2027, shared across this HUD metro area — not place-specific
Housing mix
ACS 5-yr — current housing stock, not new permits
Single-family68%
Multifamily (5+ units)32%
Where Lakewood's workforce lives
LODES OD — commuting flows
Tacoma
29.5%
Lakewood
25.1%
University Place
6.9%
Puyallup
4.3%
Federal Way
4.1%
Life
per place — WA OSPI, OpenStreetMap
Parks18
Schools24
Grocery stores7
Hospitals2
Libraries2
Nearest community site: St. Mary Episcopal Church (Churches), 0.69 km
Work
Share of local jobs by sector · LODES · workplace location, not resident industry
Healthcare & Social Assistance30% (8,874)
Hospitality12% (3,516)
Retail12% (3,465)
Education (includes academia/research)12% (3,401)
Logistics / Industrial11% (3,216)
Construction / Real Estate8% (2,334)
Other4% (1,082)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)3% (988)
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)3% (794)
Administrative & Support Services2% (656)
Finance2% (507)
Government (Public Administration)1% (352)
Information (partial technology proxy)1% (178)