Pierce County, Washington Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Pierce County, Washington, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Pierce County, Washington. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Pierce County, Washington. The estimated population of Pierce County, Washington is 910,225 people, with a median age of 36.4.

We can look at the total population in Pierce County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
910,225
+2.06%
+7.69%
2020
891,862
+1.69%
-
2019
877,013
+2%
-
2018
859,840
+1.73%
-
2017
845,193
 - -

Population of Pierce County, Washington by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
64.6%
68%
 -5.00%
Black/African American
6.7%
6.5%
 +3.08%
Native
0.8%
1%
 -20.00%
Hispanic
11.6%
10.4%
 +11.54%
Asian
6.3%
6%
 +5.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
1.4%
1.4%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
8.1%
6.6%
 +22.73%
Other
0.4%
0.2%
 +100.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Pierce County, Washington by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 36.4 +0.55% 35.3 +0.86% 37.4 -0.27%
2020 36.2 +0.28% 35 +0.29% 37.5 +0.27%
2019 36.1 0% 34.9 -0.29% 37.4 +0.54%
2018 36.1 +0.28% 35 +0.29% 37.2 +0.27%
2017 36 - 34.9 - 37.1 -

The median age of Pierce County, Washington gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 58,568 +5.09% 54,835 +5.8% 61,595 58,070
10 to 19 54,572 +7.79% 53,224 +5.06% 58,913 55,954
20 to 29 66,421 +5.85% 60,320 +2.32% 70,341 61,729
30 to 39 58,980 +13.01% 59,420 +12.34% 67,034 67,096
40 to 49 53,386 +9.42% 53,837 +5.81% 58,554 57,009
50 to 59 56,002 -0.94% 58,127 -2.55% 55,466 56,645
60 to 69 42,015 +16.16% 45,223 +13.57% 49,216 51,675
70+ 30,226 +15.75% 40,037 +13.44% 35,268 45,660

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Pierce County, Washington is $82,574.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Pierce County.

  • Under 25
    $50,707.00
  • 25 to 44
    $87,514.00
  • 45 to 64
    $98,713.00
  • 65 and over
    $60,147.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Pierce County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Pierce County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Pierce County, Washington is currently $103,211.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

9.10% of households in Pierce County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Pierce County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    11.25%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    16.43%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    17.42%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    14.85%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    20.76%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    10.19%
  • $200,000 or more
    9.10%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Pierce County is $39,036.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Pierce County by the total population of Pierce County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Pierce County, Washington, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Pierce County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    12.16%
  • Bachelor's degree
    31.35%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    15.64%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    37.36%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.48%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Pierce County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Pierce County over the age of 16 is 718,566.

Of those people, a total of 66.10% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Pierce County is 60.20%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 42,873 42.30% 16.90%
20 to 24 years 60,565 80.30% 9.80%
25 to 29 years 71,505 83.50% 5.80%
30 to 34 years 69,706 82.20% 5.30%
35 to 44 years 124,561 82.90% 3.60%
45 to 54 years 111,532 82.10% 3.60%
55 to 59 years 56,005 74.30% 3.10%
60 to 64 years 56,636 58.90% 3.30%
65 to 74 years 77,968 24.70% 2.70%
75 years and over 47,215 5.10% 2.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Pierce County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 517,792 64.80% 4.60%
Black or African American 50,199 71.00% 8.30%
American Indian and Alaska Native 8,379 66.10% 2.90%
Asian 50,069 63.40% 3.70%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 10,563 69.20% 4.40%
Other 21,936 73.80% 4.10%
Two or more races 59,628 72.60% 7.60%
Hispanic or Latino 69,808 72.70% 5.70%
Not Hispanic or Latino 487,650 64.40% 4.60%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Pierce County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Pierce County is 432,617, with median earnings of $47,374.00.

