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An editorial illustration of Sumner, Washington
Pierce County · Washington

Sumner, WA

Sumner’s industrial districts support more workers than the city has residents.

Population
11,080
4% more from 2021 to 2026
Family households
58.7%
±6 points at 90% confidence
Local jobs
18,651
20% fewer from 2018 to 2023
Median income
$98,191
±$6,685 at 90% confidence
City overview

The forces shaping Sumner now.

01
The employers behind the economy

Sumner’s industrial districts support more workers than the city has residents.

Sumner contains 18,651 workplace jobs. Logistics / Industrial accounts for 34% of them. Construction / Real Estate is next at 15%.

The city reports about 17,000 workers alongside roughly 11,000 residents. Its anchor list joins national distribution operations with outdoor brands, furniture and cabinet makers, food producers, auto retail, and locally rooted coffee and salsa companies—a more varied industrial economy than the warehouse label suggests.

Workplace jobs: 2023
02
The city’s regional role

Sumner holds 1.68 workplace jobs for every resident.

There are 1.68 workplace jobs for every resident—18,651 jobs alongside a population of 11,080.

Sumner must work for a large incoming workforce as well as its 11,080 residents. Shift times, food businesses, and nearby housing respond to that daily flow.

Jobs: 2023 · population: 2026
03
The trajectory

Sumner’s population is rising, but its local job base is moving the other way.

Sumner’s population rose 4% from 2021–2026; its workplace job count fell 20% from 2018–2023. The source periods differ because the two series are released on different schedules.

Seattle already receives 14% of observed resident job destinations. If the split continues, that outside connection—and the trip it requires—will carry more of the household economy.

Population: 2021–2026 · jobs: 2018–2023
04
The commute that shapes the city

Sumner sends its largest stream of resident workers to Seattle.

14% of observed resident job destinations are in Seattle, followed by Tacoma at 12%. Only 12% are inside Sumner.

Current GTFS schedules 108 weekday stop departures at 5 stops inside Sumner; 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
People

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

The typical household estimate is 2.3 people. 59% are estimated to be family households, while 31% are estimated to be people living alone.

Average household size
2.3

±0.1 people at 90% confidence

Median age
37.6

±2.6 years at 90% confidence

Living alone
31%

±6 points at 90% confidence

Bachelor’s degree+
26%

Among residents age 25 and older. ±5 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

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

White, non-Hispanic71% ±5 pts
Hispanic / Latino, any race21% ±6 pts
Two or more races, non-Hispanic6.0% ±2 pts
Black, non-Hispanic0.4% ±0.5 pts
American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.4% ±0.5 pts
Vietnamese0.2% ±0.4 pts
Filipino0.2% ±0.3 pts
Korean0.1% ±0.2 pts
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Another race, non-Hispanic0.0% ±0.2 pts

0% published estimate: Chinese, except Taiwanese, Hmong, Japanese, Mongolian, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Other East Asian, Burmese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Thai, Other Southeast Asian, Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Pakistani, Sikh, Sri Lankan, Other South Asian, Afghan, Kazakh, Uzbek, Other Central Asian, Other Asian, specified, Other Asian, not specified, Two or more Asian groups. 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
Sumner 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?

Logistics / Industrial accounts for 34% of jobs located in Sumner. The city’s job base changed +101% between 2010 and 2023.

Jobs by sector

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

Logistics / Industrial34%
Construction / Real Estate15%
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)14%
Retail10%
Education (includes academia/research)7%

Verified employer anchors

Major employers identified by the City of Sumner; local headcounts were not published · Current or recent profile · 2025–2026 city budget. The stated employer vintage is within the current two-year publication window.

The city reports about 17,000 workers alongside roughly 11,000 residents. Its anchor list joins national distribution operations with outdoor brands, furniture and cabinet makers, food producers, auto retail, and locally rooted coffee and salsa companies—a more varied industrial economy than the warehouse label suggests.

Amazon.comHeadcount not published
REIHeadcount not published
Helly HansenHeadcount not published
CostcoHeadcount not published
Sunset AutoHeadcount not published
The Old Cannery Furniture WarehouseHeadcount not published
Simmons MattressHeadcount not published
Keurig Dr PepperHeadcount not published
Bellmont CabinetsHeadcount not published
EVOHeadcount not published
Dillanos Coffee RoastersHeadcount not published
Penny’s SalsaHeadcount not published

City of Sumner adopted biennial budget ↗. Headcounts change faster than Census employment totals.

Housing

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

54% of occupied homes are estimated to be owner-occupied and 46% rented. The firmer current signal is construction intent: 122 homes were authorized in 2025, versus a recent pace of about 95 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$520k±40435.0 at 90% confidence
Middle half of homes$412k–$667kLower to upper quartile of owner estimates
Luxury-home concentration0%≈0 homes · estimated at $2M+
Under $500k47%
$500–749k43%
$750–999k10%
$1–1.49M0%
$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 houses57%
Attached houses9%
2–4 unit buildings12%
5+ unit buildings17%
Other5%
Owner-occupied
54%

±7 points at 90% confidence

Homes authorized, 2025
122

Permit authorizations—not construction starts or completed homes.

Residential buildings, 2025
27

One building can contain one home or many housing units.

2023–2025 annual pace
95 homes

Average housing units authorized per year across the latest three final annual estimates.

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 5 stops and 108 weekday stop departures inside Sumner. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures
108

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

Transit stops
5

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

Top outside workplace
Seattle

14% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Work inside the city
12%

Share of observed resident job destinations located in the same city in 2023 LODES.

Where resident workers go

Top observed workplace destinations. 12% work inside Sumner.

