Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 28,010, settled in 1863. A regional job hub with 24,011 jobs.
Tumwater grades B− overall, 133rd among Washington's 285 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 80% of Washington towns and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 80% of the country. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $520K, 5.4 years of the Olympia metro’s $97K median household income. Tumwater is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. Tumwater has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Tumwater Methodist Church and Delphi School. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Where Tumwater beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Peter G Schmidt Elementary | PK–5 | 606 |
| Washington Connections Academy - Mary M. Knight | K–8 | 600 |
| Michael T Simmons Elementary | PK–5 | 457 |
17,371 counted in 2010 and 25,350 in 2020; an estimated 28,010 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 7.6% since 2020, after 45.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Tumwater is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 354 in 1870, a low of 171 in 1880, 25,350 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 7 maps from 1937 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tumwater, 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 Tumwater.
Tumwater draws workers from Olympia and beyond, fares better on crime within Washington than nationally and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
24,011 jobs are based in Tumwater, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 16,701 in 2013 to 24,011.
Most working residents leave Tumwater for work: only 17% work in town. 28% of Tumwater workers work from home, against 15% in Washington’s towns and 11% across U.S. towns. Tumwater’s average trip to work is 21 minutes.
| Tumwater | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 15% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $520K.
Its public schools are run by the Tumwater School District. Two of its 15 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Bush Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 762 | – |
| Tumwater High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,117 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
68% of Tumwater adults had a checkup this year, where Washington’s towns sit at 71% and U.S. towns at 79%. 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Tumwater. Tumwater beats the Washington average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Tumwater | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 71% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Tumwater | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.7% | 8.4% |
| More adults with depression | 28.6% | 25.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1990, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Tumwater.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
15 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. Pioneer Park, at 85 acres with 2.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Tumwater | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pioneer Park | 2.4 mi | 85 |
| 2. Tumwater Hill Park | 1.1 mi | 26 |
| 3. Tumwater Historical Park | 0.9 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 29.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 53% of Washington’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 744 to 494 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Tumwater is 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Tumwater | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.7 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons average 77.7°, cooler than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 34.2°.
Tumwater has mild winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Tumwater | 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 Tumwater home is worth about $520,000, up 0.7% in a year, 12% below the Washington typical home. 63% of Tumwater households own their home.
| Tumwater | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,779 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 63% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Washington average. Tumwater has grown 7.6% since 2020, to 28,010 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 43% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across Washington.
| Tumwater | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 30% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 38.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 16% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.9 points). Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.9, men 36.5.
| Tumwater | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.6% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.9% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.9% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.6% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.4% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.2% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.2% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.3% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.5% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.9% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Tumwater. Close and well known come first.
29 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
35 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park
26 mi Stadium & arenaCheney Stadium
29 mi GardenPoint Defiance Park
29 mi Zoo & aquariumPoint Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
in town MuseumOlympic Flight MuseumTacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · Cheney Stadium: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Point Defiance Park: Crash Dalco, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium: Takinzinnia, CC0 · Olympic Flight Museum: Articseahorse, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Tumwater
About 6 of every 100 Tumwater residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
Where Tumwater’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Tumwater on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Washington, United States
Tumwater is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. The city is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state capital of Olympia to the north. Tumwater is the oldest permanent Anglo-American settlement on Puget Sound. The city is the southern gateway to the wider Seattle/Tacoma urban area, which stretches from Tumwater to Marysville along the Interstate 5 corridor.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Tumwater.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tumwater grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #133 of 285 in Washington. It grades A− for health, C for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including Cade Otton and Bert Longenecker.
