Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Olympia's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C+, ranked 173rd of 285 in Washington. Its schools rank ahead of 88% of Washington towns and residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its weakest subject is safety: it reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns, including 266 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 34% of working residents work locally in Olympia, above both Washington’s towns (4.8%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Old Capitol Building and Cloverfields. Only 16 of Washington’s 198 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Olympia beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Old Capitol Building
Its founding year, 1850, comes before those of 96% of the Washington towns we grade with a known year. Its 38 National Register listings are more than in 96% of Washington towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,203 in 1870, 55,605 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1845 and 7 maps from 1937 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Olympia is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Olympia, and how to reach them.
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 Olympia.
Olympia draws workers from Lacey and beyond, has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
35 miles of trail in 48 parks and preserves. Olympia’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile. Squaxin Park, at 235 acres with 4.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Olympia | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.7 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.6% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Squaxin Park | 4.9 mi | 235 |
| 2. LBA Woods | 4.8 mi | 138 |
| 3. Watershed Park | 2.2 mi | 135 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $526K.
Its public schools are run by the Olympia School District. Two of its 22 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 702 | – |
| Olympia High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,901 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
56,241 jobs are based in Olympia, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 20 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
About one in 3 of Olympia’s working residents works in town. 26% of Olympia workers work from home. Jobs based in Olympia grew to 56,241 in 2023, 11,320 more than in 2013.
| Olympia | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 15% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 2,445 to 1,711 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Olympia is 4.7 per 1,000 residents. Olympia reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 92% report less. The property crime rate in Olympia is 25.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Olympia | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.6 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
69% of adults had a checkup this year in Olympia. Olympia beats the Washington average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Olympia.
| Olympia | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Olympia | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.6% | 8.4% |
| More adults with arthritis | 27.7% | 24.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 82% of U.S. communities. Since 1987, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Olympia.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 77.9°, cooler than in 95% of U.S. towns; January nights average 34.2°.
Olympia has mild winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Olympia | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 34°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Olympia home is worth about $526,000, about the same as a year ago, 10% below the Washington typical home.
| Olympia | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 71% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 60% | 51% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,599 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Olympia. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi National ParkOlympic National Park3.6M visitors a year
26 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
32 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park
38 mi MuseumUSS Turner Joy
23 mi Stadium & arenaCheney Stadium
25 mi GardenPoint Defiance ParkOlympic National Park: Wsiegmund, CC BY 2.5 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · USS Turner Joy: Keysgoclick, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cheney Stadium: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Point Defiance Park: Crash Dalco, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Olympia
About 5 of every 100 Olympia residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
46,478 counted in 2010 and 55,605 in 2020; an estimated 56,724 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
38 places in Olympia on the National Register of Historic Places.
Capital city of Washington, United States
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 55,605 at the 2020 census, while the Olympia metropolitan statistical area has an estimated 300,000 residents. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County and anchors the South Puget Sound region of western Washington, 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Seattle. The Squaxin and other Coast Salish peoples inhabited the southern Puget Sound region prior to the arrival of European and American settlers in the 19th century. The Treaty of Medicine Creek was signed in 1854 and followed by the Treaty of Olympia in 1856; these two treaties forced the Squaxin to relocate to an Indian reservation. Olympia was declared the ca…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Olympia.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Olympia grades C+ overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #173 of 285 in Washington. It grades A− for health, D for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 5.4 years of the area's median household income ($96,563 across the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
