Living in Olympia.

The state capital at the southern end of Puget Sound, with a small downtown on the water.

The Washington State Capitol dome, with Mount Rainier beyond

Life in Olympia

Olympia’s downtown sits on Budd Inlet, next to the Capitol Campus. Free tours of the Legislative Building run most days.

Getting to Seattle

Interstate 5 runs north through Tacoma to Seattle, about 60 miles away. Amtrak Cascades trains stop at Centennial Station, just south of Lacey.

Schools

Olympia School District serves most of the city. Check with the district for the schools at a specific address.

Weekends

Percival Landing has a 0.9-mile boardwalk along the downtown waterfront, and Squaxin Park has trails through 314 acres of forest.

Olympia
by the numbers.

55,951 people live in Olympia, with a median age of 40.5. The median household earns $81,302 a year.

People: 55,951
Median age: 40.5
Median household income: $81,302
Median home value: $486,200

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates. Figures are for the city limits.

Who lives
in Olympia.

Age

Under 109%
10 to 179%
18 to 248%
25 to 4431%
45 to 6423%
65 to 7411%
75 and over9%

Education, adults 25 and over

No high school diploma3%
High school17%
Some college19%
Associate degree8%
Bachelor’s degree31%
Graduate degree21%

Men and women

Men 49%Women 51%

Density and degrees

People per square mile: 3,070
Adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 52%

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates. Figures are for the city limits.

Schools
in Olympia.

Public schools with an Olympia address. The district’s boundary map shows which school serves a specific home.

Black Lake ElementaryTumwater School DistrictK–56345 Belmore-Black Lake Road, 985124.0
Boston Harbor ElementaryOlympia School DistrictPK–57300 Zangle Rd NE, 985065.8
Centennial ElementaryOlympia School DistrictPK–52637 45th Ave SE, 985015.0
East Olympia ElementaryTumwater School DistrictPK–58700 Rich Road, 985015.2
Garfield Elementary SchoolOlympia School DistrictPK–5325 Plymouth St NW, 985024.2
Griffin SchoolGriffin School DistrictPK–86530 33rd Ave NW, 985027.9
Julia Butler Hansen ElementaryOlympia School DistrictPK–51919 Road 65 NW, 985024.3
Leland P. Brown ElementaryOlympia School DistrictK–52000 26th Ave NW, 985026.6
Lincoln Elementary SchoolOlympia School DistrictK–5213 21st Ave SE, 985015.2
Littlerock Elementary SchoolTumwater School DistrictPK–512710 Littlerock Rd SW, 985127.7
Madison Elementary SchoolOlympia School DistrictPK–51225 Legion Way SE, 985015.8
McKenny ElementaryOlympia School DistrictPK–53250 Morse Merryman Rd SE, 985018.3
McLane Elementary SchoolOlympia School DistrictPK–5200 Delphi Rd SW, 985024.1
Pioneer Elementary SchoolOlympia School DistrictPK–51655 Carlyon Ave SE, 985015.9
Roosevelt Elementary SchoolOlympia School DistrictPK–51417 San Francisco Ave NE, 985066.6
Wa He Lut Indian SchoolWa He Lut Indian SchoolK–811110 Conine Avenue SE, 98501–

Schools: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data 2023–24. State score: Washington School Improvement Framework 2025, OSPI, all students, on a 1–10 scale. A dash means the state did not publish a score for the school. Online and alternative programs are not listed.

Places to see
around Olympia.

Percival Landing
A 0.9-mile boardwalk along Budd Inlet in downtown Olympia. A three-story wooden tower beside it looks out over the inlet to the Olympic Mountains.
Squaxin Park
Olympia’s largest city park, 314 acres of forest on Budd Inlet. It was called Priest Point Park until 2022, when the city renamed it to honor the Squaxin Island Tribe.
Woodard Bay Conservation Area
A state conservation area on Henderson Inlet, north of Olympia, on the site of an old log dump. Harbor seals rest on its log booms, and a large colony of bats raises its young here each summer.
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls
A 15-acre park on the Deschutes River in Tumwater, just south of Olympia, with a half-mile loop trail past the falls. Each autumn, salmon climb its fish ladders to a state hatchery at the top.