Living in Elk Plain, WA
Elk Plain is a big small town of 14,276 people in Pierce County, Washington. It's about 25 miles from Olympia, WA and 40 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 76°F and winter highs 47°F, with about 5 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $474k and rent runs about $2k a month.
14,276people
$474kTypical home
$2,172/moRent
76° / 47°Summer / winter
5"Snow
169Sunny days
166Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 14,276
- Part of a metro area
- About 1,704 people per sq mi
- 40 mi to Seattle, WA
- 25 mi to Olympia, WA
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $474k (≈$2,986/mo)
- Median rent $2,172/mo
- Median household income $107k
- Property tax about 1.0% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 76°F
- Winter highs around 47°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 53°F)
- 169 sunny days a year (62 totally clear)
- 196 cloudy days a year
- 65 of 90 winter days are gray
- 166 days a year with rain or snow
- 5" of snow a year
- 2 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- About average violent crime (408 per 100k), county-wide
- About average property crime (2,027 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 38
- 34% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 18% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 39 min
- 0% walk or take transit to work
- 18 mi to TIW airport
- 28 mi to SEA (major hub)
- 14 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 86% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1993
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 509 ft
- 15 mi to the ocean
- 114 mi to a big lake
- 10 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 41 mi to the nearest ski area
- 7 mi to the nearest campground
- 38 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 994 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 103 bars within 25 mi
- 452 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 48 museums within 25 mi
- 14 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 8 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 50% of Washington districts (reading)
- 2 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 11 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 11 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 6 mi to the nearest vet
- 4 mi to the nearest dog park
- 4 congregations per 10k people
- 8 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Pierce County: D+11 in 2024
- Washington: D+18 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- High volcano risk