Seattle14%
Peak drive: 60–110 min
Tacoma12%
Peak drive: 20–40 min
Auburn9%
Peak drive: 20–40 min
Kent8%

The strongest outside connection is Seattle. Employer or corridor changes there can alter everyday life in Sumner, 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.

Work from home
13%

Share of workers usually working from home. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Use public transit
2.7%

Usual commute mode—not all transit trips. ±1 points at 90% confidence

Commute 45+ minutes
24%

Share of workers with a one-way commute of at least 45 minutes. ±6 points at 90% confidence

For someone choosing a home in Sumner, 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 Sumner—not live-traffic or door-to-door predictions.

Starting area
Downtown Seattle employment core

Seattle is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Sumner, representing 11% of matched resident jobs from this city.

60–110 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.

Sumner employment area

Sumner is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Sumner, representing 10% of matched resident jobs from this city.

5–20 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Local arterial-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.40x circuity factor and an assumed 28 km/h peak-effective / 42 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 Sumner, representing 10% 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.

Auburn employment area

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

20–50 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Local arterial-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.40x circuity factor and an assumed 28 km/h peak-effective / 42 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 Sumner; 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 Sumner

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

Hospitals0 in cityFind nearby
Explore all hospitals near SumnerOpen
Clinics and urgent care3 listedView all
Immunize RxMapMultiCareMapRainier Family & Sports MedicineMapExplore all clinics and urgent care in MapsOpen
Pharmacies2 listedView all
Fred Meyer Pharmacy1201 VALLEY AVE E · SUMNER, WA 98390-3225MapNicholsons Sumner Pharmacy Inc910 ALDER AVE · SUMNER, WA 98390-1406MapExplore all pharmacies in MapsOpen
Coffee23 listedView 8 places
Associated EspressoMapBigFoot JavaMapCafe BellisMapCastle Perk EspressoMapChase Coffee Company-Resale & WholesaleMapCopper Coins CoffeeMapDillanos Coffee RoastersMapDunkin'MapExplore all coffee in MapsOpen
Fitness7 listedView all
Change AthleticsMapDiamond Sports Training FacilityMapRainier CrossFitMapReact Elite CheerMapSumner CrossFitMapThrush Sports Performance CenterMapTrue AthleticsMapExplore all fitness in MapsOpen
Groceries8 listedView all
Duck Delivery Produce of WashingtonMapFred MeyerMapMercadito del valleMapNature's WorldMapPaks Enterprises, IncMapTwin Rivers SeafoodsMapWinCo FoodsMapYolis Quality GoodsMapExplore all groceries in MapsOpen
Convenience3 listedView all
7-ElevenMapAMPMMapJacksons Food StoresMapExplore all convenience in MapsOpen
Restaurants45 listedView 8 places
Aversano's Italian RestaurantMapB & B Restaurant Group, LlcMapBarnes Ventures LlcMapBerryland CafeMapBrank's BBQ & CateringMapThe Buttered BiscuitMapBwana LlcMapCaptain Jack's Bar & GrillMapExplore all restaurants in MapsOpen
Salons and barbers38 listedView 8 places
Ashlee Diana StylistMapBangs SalonMapBeauty Magick inkMapBeauty Mark by NatalieMapBloom Lashes & SkincareMapBy PhilosophiaMapDenice's Hair StudioMapDulce Lash and Skin LoungeMapExplore 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

Sumner 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
10,600 sq ft

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

Physical checkouts
135,258

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

Sumner LibraryPierce County Library System
10,600 sq ft135,258 physical checkouts54 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 Sumner.

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 elementary2
  • Daffodil Valley Elementary SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
  • Maple Lawn Elementary SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
Public middle1
  • Sumner Middle SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
Public high1
  • Sumner High SchoolSumner-Bonney Lake School District
Other public programs1
  • Sumner Special ServicesSumner-Bonney Lake School District

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

Sumner has an unusually large retail economy for its population.

Retail sales per resident rank among the 96% 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
$41,348

Higher than 96% of 82 tracked cities.

Change from 2023
−0.5%

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

See the underlying sales totals
Retail trade, 2024
$458.1M

Sales reported by businesses classified in retail trade.

All taxable sales
$912.2M

Includes taxable activity outside retail trade.

Retail share
50%

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 Sumner, voters directly choose who runs City Hall.

Sumner 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
Carla Bowman

The separately elected chief executive.

Council representatives listed
5

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

Incorporated
1891

Code city under Washington law.

Where decisions happen

When does the Sumner council meet?

Regular meeting schedule listed in the current municipal directory:

1st & 3rd Mon - 6:00pm 2nd & 4th Mon - 6:00pm Study Sessions

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 Sumner 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
11,080

4% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs
18,651

20% fewer from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024
−0.5%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places
Local jobs
LODES
18,651
1,506656,821
Higher than 63% of places
Long-run job change
LODES
+101%
−3%+166%
Higher than 93% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
108
19256,385
Higher than only 5% 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
Logistics / Industrial34% (6,434)
Construction / Real Estate15% (2,739)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)14% (2,587)
Retail10% (1,802)
Education (includes academia/research)7% (1,369)
Administrative & Support Services6% (1,175)
Hospitality4% (712)
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)3% (596)
Other2% (422)
Healthcare & Social Assistance2% (367)
Finance1% (177)
Government (Public Administration)1% (142)
Information (partial technology proxy)1% (129)
Where Sumner's workforce lives (inbound)
LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs
Tacoma
15.3%
Puyallup
8.6%
Auburn
7.9%
Bonney Lake
7.2%
Kent
7.0%