Census-designated place · Pierce County, Washington

Wauna, Washington

Wauna is a census-designated place in Pierce County, Washington, part of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area. It has 4,805 residents. Wauna, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 46 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,496 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #280 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), mental health providers (high) and physical inactivity (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), mammography screening (low) and depression (high).

46Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,496 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #280 of 395 in WA
Population: 4,805 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 762.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 5376615

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety20#12,442/15,637
Economy90#1,609/15,631
Housing32#10,247/14,977
Health48#8,106/15,609
Healthcare71#4,577/15,650
Environment34#10,160/15,453
Education47#8,245/15,649
Infrastructure70#4,689/15,650
Community28#11,217/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,283/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Wauna, Washington ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Pierce County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Hot days · low1 days
95/100Washington 13 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPierce County value
Mental health providers · high623 /100k
94/100Washington 568 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Physical inactivity · low16.8%
89/100Washington 19.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Child poverty rate · low4.0%
89/100Washington 11.5%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/100Washington 0.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPierce County value
New business applications · high18.0 /1k
84/100Washington 17.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauPierce County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high36.1 /100k
5/100Washington 32.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPierce County value
Mammography screening · low34.0%
6/100Washington 41.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePierce County value
Depression · high28.8%
8/100Washington 25.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Property crime rate · high2,022 /100k
13/100Washington 1,975 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationPierce County value
Students per teacher · high18.3×
13/100Washington 17.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsPierce County value
Violent crime rate · high406 /100k
17/100Washington 284 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationPierce County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
4,294 (2015-2019) → 4,805 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
24.7% (2015-2019) → 4.0% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
37.6% (2015-2019) → 46.5% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
36.0% (2015-2019) → 29.7% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$83,700 (2015-2019) → $103,250 (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.0× (2015-2019) → 4.9× (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Wauna, Washington improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Uninsured+3.2 points2.1% → 5.3%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Wauna, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.2 min2015-2019	28.7 min2020-2024	−4.5 min	Within the margin of error	88%
Bachelor's degree or higher	36.0%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Broadband subscriptions	92.0%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Effective property tax rate	0.94%2015-2019	0.79%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	47%
High school diploma or higher	96.2%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	4.0×2015-2019	4.9×2020-2024	+0.9×	Within the margin of error	27%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4142015-2019	0.4002020-2024	−0.014	Within the margin of error	63%
Median household income	$83,7002015-2019	$103,2502020-2024	+23%	Within the margin of error	40%
Poverty rate	9.6%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent-burdened households	56.9%2015-2019	58.3%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.1%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Declined	18%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Wauna, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wauna, Washington in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Wauna, Washington itself moved −4.6 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,805 residents (±603)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,912 households (±192)

Wauna, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k12%†234
$25k–50k15%†279
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,912 households (±192)

Wauna, Washington
Washington share

Own86%1,650
Rent14%†262

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,215 workers (±306)

Wauna, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone78%1,722
Carpool4.8%†107
Public transit0.9%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Pierce County, the county holding most of Wauna's residents.

Pierce County has 20,051 employer establishments, 215 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Washington's), with 294,765 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,747. The Census Bureau also counts 59,552 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 20,051; 59,552 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 215; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 294,765
Average annual pay: $61,747; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Pierce County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	1,985	21.3	1.38×More than typical	17,390	$77,748	2,714
Ambulatory health care services	1,570	16.9	0.81×About typical	20,564	$90,990	3,236
Restaurants and other eating places	1,512	16.2	0.88×About typical	26,330	$28,660	209
Lessors of real estate	1,278	13.7	1.11×About typical	4,421	$63,158	5,929
Construction of buildings	947	10.2	1.34×More than typical	4,939	$76,506	1,632
Truck transportation	666	7.2	1.41×More than typical	5,766	$64,320	2,079
Services to buildings and dwellings	645	6.9	1.03×About typical	4,900	$45,427	2,709
Offices of other health practitioners	626	6.7	1.11×About typical	3,286	$49,877	1,678
Full-service restaurants	625	6.7	0.87×About typical	11,112	$33,916	73
Real estate agents and brokers	623	6.7	1.37×More than typical	992	$67,281	2,191
Building finishing contractors	622	6.7	1.76×More than typical	4,372	$61,697	1,056
Limited-service restaurants	588	6.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	11,533	$24,788	87

Rank places for an industry Open Pierce County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 931,408 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wauna, Washington: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

85.3KFY2017
14.8KFY2018
25.2KFY2019
8.7KFY2020
10.1KFY2021
8.1KFY2022
-13.6KFY2024
46.8KFY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Wauna, Washington, so they do not add up across cities.

Wauna, Washington's figures are part of those of Pierce County, WA ($557.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Wauna is mostly in Pierce County.

See federal money in Pierce County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Wauna, Washington is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Maria CantwellD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Pierce County56100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA82

Other cities and towns in Pierce County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5376615

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends