Lakewood, Washington

About Lakewood

In the beginning, what is now Lakewood was called The Prairie – about 20 square miles of land dotted with small lakes and home to Steilacoom and Nisqually Indians. In 1833, the British built Fort Nisqually, which was operated as a trading post by the Hudson's Bay Company. This fort closed in 1869. Nearby the US Army built Fort Steilacoom in 1849 to serve as a military post to quell Indian uprisings and protect area settlers. Several Army officers who would later earn great fame in the Civil War spent early parts of their careers as Lieutenants and Captains at Fort Steilacoom. The list includes Union General George B. McClellan, Confederate General George E. Pickett, Union General Philip H. Sheridan and Union General - and later U.S. President - Ulysses S. Grant.

As more settlers arrived once Washington became a Territory in the 1850s, the first grist mill, saw mill, flower mill and school were built. During the 1880s, the Prairie began to vanish as homes and roads were built. Magnificent homes were built on the shores of American Lake and Lake Steilacoom. In 1894 the Tacoma Country and Golf Club was built on the prairie - the first golf club west of the Mississippi.

After the turn of the century, military maneuvers on the Prairie led the Army to choose the area for a new post. Camp Lewis was built in 1917 and over the years has grown into Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one of the largest and most important U.S. military installations on the west coast.

Lakewood began taking on an identity of its own during the economic boom times after the Great Depression and later World War II. Commercial centers, a hospital, a public library, schools and colleges were built. In 1995, citizens voted to incorporate as the City of Lakewood. Today Lakewood is the fifteenth largest city in Washington and the second largest in Pierce County. Nearly 57,000 residents and 1,100 businesses call Lakewood home.

Geography

Lakewood is located just west of Interstate 5, just a few miles south of Tacoma, Fircrest and University Place.  Joint Base Lewis-McChord is located immediately to the east and southeast of the city, across Interstate 5. Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington's volcanic Cascade Mountain Range, dominates the view to the southeast. To the west is the small community of Steilacoom, and then Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains beyond.

Interstate 5 offers access to Tacoma and Seattle to the north, DuPont and the state capital of Olympia to the south, and Portland, Oregon further to the south. From Olympia, it's just over an hour to the Pacific Ocean beaches. Amtrak's main north/south rail corridor for the western United States, passes nearby with passenger stations 10 miles away in Tacoma and 20 miles away in Lacey. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is less than an hour's drive north up Interstate 5. The Tacoma Narrows Airport offers flight training and services for general aviation. Other airports serving general aviation from light planes and helicopters up to corporate jets are nearby in Spanaway and Tumwater.

Lakewood Real Estate

Housing is fairly evenly divided between renters and owner-occupied units in Lakewood.

Mean real estate prices in 2008:

All housing units $322,274
Detached houses $357,003
Townhouses or other attached units $275,796
In 2-unit structures $260,737
In 3- to 4-unit structures $203,246
In 5 or more unit structures $153,658
Mobile homes $18,800

Weather

Lakewood's location gives it a warm, temperate climate similar to its neighbors in western Washington State.

  Jan April July Oct
Avg. Temp 40 50 64 50
Precip in inches 6 3.2 1 3

Population

Lakewood population as of July 2008 stands at 56,983 people, a 2.1% decrease from the 2000 census. An average of 2.38 persons occupy each household in Lakewood. Median age is 35 years, right in line with the Washington state average of 35.3.

Employment

Lakewood offers a wide range of occupations in the immediate vicinity and surrounding areas. The US military is a significant source of employment. Most common industries for male workers are, in order, construction, healthcare, services and education. Most common industries for female workers are, in order, healthcare, education, public administration and services. Average commute time for Lakewood residents is 25 minutes each way.

Income

Median household income in 2008 was $46,907, an increase from $36,422 in 2000. This is significantly less than Washington state's average of $58,000. 16.8% of Lakewood residents were below the poverty line, compared to an overall average of 10.6% in Washington.

Cost of Living

The Cost of Living Index for Lakewood is 101 as of December 2009. The average for all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas participating in the Cost of Living Index = 100.

Lakewood Schools

The Clover Park School District serves students in Lakewood and on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The District educates 12,122 students in 17 elementary schools, 4 middle schools and 2 high schools. The District employs more than 1,500 certificated and classified staff.

85.4% of Lakewood residents over age 25 have earned a high school diploma or higher level of education, and 21.8% have achieved a Bachelor's Degree or higher. Post-secondary education is available at multiple sites, including Pierce College at Fort Steilacoom, Clover Park Technical College, Bates Technical College, Green River Community College, South Puget Sound Community College, Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound, University of Washington Tacoma Campus, The Evergreen State College, and Saint Martin's University.