Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Washington. This town of 35,479 people was settled in 1888.
University Place’s best grade is for schools (A): its schools outperform 92% of the state's. At B overall, University Place is better than 56% of U.S. towns and ranks 103rd of 285 in Washington. Walkability is a strength too (A) — it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is cost of living (D) — the typical home is worth about $648K, 5.6 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. It also trails on safety (C): its police reported 60 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 72% of U.S. towns. 16% of the land in the town is conserved, above both Washington’s towns (4%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Charles and Mary Louise Curran House is on the National Register of Historic Places. The town’s concentration of trails is 1.3 miles per square mile, above both the Washington town median (0.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FBI crime data, 2025 · USGS PAD-US · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where University Place beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sunset Primary | PK–4 | 548 |
| University Place Primary | PK–4 | 522 |
| Evergreen Primary | PK–4 | 516 |
31,144 counted in 2010 and 34,866 in 2020; an estimated 35,479 in 2025.
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 University Place is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 13,230 in 1970, 34,866 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1955 and 6 maps from 1948 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around University Place. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
6 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
28 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
29 mi Ancient siteSeattle UndergroundSpace Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in University Place, 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 University Place.
University Place fares better on crime within Washington than nationally, has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has better schools than Steilacoom or any other neighbor.
That grade is the best School Grade on its borders; Steilacoom (A−) is next. It comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $648K.
Below: Two of its 11 schools, each with why it was picked. The University Place School District runs its public schools. 4 public schools serve University Place, with 2,079 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrows View IntermediateLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–7 | Grades 5–7 | 692 | – |
| Curtis Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 1,321 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Chambers Creek Regional Park, at 378 acres with 3.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 11 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chambers Creek Regional Park | 3.5 mi | 378 |
| 2. Paradise Pond Park | 0.6 mi | 9 |
| 3. Cirque Park | 0.5 mi | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The share of adults in University Place who had a checkup this year: 73%. Against the Washington average, University Place comes out ahead on 1 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 5. In University Place, one in ten adults smoke cigarettes, and 18% get no exercise outside work.
| University Place | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | University Place | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.9% | 8.4% |
| More adults with obesity | 35.2% | 30.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
University Place’s average trip to work comes in at 28 minutes. Just 6% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Jobs based in University Place grew to 5,841 in 2023, 827 more than in 2013. Half the trips to work are shorter than 10 miles.
| University Place | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 15% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 30 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 53% of Washington’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,046 to 577 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In University Place, the level of property crime is 14.7 per 1,000 residents. Its violent crime rate stands at 1.7 per 1,000 residents.
| University Place | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.7 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Seattle Tacoma Intl Ap weather station, 19 miles away, records that about 4 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 77°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36°.
About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter. The January low in University Place is 36°F.
| University Place | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 65% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims in University Place since 1979: 24. Federal aid has come to University Place households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2025.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For University Place, the median rent is $1,762 a month. The typical home value here is about $648,000, about the same as a year ago, 10% above the Washington typical home. 57% of households live in a home they own here.
| University Place | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,762 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
42% of University Place adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Washington average. In University Place, the median age is 40.1 years.
| University Place | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 30% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.6 points). Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.1, men 40.1.
| University Place | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.8% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.6% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.5% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.6% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.1% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
9 within 15 miles of the center of University Place
About 5 of every 100 University Place residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
Where University Place’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Washington, United States
University Place is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its population was 34,866 at the 2020 census. University Place received its name in the 1800s when the University of Puget Sound, a private liberal-arts college in North Tacoma, purchased land along the primary north–south route of Grandview Drive. Based on per capita income, University Place ranks 81st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with University Place.
Fircrest next door grades lower for schools (C+ to University Place’s A) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University Place | #103 | B | D | C | A | A− |
| Lakewood | #262 | D | C | D | C | C+ |
| Tacoma | #234 | C− | C− | D− | C+ | B |
| Fircrest | #121 | B− | C | C | C+ | A− |
| Steilacoom | #66 | B+ | D | B | A− | B+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. University Place grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #103 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 Andrea Geubelle and Brian Sullivan.
