States · Washington · Pierce County

Elk Plain, Washington.

A community in Pierce County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Pierce County’s.

Living in Elk Plain, Pierce County, Washington

Elk Plain, in Pierce County, had 14,534 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $107,313 a year and half less, against $99,564 across Pierce County; 8% of its people live below the poverty line. 84% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 16% are rented. Unemployment in Pierce County was 5.1% in August 2026, and the county had 1.1% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then construction.

People 14,534 in the 2020 census; median age 38.0
Household income $107,313 the median, give or take $8,430 · Pierce County: $99,564
Unemployment 5.1% Pierce County, August 2026; 5.1% a year before
Homes 84% lived in by their owners; 16% rented
  • 4,810households
  • 18%of adults have a degree
  • 8%below the poverty line
  • 36 mintypical commute
  • 11%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care25%
  • Building trades11%
  • Transport, warehouses and utilities11%
  • Manufacturing9%
  • Shops (retail)9%
  • Professional and business services7%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Pierce County had 337,071 jobs in 2025, 1.1% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 45° and 33°; warmest in August, 76° and 53° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A 76° 53° S O N D 45° 33°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 45° and 33°; warmest in August, 76° and 53° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A 76° 53° S O N D 45° 33°

Coldest in December, with highs near 45° and lows near 33°; warmest in August, with highs near 76° and lows near 53°. About 6 inches of snow and 45 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Mcmillin Rsvr weather station, 8 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Pierce County

  1. City of TacomaGovernment base facilities operation support services3,921
  2. Tacoma General Allenmore HospitalGeneral hospital2,897FTE
  3. WSH2,623
  4. MultiCare Health SystemPhysicians, mental health, offices e.g., centers, clinics2,526
  5. Puyallup School DistrictSchool district2,443FTE
  6. MultiCare Health SystemOffices of physicians2,402
  7. Bethel School DistrictSchool district2,281FTE
  8. St Joseph Medical CenterGeneral hospital2,232FTE

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 680 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 98,490 people in all across the county; Elk Plain has two of its own. Hospitals come from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. EarthquakesRelatively high
  2. Heat wavesRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Elk Plain’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively low. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Pierce County.