States · Washington · Pierce County

Key Center, 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 Key Center, Pierce County, Washington

Key Center, in Pierce County, had 3,863 people in the 2020 census. Half its households earn more than $105,781 a year and half less, against $99,564 across Pierce County; 8% of its people live below the poverty line. 88% of its homes are lived in by their owners and 12% 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 shops.

People 3,863 in the 2020 census; median age 45.9
Household income $105,781 the median, give or take $11,234 · Pierce County: $99,564
Unemployment 5.1% Pierce County, August 2026; 5.1% a year before
Homes 88% lived in by their owners; 12% rented
  • 1,441households
  • 30%of adults have a degree
  • 8%below the poverty line
  • 36 mintypical commute
  • 10%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care24%
  • Shops (retail)15%
  • Professional and business services12%
  • Building trades10%
  • Transport, warehouses and utilities9%
  • Banks, insurance and property8%

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, 46° and 36°; warmest in August, 76° and 54° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A 76° 54° S O N D 46° 36°
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in December, 46° and 36°; warmest in August, 76° and 54° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° J F M A M J J A 76° 54° S O N D 46° 36°

Coldest in December, with highs near 46° and lows near 36°; warmest in August, with highs near 76° and lows near 54°. About 42 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Tacoma Narrows Airport weather station, 9 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; Key Center has one 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. Coastal floodingRelatively high
  2. EarthquakesRelatively high
  3. Heat wavesRelatively moderate
  4. Inland floodingRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Key Center’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. 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.