Women in Pierce County, Washington earning approximately 71.00% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 432,617 $47,374.00
Male 227,206 $56,052.00
Female 205,411 $39,795.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 41,850 $80,901.00
Business and Financial 21,853 $69,006.00
Computer and Mathematical 11,459 $87,552.00
Architecture and Engineering 6,889 $88,673.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 2,820 $69,430.00
Community and Social Service 8,849 $48,673.00
Legal 4,109 $71,693.00
Educational and Library 25,523 $48,078.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 6,258 $32,472.00
Healthcare Practitioners 25,847 $67,828.00
Healthcare Support 17,203 $31,249.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 6,517 $46,560.00
Law Enforcement 4,056 $89,844.00
Food Preparation and Serving 22,758 $18,902.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 13,011 $30,260.00
Personal Care and Service 11,557 $21,131.00
Sales 40,700 $40,922.00
Office and Administrative Support 50,697 $40,706.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 1,579 $25,256.00
Construction and Extraction 27,970 $58,329.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 16,334 $58,476.00
Production 22,094 $45,862.00
Transportation and Material Moving 21,307 $51,432.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 22,832 $91,784.00 19,018 $67,204.00
Business and Financial 9,360 $76,484.00 12,493 $62,288.00
Computer and Mathematical 8,535 $90,154.00 2,924 $82,259.00
Architecture and Engineering 5,757 $89,863.00 1,132 $76,667.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 1,326 $71,216.00 1,494 $66,154.00
Community and Social Service 2,748 $52,830.00 6,101 $46,918.00
Legal 1,505 $87,723.00 2,604 $60,670.00
Educational and Library 6,522 $60,130.00 19,001 $44,011.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 2,478 $46,250.00 3,780 $27,870.00
Healthcare Practitioners 7,036 $84,000.00 18,811 $65,115.00
Healthcare Support 3,045 $32,099.00 14,158 $30,984.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 5,093 $53,542.00 1,424 $39,812.00
Law Enforcement 3,143 $94,008.00 913 $71,475.00
Food Preparation and Serving 9,284 $15,858.00 13,474 $20,270.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 8,668 $32,192.00 4,343 $26,783.00
Personal Care and Service 2,543 $26,050.00 9,014 $20,733.00
Sales 19,751 $58,216.00 20,949 $31,154.00
Office and Administrative Support 13,403 $44,534.00 37,294 $39,697.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 1,263 $26,893.00 316 $16,753.00
Construction and Extraction 27,004 $59,388.00 966 $35,781.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 15,514 $59,638.00 820 $48,964.00
Production 17,088 $53,367.00 5,006 $30,714.00
Transportation and Material Moving 17,338 $55,645.00 3,969 $32,134.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 335,969 households in Pierce County, with an average household size of 2.65 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 227,319 families in Pierce County with an average family size of 3.17 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 172,233 17,301 37,785 108,650
Average Household Size 3.26 3.34 3.42 1.32
Total Families 172,233 17,301 37,785 0
Average Household Size 3.22 2.83 3.09 0

Poverty

Of the 227,319 families in Pierce County, 5.70% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Pierce County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 355,970 housing units in Pierce County, Washington.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 335,969 94.38%
Vacant 20,001 5.62%

32.35% of the total 355,970 housing units in Pierce County are rental units. This is approximately 115,143 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 216,271 are occupied by the owner - or 60.76% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Pierce County is $1,444.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Pierce County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    4,555
  • Less than $500
    3,761
  • $500 to $999
    16,889
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    41,662
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    34,773
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    12,900
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    3,438
  • $3,000 or more
    1,720

Property Value

The median value of a property in Pierce County is $369,300.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Pierce County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    7,230
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    2,744
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    4,714
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    8,832
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    44,062
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    98,741
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    44,276
  • $1,000,000 or more
    5,672

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Pierce County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Pierce County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    35,559
  • 1940 to 1949
    14,772
  • 1950 to 1959
    22,546
  • 1960 to 1969
    32,113
  • 1970 to 1979
    50,853
  • 1980 to 1989
    48,757
  • 1990 to 1999
    61,213
  • 2000 to 2009
    56,923
  • 2010 to 2013
    32,328
  • 2014 or later
    906

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Pierce County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    16,579
  • 1 vehicle available
    89,335
  • 2 vehicles available
    132,718
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    97,337

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Pierce County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Pierce County that commute to work in a particular way.

32.8 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Pierce County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    8,547
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    29,087
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    40,138
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    49,045
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    52,757
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    26,727
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    55,896
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    14,033
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    19,130
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    44,121
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    37,473
  • 90 or more minutes
    23,774

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Pierce County, Washington in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Pierce County, Washington

We have data for 79 places in Pierce County, Washington. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.