county

Thurston County, WA

Demographic and economic profile of Thurston County, WA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Thurston County, home to Washington's state capital Olympia, has an economy anchored in government and public administration, with a population of 302,912 that grew 8.0% over five years. The labor force participation rate stands at 61.9%, with 37.2% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $51,041 against a median household income of $96,563. Housing costs are moderate relative to the broader Pacific Northwest, with a median home value of $451,500 and median gross rent of $1,634/month, and the county posts a relatively low poverty rate of 9.7%.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

302,912

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$96,563

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+8.0% since 2018

Thurston County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone215,637 (72.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races23,081 (7.7%)
  • Asian Alone18,347 (6.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race15,670 (5.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone9,947 (3.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone9,925 (3.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish13,320
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island4,462
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic3,281
  4. 4.Vietnamese2,934
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)2,427

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

28,932

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$53,032

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$44,646

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

9.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance30,999
  2. 2.Public Administration (Group)23,311
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)16,227
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services12,863
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services10,931

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations62,439
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations27,775
  3. 3.Service Occupations21,126
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations13,774
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations10,682

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 3.47×)22,263
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.17×)2,540
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.08×)16,038
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.00×)9,426
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 0.97×)11,578

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$451,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,634/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

67.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,99925,540 (31.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99921,373 (26.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99911,193 (13.9%)
  • $750,000 to $999,9996,778 (8.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9992,996 (3.7%)
  • $1,000,000 to $1,499,9992,791 (3.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

37.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$51,041

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone93,180 (66.9%)
  • Worked At Home28,567 (20.5%)
  • Carpooled10,518 (7.5%)
  • Walked3,254 (2.3%)
  • Other1,653 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit1,380 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.