Official Federal Data
Pierce County, Washington
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Population 930,319
9 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$99,564 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
5% up from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$64.9B up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
30.9% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$99,564 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$47,648 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$124,488 up from 2019 vs 2019
Poverty Rate
8.8% down from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Pierce County$99,564
Washington$98,141
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 23%
18-34 · 24%
35-54 · 26.4%
55-64 · 11.8%
65+ · 14.8%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.5%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +2.9 pts vs national
30.9%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
down from national 4.8 pts vs national
11.3%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
down from national 2.8 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
930,319
Population
465,747
Labor Force
Employed
441,749
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
5% up from 2024 +0.4 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 5 min above national avg
31.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
13.9%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$64.9B up from 2023 +2.7% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+2.7% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+5.7% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 58,750 workers (23.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $77,549. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 60,484 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $64.9B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $102,036 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $32,289, a 3.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
9 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Transportation & Warehousing Cluster at 39.3% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
44,498
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
2.61x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail
Warehousing and Storage
2.61x 10,323
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing
2.50x 567
Wood Product Manufacturing
2.04x 1,705
Couriers and Messengers
1.85x 4,298
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
1.82x 1,564
Waste Management and Remediation Services
1.81x 1,951
Support Activities for Transportation
1.70x 2,883
Social Assistance
1.67x 17,315
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
1.58x 3,892
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.05x
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
95 employed
0.16x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
874 employed
0.17x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
174 employed
0.29x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
544 employed
0.34x
Machinery Manufacturing
759 employed
0.37x
Food Manufacturing
1,356 employed
0.37x
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
847 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in Washington costs 6.88¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
Washington has 16 rail-truck intermodal terminals, the nearest 17 miles from the county.
Land area 1668 sq mi, larger than 89% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Warehousing and Storage concentrates at 2.61x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 9 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 39.3% of the employment across them, the largest being freight and distribution. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
- Attraction whitespace: 7 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$526,600 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,806 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
64.7% up from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
5% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
1.8% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
5.3x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$1,428/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,605/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,971/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,733/mo
4 Bedroom
$3,102/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,703/mo, from a renter median of $68,118) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 50.8% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 23.3% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.3x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $68,118 can pay without cost burden (~$1,703/mo), and 50.8% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
578,745 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min above national avg
31.3 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
13.9%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
77.8%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (739,219)
up from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
30.9% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
92.5% up from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Pierce County
Largest 6 of 11 by credentials awarded, in Pierce County
Credentials awarded in Pierce County
8,691/yr
1,952/yr
1,859/yr
1,717/yr
1,633/yr
783/yr
747/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 11.8% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
39.3%
Service
16.1%
Sales & Office
20.3%
Construction / Maint.
10.1%
Production / Transport
14.2%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 40% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 441,749 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 66.3% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Talent pipeline: the 6 largest of 11 institutions in Pierce County award 8,691 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 9 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Pierce County shows emerging potential for warehousing and storage attraction, with a 2.61x concentration and 10,323 jobs in this sub-sector.
The concentrated base spans warehousing and storage, petroleum and coal products manufacturing, and wood product manufacturing, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 39.3% of the employment across them, the largest being freight and distribution. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Pierce County, Washington, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Pierce County, Washington?
930,319 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Pierce County, Washington?
$99,564 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Pierce County, Washington?
5% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Pierce County, Washington?
$64.9B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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