{"id":8667,"date":"2023-10-04T08:14:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T08:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=8667"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:51:13","slug":"thurston-county-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/thurston-county-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Thurston County, Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Thurston County is a county in Washington, United States, about 25 miles southwest of Tacoma<br \/>\nand 60 miles south of Seattle. It had a population of 294,793 at the 2020 census, an estimated<br \/>\n304,261 by 2025, and covers 774 square miles (2,005 km2), of which 722 square miles are land and<br \/>\n52 square miles are water, centred near 46&deg;56&prime;N 122&deg;50&prime;W.<\/p>\n<p>Olympia is the county seat; its postal code is 98501. Lacey, with an estimated population over<br \/>\n60,000, passed Olympia to become the county&#8217;s largest city in the early 2020s. The county<br \/>\nholds 6 cities, 1 incorporated town, 5 census-designated places and 26 unincorporated communities,<br \/>\nand it runs on Pacific Time. Its FIPS code is 53067.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Thurston County<\/h2>\n<p>Thurston County has 38 named places on record: 6 cities and 1 incorporated town, 5<br \/>\ncensus-designated places, and 26 unincorporated communities with no local government of their<br \/>\nown. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities<br \/>\nwith no formal boundary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Olympia<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>55,605<\/td>\n<td>98501<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lacey<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>53,526<\/td>\n<td>98516<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tumwater<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>25,350<\/td>\n<td>98512<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Yelm<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>10,617<\/td>\n<td>98597<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rainier<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>2,369<\/td>\n<td>98576<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tenino<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>1,870<\/td>\n<td>98589<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bucoda<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>600<\/td>\n<td>98530<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tanglewilde<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>6,265<\/td>\n<td>98516<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rochester<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>6,064<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Grand Mound<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>3,301<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>North Yelm<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>3,140<\/td>\n<td>98597<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Nisqually Reservation<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>668<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Belmore<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Boston Harbor<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bush<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Delphi<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Driftwood<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>East Olympia<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Gate<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Independence<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Indian Summer<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kellys Korner<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lake Lawrence<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Littlerock<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>98556<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Maytown<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>McIntosh<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mima<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mushroom Corner<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Offutt Lake<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Puget<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rignall<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Saint Clair<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Schneiders Prairie<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Skookumchuck<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>South Bay<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Steamboat Island<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sunnydale<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vail<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>East Olympia carries a second local name, Fir Tree; the two refer to the same unincorporated<br \/>\ncommunity, not two separate places. North Yelm is a distinct census-designated place bordering<br \/>\nthe city of Yelm, not a district within it. Nisqually Reservation is both a Census-recognized<br \/>\nplace and the federally recognized Nisqually Indian Reservation, established after the 1854<br \/>\nTreaty of Medicine Creek. Two former settlements, Bordeaux and Tono, are recorded as ghost towns<br \/>\nand are not included in the count above.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>98501 &mdash; Olympia (downtown and state government core; Olympia also uses 98502&ndash;98509,<br \/>\n98511&ndash;98513, 98516 and 98599)<\/li>\n<li>98516 &mdash; Lacey (also serves Tanglewilde)<\/li>\n<li>98512 &mdash; Tumwater<\/li>\n<li>98597 &mdash; Yelm (also serves North Yelm)<\/li>\n<li>98576 &mdash; Rainier<\/li>\n<li>98589 &mdash; Tenino<\/li>\n<li>98530 &mdash; Bucoda<\/li>\n<li>98556 &mdash; Littlerock<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Rochester, Grand Mound, Nisqually Reservation and the smaller unincorporated communities have<br \/>\nno ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town&#8217;s<br \/>\ncode.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Thurston County sits at the southern tip of Puget Sound, where the lowland gives way to the<br \/>\nprairie country of south Sound &#8212; open, gravelly plains left by glacial outwash, including<br \/>\nthe Mima Mounds south of Littlerock. Of its 774 square miles, 722 are land and 52 are water, about<br \/>\n6.7 percent, mostly in Budd Inlet, Eld Inlet, Henderson Inlet and Totten Inlet, the four<br \/>\nPuget Sound arms that reach into the county&#8217;s north end. The Nisqually River forms much of<br \/>\nthe eastern county line, and the Deschutes and Chehalis rivers drain the south and west.<\/p>\n<p>Pierce County lies to the northeast, Lewis County to the south, Grays Harbor County to the<br \/>\nwest, and Mason County to the north and northwest. