Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 35,079, settled in 1903.
Graham grades C overall, 194th of 285 graded towns in Washington, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $586K, 5.1 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $117K. Graham’s average trip to work is 43 minutes, against 27 minutes in Washington’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. On history, just 39 of Washington’s 397 towns do worse. Morse Wildlife Preserve, at 85 acres with 1.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
23,491 counted in 2010 and 32,658 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Graham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,739 in 2000, 32,658 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1941 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Graham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
14 mi National ParkMount Rainier National Park1.6M visitors a year
16 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
39 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
39 mi Ancient siteSeattle Underground
17 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme ParkLumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mount Rainier National Park: Ricardo Martins from Gent, Belgium, CC BY 2.0 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0
Graham is unincorporated, so Pierce County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Graham.
Graham has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, sends most of its workers to Tacoma and beyond and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Washington.
Graham has 2,066 jobs for its 14,177 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 43 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
Most working residents leave Graham for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Graham has added 771 jobs, to 2,066 in 2023. 5.9% of Graham residents live below the poverty line.
| Graham | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $117,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 5% | 8% |
| Work from home | 11% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Bethel School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 857 | – |
| Graham Kapowsin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,087 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
July afternoons average 76.9°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 34.8°.
Graham has mild winters and pleasant summers. Graham’s July high is 77°F. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Graham | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Washington it is less healthy than 71% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar. Against the 6,178 U.S. towns with household incomes like Graham’s, it is less healthy than 72%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Graham beats the Washington average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 69% of adults had a checkup this year in Graham.
| Graham | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Graham | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 12.5% | 10.1% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.5% | 30.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.1% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7.1 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in Graham is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Graham | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frontier Park | 3.4 mi | 68 |
| 2. Morse Wildlife Preserve | 1.6 mi | 85 |
| 3. Upper Muck Creek Protected Area | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Graham
About 4 of every 100 Graham residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
Where Graham’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
CDP in Washington, United States
Graham is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is located 16.2 miles southeast of Tacoma. The population was 23,491 at the 2010 census and grew to 32,658 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Graham.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham | #194 | C | C− | — | C+ | B |
| Elk Plain | #231 | C− | C− | — | C+ | B− |
| Kapowsin | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Hill | #85 | B | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Frederickson | #178 | C | C− | — | C+ | B |
| South Creek | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | C+ |
South Creek has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Graham, Elk Plain, South Hill, Frederickson and South Creek report no FBI crime data of their own. Kapowsin isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Graham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Graham grades C overall, better than 29% of U.S. towns and #194 of 285 in Washington. It grades B for health and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
