DuPont, Washington

About DuPont

DuPont traces its history back more than 5,000 years from the Nisqually Tribe that once lived where the city is now located. In 1792, Captain George Vancouver and his crew on the HMS Discovery were the first outsiders to see the area. Forty years later, three men landed in the area to start a trading post with the Indians. A year later in 1833 the Hudson's Bay Company built Fort Nisqually as a trading post. Some of the fruit trees planted then survive to this day.

The city itself started in 1906 as a company town for the explosives manufacturer E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company. More than one hundred houses, along with a church, butcher shop and hotel were built by the company for its employees at the DuPont Powderworks Plant. When the city incorporated in 1951, residents were allowed to buy their homes. For 70 years the Powderworks produced explosives used to blast stumps, clear roadways and fight two World Wars.

In 1976, the plant was closed and 3,200 acres of land sold to the Weyerhaeuser Corporation. Its Quadrant Real Estate management subsidiary created Northwest Landing, an award-winning, 3,000-acre planned community with business, residential, historic and recreational properties. DuPont's historic, small-town charm has been preserved with tree-lined streets, Craftsman-style architecture, schools, parks and trails.

Northwest Landing was named the "Best Master Planned Community of the Year" in 1995 by the Master Builders Association. In 1997 the federal Environmental Protection Agency recognized the community for its "smart growth principals" that promote walkable communities with trails, businesses and public transit in close proximity to a variety of homes.

Geography

DuPont is located between Tacoma and Olympia on Interstate 5 Joint Base Lewis McChord is just across the freeway to the east, and Puget Sound forms the western boundary. Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington's volcanic Cascade Mountain Range, dominates the view to the northeast.

While near to Tacoma, DuPont is also centrally located between the major metropolitan areas of Seattle, Washington to the north and Portland, Oregon to the south. It is also midway between the Cascade Mountain range and its crown jewel, Mt. Rainier to the east, and the Pacific Ocean beaches of Washington's western coast.

Interstate 5 forms the eastern boundary of the city. Amtrak's rail lines – two main north/south travel corridors for the western United States, travel nearby with passenger stations close by in Tacoma and Lacey. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is approximately an hour's drive north up Interstate 5. Closer, airports serving general aviation from light planes and helicopters up to corporate jets are nearby in Tumwater and Tacoma.

DuPont Real Estate

Dupont is comprised mainly of newer construction including single family, townhomes, condos and mulit-family homes. The Northwest Landing Master Plan includes 1,000 acres dedicated to residential development. Dupont homes range from about $200,000 up to about $500,000. Single family lot sizes range from smaller alley loading side yards to a some larger 1/3-acre for more expensive homes. The homes for sale in DuPont are a short commute to Joint Base Lewis McChord, Lacey, Olympia and Tacoma. Most DuPont residents will be commuting to one of these areas for their job.

Mean real estate prices in 2008:

All housing units $322,956
Detached houses $339,100
Townhouses or other attached units $205,801
In 2-unit structures $209,862
In 3- to 4-unit structures $226,429
In 5 or more unit structures $256,985

Weather

DuPont enjoys the same temperate climate as its neighbors in western Washington State.

Jan April July Oct
Avg. Temp 39 49 63 50
Precip in inches 7 3 .9 3.5

Population

DuPont population as of July 2008 stands at 6,944 people, a 183.2% increase from the 2000 census count. With a complete infilling of the Master Plan, population would eventually top out around 12,000. An average of 2.6 persons occupy each household in DuPont. Median age is 32 years, significantly younger than the Washington state average of 35.3.

Employment

DuPont's three major employers are the US military (civilian and active duty), State Farm Insurance and Intel. Joint Base Lewis McChord is the largest US military installation on the west coast. State Farm Insurance located its Pacific Northwest Zone Operations Center here in 1995 to provide claims service, underwriting, financial services, human resources, marketing and public affairs for a six-state area. Intel also opened its DuPont Campus in 1995 to focus on engineering research and development of enterprise platforms for servers and workstations, chipsets, desktop systems and diagnostic tools. Prototype workstations and server platforms are also manufactured and assembled in DuPont.

Other employment opportunities exist to the south with the State of Washington in the Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater area and to the north in Washington's second-largest city, Tacoma.

Average commute time for DuPont residents is 15 minutes each way.

Income

Median household income in 2008 was $68,217, up from $52,969 in 2000. This compares favorably with Washington state's average of $58,000. Less than 5% of the residents were below the poverty line.

Cost of Living

The Cost of Living Index for DuPont is 108 as of December 2009. The average for all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas participating in the Cost of Living Index = 100.

DuPont Schools

Public schools in DuPont are operated by the Steilacoom Historical School District, along with its 7 other schools on Anderson Island and in the town of Steilacoom. DuPont students are served by 1 elementary school, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. In addition, the Washington Virtual Academy offers a non-traditional education approach for students K-grade 8.

94.6% of DuPont residents over age 25 have earned a high school diploma or higher level of education, and 42.9% have achieved a Bachelor's Degree or higher. Post-secondary education is available at two public colleges in Olympia: South Puget Sound Community College, a two-year community and technical school, and The Evergreen State College, a nationally ranked environmental and liberal arts college. Saint Martin's University in nearby Lacey is a private, Benedictine institution offering four-year and graduate degrees. Two private universities in nearby Tacoma are Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound. The University of Washington operates a branch campus in downtown Tacoma. In addition, Tacoma Community College offers courses in Tacoma and on base at Lewis/McChord.