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/pierce-county-washington\/\">Pierce County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lewis-county-washington\/\">Lewis County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/grays-harbor-county\/\">Grays Harbor County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/mason-county-washington\/\">Mason County<\/a> all border Thurston<br \/>\ndirectly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Thurston County had a population of 294,793 at the 2020 census, up from 252,264 in 2010, and<br \/>\nthe latest estimate puts the county near 304,261 residents by 2025. Olympia and Lacey are by far<br \/>\nthe two largest communities, together holding well over a third of the county&#8217;s population.<br \/>\nMedian household income in the county stood at $60,930 at the 2010 census; Washington&#8217;s<br \/>\nstatewide median household income is $94,605 (2023 ACS), a figure from a different, more recent<br \/>\nsurvey year but the only current state comparison available. Population density works out to<br \/>\nabout 408 people per square mile of land, reflecting the county&#8217;s position inside the fast-<br \/>\ngrowing Olympia&#8211;Lacey&#8211;Tumwater metropolitan area.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Washington&#8217;s state government, including education, employs the most workers in the county by far, about<br \/>\n28,700 people as of 2023, nearly 20 percent of all jobs &#8212; a direct result of Olympia&#8217;s<br \/>\nrole as the state capital. Local government adds another 12,700 jobs. Providence Health &amp;<br \/>\nServices employs about 2,600 people through its Olympia hospital campus, and Albertsons\/Safeway<br \/>\nand Walmart each employ over 1,000 across the county&#8217;s stores. Lucky Eagle Casino and<br \/>\nNisqually Red Wind Casino, both tribal enterprises, together employ another 1,700. Grand Mound is<br \/>\nhome to Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor waterpark resort majority-owned by the Confederated Tribes of<br \/>\nthe Chehalis Reservation. Lacey hosts Saint Martin&#8217;s University, a private university founded<br \/>\nin 1895. The county&#8217;s biggest annual event is Capital Lakefair in Olympia, held the third<br \/>\nweekend of July at Heritage Park since 1957 and closing with fireworks over Capitol Lake.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Oregon Territory government created Thurston County out of Lewis County on January 12,<br \/>\n1852; at the time it covered the entire Puget Sound region and the Olympic Peninsula. On December<br \/>\n22 of that same year, Pierce, King, Island and Jefferson counties were split off from it. The<br \/>\ncounty is named for Samuel R. Thurston, the Oregon Territory&#8217;s first delegate to Congress.<br \/>\nThe Hudson&#8217;s Bay Company had already built a trading post at Fort Nisqually in 1833, and<br \/>\npermanent American settlement began in 1845, when a party led by Michael Simmons and Black<br \/>\npioneer George Bush built a settlement they called New Market at Tumwater Falls &#8212; the first<br \/>\nEuropean settlement in Western Washington. The Nisqually Indian Reservation, now the<br \/>\nNisqually Reservation CDP, was established after the Treaty of Medicine Creek was signed near<br \/>\nthe Nisqually Delta on December 26, 1854. In 1878 Bucoda, then known as Seatco, became the site<br \/>\nof Washington&#8217;s first territorial prison, which operated until 1890.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Interstate 5 crosses the county through Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater. U.S. 12 and U.S. 101<br \/>\nalso run through the county, along with State Routes 8, 507 and 510.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tacoma &mdash; about 25 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Seattle &mdash; about 60 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Centralia &mdash; about 20 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Chehalis &mdash; about 25 miles south<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Seattle&#8211;Tacoma International Airport, roughly 55 miles north of Olympia, is the nearest<br \/>\nmajor commercial airport. Olympia Regional Airport, in Tumwater about 4 miles south of downtown<br \/>\nOlympia, handles general aviation, business jets and cargo flights but no scheduled passenger<br \/>\nservice. Amtrak Cascades trains stop at Centennial Station in the Olympia&#8211;Lacey area,<br \/>\nconnecting to Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Thurston County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits at the southern end of Puget Sound in Washington, about 25 miles southwest of Tacoma,<br \/>\nbordered by Pierce, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Mason counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Thurston County?<\/strong><br \/>\n294,793 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 304,261.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Thurston County?<\/strong><br \/>\n774 square miles (2,005 km2), of which 722 square miles are land and 52 square miles are<br \/>\nwater.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Thurston County?<\/strong><br \/>\nOlympia, the state capital, is the county seat, though Lacey overtook it as the largest city<br \/>\nin the early 2020s.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and cities are in Thurston County?<\/strong><br \/>\nSeven incorporated places &#8212; Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, Rainier, Tenino and Bucoda<br \/>\n&#8212; plus five census-designated places: Tanglewilde, Rochester, Grand Mound, North Yelm and<br \/>\nNisqually Reservation, and 26 smaller unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Thurston County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n98501 for Olympia, 98516 for Lacey, 98512 for Tumwater, 98597 for Yelm, 98576 for Rainier, 98589<br \/>\nfor Tenino, 98530 for Bucoda, and 98556 for Littlerock.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Thurston County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nBeing home to Washington&#8217;s state capital, Olympia, and for Capital Lakefair, its annual<br \/>\nsummer festival held every July since 1957.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/washington\/\">Towns<br \/>\nand villages in Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Thurston County, Washington","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 7 cities and towns in Thurston County, Washington - population and ZIP for each, plus 5 CDPs and 26 more communities.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-8667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-washington","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8667"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9572,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8667\/revisions\/9572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}