WallerWA
A town of 7,683 in Washington.
Is Waller a good place to live?
Plenty in its favour, and one clear drawback. Its best grade is for incomes (A−): the median household earns $101K. It is strong on schools as well (B+) — its public schools beat 72% of Washington towns on state tests and graduation. The drawback is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $585K, 5.1 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too (D): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than just over four fifths of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Overall, that makes a B, good for 105th of 285 in Washington. On that grade it does better than 56% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Swan Creek Park, at 44 acres.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap.
What makes Waller stand out
Where Waller beats most towns.
98% of working residents leave Waller for work
Where Waller’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Waller grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Waller is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Space Needle and 127 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waller. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
4 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
5 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park
27 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile ParkPhoto credits
Space 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 · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0
Moving to Waller: who provides what
Waller 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Waller.
Waller has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Washington.
Waller faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by earthquakes
The FEMA hazard score for Waller comes to 81 of 100, against 69 of 100 in Washington’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. This Washington town has had 176 paid flood insurance claims since 1980. FEMA puts 57% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 38% to inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For schools, Waller earns a B+
Two of the 3 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by Chief Leschi School. The largest public high school is Chief Leschi School, with 633 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waller Road ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 306 | – |
| Chief Leschi SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 633 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Most of Waller’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.5 jobs for each of them
2.3% of working residents work locally in Waller. Employers in Waller added 247 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,623. The mean commuting time for Waller comes to 32 minutes, above both the Washington town median (27 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The top destinations are Tacoma (19%), Seattle (10%) and Puyallup (8%).
| Waller | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 17% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Waller has four seasons and pleasant summers
The Mcmillin Rsvr weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 3 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 98% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 77.2°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.5°.
Waller’s January low is 36°F. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Waller | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
5.1% of the land in Waller is protected from building
There are 3.8 miles of trail across 3 parks and preserves. Waller’s density of trails comes in at 0.5 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 3, covering 93 acres.
| Waller | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.1% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Orangegate Park | 2.5 mi | 40 |
| 2. Lidford Playfield | 0.5 mi | 9 |
| 3. Swan Creek Park | — | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Waller ranks healthier than 62% of the country’s towns
Within Washington it is less healthy than 73% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar. Against the 8,358 U.S. towns with household incomes like Waller’s, it is less healthy than 59%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
For adults in Waller, the share who report frequent physical distress is 15%. Of 31 CDC measures, Waller beats the Washington average on 2 and trails it on 17. In Waller, 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression, and 37% sleep under 7 hours.
| Waller | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Waller | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 70% | 66.2% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 74% | 70.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.2% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For cost of living, Waller earns a C
In Waller, the midpoint rent is $1,787 a month. Zillow values the typical Waller home at about $585,000, up 0.6% in a year, close to the Washington typical home. Among households here, 83% are owner-occupiers.
| Waller | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,787 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Waller
Colleges nearby
11 within 15 miles of the center of Waller
About 3 of every 100 Waller residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
About Waller
CDP in Washington, United States
Waller is a rural census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,189 at the 2020 census. The population has seen significant growth in the last decade.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 390 ft
- Area code
- 253
Waller’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Waller.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Summit (B−) comes closest.
Questions about Waller
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Waller, WA a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Waller grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #105 of 285 in Washington. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Waller, WA expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.