Tacoma, WA

Census Place

Add Comparison

US Senator

Patty Murray

Democratic Party

US Senator

Maria Cantwell

Democratic Party

2023 Median Age

37.3

1.08% 1-year increase

2023 Poverty Rate

12%

0.696% 1-year decrease

2023 Median Household Income

$83,857

6.03% 1-year growth

About

In N/A, Tacoma, WA had a population of N/A people with a median age of 37.3 and a median household income of $83,857. Between N/A and N/A the population of Tacoma, WA N/A from N/A to N/A, a N/A% N/A and its median household income grew from $79,085 to $83,857, a 6.03% increase.

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Tacoma, WA are White (Non-Hispanic) (56.1%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (10%), Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) (8.92%), Asian (Non-Hispanic) (8.63%), and Other (Hispanic) (3.94%).

None of the households in Tacoma, WA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

The largest universities in Tacoma, WA are University of Washington-Tacoma Campus (1,800 degrees awarded in 2023), Tacoma Community College (1,711 degrees), and Bates Technical College (850 degrees).

Most people in Tacoma, WA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 29 minutes. The average car ownership in Tacoma, WA was 2 cars per household.

About the photo: This is the outside of the "hot shop", at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. The cone design was inspired by the wood "beehive burners" of the sawmills that once lined the waterways of Tacoma. It is made of 2,800 diamond-shaped stainless steel panels.

Photo by Sheila Sund

United States Washington Pierce County, WA Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA King County (Far Southwest)--Federal Way, Des Moines Cities & Vashon Island PUMA, WA Tacoma City (North) PUMA, WA Tacoma City (South) PUMA, WA Pierce County (North Central)--Bonney Lake, Edgewood, Fife & Sumner Cities PUMA, WA Pierce County (South Central)--Parkland & Spanaway PUMA, WA Pierce County (West Central)--Lakewood & University Place Cities PUMA, WA

Population & Diversity

In 2023, there were 5.6 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (124k people) in Tacoma, WA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 22.1k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 19.7k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Tacoma, WA

White (Non-Hispanic)
124k ± 2.32k
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
22.1k ± 1.73k
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
19.7k ± 1.79k

13.1%

Hispanic Population

28.9k people

13.1% of the people in Tacoma, WA are hispanic (28.9k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Tacoma, WA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for Washington.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
248,556 ± 12,042 people
India
107,324 ± 7,987 people
China
89,838 ± 7,316 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Washington was Mexico, the natal country of 248,556 Washington residents, followed by India with 107,324 and China with 89,838.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
6,316 ± 690
Vietnam
3,985 ± 521
Gulf War (1990s)
2,622 ± 418

Tacoma, WA has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.58 times greater than any other conflict.

Economy

The economy of Tacoma, WA employs N/A people. In N/A, the largest industries in Tacoma, WA were Health Care & Social Assistance (16,851 people), Retail Trade (12,084 people), and Educational Services (10,321 people), and the highest paying industries were N/A.

Employment

Occupations

N/A

N/A Value

± N/A

From N/A to N/A, employment in Tacoma, WA stayed at a rate of NaNk%, from N/A employees to N/A employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Tacoma, WA, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (11,127 people), Management Occupations (11,056 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (9,984 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Tacoma, WA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Washington.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Washington (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

N/A

N/A Value

± N/A

From N/A to N/A, employment in Tacoma, WA stayed at a rate of NaNk%, from N/A employees to N/A employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Tacoma, WA, are Health Care & Social Assistance (16,851 people), Retail Trade (12,084 people), and Educational Services (10,321 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Tacoma, WA, though some of these residents may live in Tacoma, WA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$57,502

Median earning men ± $1,821

$48,879

Median earning women ± $1,704

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2023 are Public Administration ($84,115), Information ($71,827), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($67,302).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2023 are Information ($98,750), Construction ($85,190), and Public Administration ($71,671).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Washington.

Y-Axis

3.62%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 3.58M people employed in Washington. This represents a 3.62% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.3%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Washington.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Washington went to Kamala Harris with 57.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (39%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.4%).

Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are the senators currently representing the state of Washington. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Washington is currently represented by 10 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Tacoma, WA. Showing the available data for Washington.

