Thurston County, Washington

Thurston County is a county in Washington, United States, about 25 miles southwest of Tacoma
and 60 miles south of Seattle. It had a population of 294,793 at the 2020 census, an estimated
304,261 by 2025, and covers 774 square miles (2,005 km2), of which 722 square miles are land and
52 square miles are water, centred near 46°56′N 122°50′W.

Olympia is the county seat; its postal code is 98501. Lacey, with an estimated population over
60,000, passed Olympia to become the county’s largest city in the early 2020s. The county
holds 6 cities, 1 incorporated town, 5 census-designated places and 26 unincorporated communities,
and it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 53067.

Towns & Villages in Thurston County

Thurston County has 38 named places on record: 6 cities and 1 incorporated town, 5
census-designated places, and 26 unincorporated communities with no local government of their
own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities
with no formal boundary.

East Olympia carries a second local name, Fir Tree; the two refer to the same unincorporated
community, not two separate places. North Yelm is a distinct census-designated place bordering
the city of Yelm, not a district within it. Nisqually Reservation is both a Census-recognized
place and the federally recognized Nisqually Indian Reservation, established after the 1854
Treaty of Medicine Creek. Two former settlements, Bordeaux and Tono, are recorded as ghost towns
and are not included in the count above.

ZIP Codes

• 98501 — Olympia (downtown and state government core; Olympia also uses 98502–98509,
  98511–98513, 98516 and 98599)
• 98516 — Lacey (also serves Tanglewilde)
• 98512 — Tumwater
• 98597 — Yelm (also serves North Yelm)
• 98576 — Rainier
• 98589 — Tenino
• 98530 — Bucoda
• 98556 — Littlerock

Rochester, Grand Mound, Nisqually Reservation and the smaller unincorporated communities have
no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s
code.

Geography

Thurston County sits at the southern tip of Puget Sound, where the lowland gives way to the
prairie country of south Sound — open, gravelly plains left by glacial outwash, including
the Mima Mounds south of Littlerock. Of its 774 square miles, 722 are land and 52 are water, about
6.7 percent, mostly in Budd Inlet, Eld Inlet, Henderson Inlet and Totten Inlet, the four
Puget Sound arms that reach into the county’s north end. The Nisqually River forms much of
the eastern county line, and the Deschutes and Chehalis rivers drain the south and west.

Pierce County lies to the northeast, Lewis County to the south, Grays Harbor County to the
west, and Mason County to the north and northwest. Pierce County, Lewis County, Grays Harbor County and Mason County all border Thurston
directly.

Demographics

Thurston County had a population of 294,793 at the 2020 census, up from 252,264 in 2010, and
the latest estimate puts the county near 304,261 residents by 2025. Olympia and Lacey are by far
the two largest communities, together holding well over a third of the county’s population.
Median household income in the county stood at $60,930 at the 2010 census; Washington’s
statewide median household income is $94,605 (2023 ACS), a figure from a different, more recent
survey year but the only current state comparison available. Population density works out to
about 408 people per square mile of land, reflecting the county’s position inside the fast-
growing Olympia–Lacey–Tumwater metropolitan area.

Economy & Local Life

Washington’s state government, including education, employs the most workers in the county by far, about
28,700 people as of 2023, nearly 20 percent of all jobs — a direct result of Olympia’s
role as the state capital. Local government adds another 12,700 jobs. Providence Health &
Services employs about 2,600 people through its Olympia hospital campus, and Albertsons/Safeway
and Walmart each employ over 1,000 across the county’s stores. Lucky Eagle Casino and
Nisqually Red Wind Casino, both tribal enterprises, together employ another 1,700. Grand Mound is
home to Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor waterpark resort majority-owned by the Confederated Tribes of
the Chehalis Reservation. Lacey hosts Saint Martin’s University, a private university founded
in 1895. The county’s biggest annual event is Capital Lakefair in Olympia, held the third
weekend of July at Heritage Park since 1957 and closing with fireworks over Capitol Lake.

History

The Oregon Territory government created Thurston County out of Lewis County on January 12,
1852; at the time it covered the entire Puget Sound region and the Olympic Peninsula. On December
22 of that same year, Pierce, King, Island and Jefferson counties were split off from it. The
county is named for Samuel R. Thurston, the Oregon Territory’s first delegate to Congress.
The Hudson’s Bay Company had already built a trading post at Fort Nisqually in 1833, and
permanent American settlement began in 1845, when a party led by Michael Simmons and Black
pioneer George Bush built a settlement they called New Market at Tumwater Falls — the first
European settlement in Western Washington. The Nisqually Indian Reservation, now the
Nisqually Reservation CDP, was established after the Treaty of Medicine Creek was signed near
the Nisqually Delta on December 26, 1854. In 1878 Bucoda, then known as Seatco, became the site
of Washington’s first territorial prison, which operated until 1890.

Getting There

Interstate 5 crosses the county through Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater. U.S. 12 and U.S. 101
also run through the county, along with State Routes 8, 507 and 510.

• Tacoma — about 25 miles northeast
• Seattle — about 60 miles north
• Centralia — about 20 miles south
• Chehalis — about 25 miles south

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, roughly 55 miles north of Olympia, is the nearest
major commercial airport. Olympia Regional Airport, in Tumwater about 4 miles south of downtown
Olympia, handles general aviation, business jets and cargo flights but no scheduled passenger
service. Amtrak Cascades trains stop at Centennial Station in the Olympia–Lacey area,
connecting to Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Thurston County located?
It sits at the southern end of Puget Sound in Washington, about 25 miles southwest of Tacoma,
bordered by Pierce, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Mason counties.

What is the population of Thurston County?
294,793 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 304,261.

How big is Thurston County?
774 square miles (2,005 km2), of which 722 square miles are land and 52 square miles are
water.

What is the county seat of Thurston County?
Olympia, the state capital, is the county seat, though Lacey overtook it as the largest city
in the early 2020s.

How many towns and cities are in Thurston County?
Seven incorporated places — Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, Rainier, Tenino and Bucoda
— plus five census-designated places: Tanglewilde, Rochester, Grand Mound, North Yelm and
Nisqually Reservation, and 26 smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Thurston County use?
98501 for Olympia, 98516 for Lacey, 98512 for Tumwater, 98597 for Yelm, 98576 for Rainier, 98589
for Tenino, 98530 for Bucoda, and 98556 for Littlerock.

What is Thurston County known for?
Being home to Washington’s state capital, Olympia, and for Capital Lakefair, its annual
summer festival held every July since 1957.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Washington.