2024 Election Results

Kamala Harris (57.2%)
Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump (39%)
Republican Party
Robert Kennedy (1.4%)
Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Washington went to Kamala Harris with 57.2% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (39%), followed by Robert Kennedy (1.4%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Washington for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Washington

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Washington.

Patty Murray

Senator from Washington

Assumed office on January 3, 1993

Maria Cantwell

Senator from Washington

Assumed office on January 3, 2001

Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are the senators currently representing Washington.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Washington over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

US Representative Elections

US Representatives from Washington

Washington is currently represented by 10 members in the U.S. house.

Members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms, and the following chart shows the how the members for Washington have changed over time starting in 2008.

Education

In 2023, universities in Tacoma, WA awarded 5,652 degrees. The student population of Tacoma, WA in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 7,909 male students and 9,621 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Tacoma, WA are White (2,462 and 44.6%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (813 and 14.7%), Asian (647 and 11.7%), and Two or More Races (522 and 9.46%).

The largest universities in Tacoma, WA by number of degrees awarded are University of Washington-Tacoma Campus (1,800 and 31.8%), Tacoma Community College (1,711 and 30.3%), and Bates Technical College (850 and 15%).

The most popular majors in Tacoma, WA are Liberal Arts & Sciences (549 and 9.71%), General Business Administration & Management (236 and 4.18%), and General Psychology (223 and 3.95%).

The median tuition costs in Tacoma, WA are $33,720 for private four year colleges, and $8,001 and $25,733 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Tacoma, WA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 78.7%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 17%. The number of students enrolled in N/A was N/A (N/A% men and N/A% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
183 degrees awarded
General Computer & Information Sciences
171 degrees awarded
General Psychology
223 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Tacoma, WA was General Business Administration & Management with 183 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Tacoma, WA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
1,800 degrees awarded
Tacoma Community College
1,711 degrees awarded
Bates Technical College
850 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Washington-Tacoma Campus with 1,800 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 2,253 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Tacoma, WA, which is 0.663 times less than the 3,399 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 2,462 degrees mean that there were 3.03 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 813 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($33,720) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,438) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,151) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for N/A.

Measure

In N/A, N/A% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while N/A% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for N/A.

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population in 2023 were N/A.

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

People in Tacoma, WA have an average commute time of 29 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Tacoma, WA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Equity

Income by Location

Use the dropdown to filter by race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity

The following map shows all of the places in Tacoma, WA colored by their Median Household Income (Total).

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$83,857

Median Household Income

± $2,220

91.6k

Number of Households

± 2,516

In 2023, the median household income of the 91.6k households in Tacoma, WA grew to $83,857 from the previous year's value of $79,085.

The following chart displays the households in Tacoma, WA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Tacoma, WA is from Washington.

0.468

2023 Wage GINI in Washington

0.47

2022 Wage GINI in Washington

In 2023, the income inequality in Washington was 0.468 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.276% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Washington was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Washington in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Washington across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2023

Drove Alone (67.1%)
Worked At Home (13.7%)
Carpooled (10.2%)

In 2023, 67.1% of workers in Tacoma, WA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (13.7%) and those who carpooled to work (10.2%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

29 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Tacoma, WA have a longer commute time (29 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.6 minutes). Additionally, 4.37% of the workforce in Tacoma, WA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Tacoma, WA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Tacoma, WA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Tacoma, WA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

12% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Tacoma, WA (26k out of 216k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.4%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 35 - 44, followed by Females 55 - 64 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Tacoma, WA is N/A, followed by N/A and N/A.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Health

92.8% of the population of Tacoma, WA has health coverage, with 48.1% on employee plans, 20.1% on Medicaid, 9.39% on Medicare, 13% on non-group plans, and 2.27% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Washington see 1,202 patients per year on average, which represents a 1.52% increase from the previous year (1,184 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1152 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 200 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

Coverage

Health Care Diversity

In N/A, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in N/A.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

7.18%

Uninsured

48.1%

Employer Coverage

20.1%

Medicaid

9.39%

Medicare

13%

Non-Group

2.27%

Military or VA

Between 2022 and 2023, the percent of uninsured citizens in Tacoma, WA grew by 2.22% from 7.03% to 7.18%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Tacoma, WA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Keep Exploring

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA