Roy, Washington

About Roy

Roy is a small town in rural Pierce County near its southern border with Thurston County. The first known inhabitants of the area were Nisqually Indians. Settlers began arriving in the 1840s. The first Pierce County census in 1857 counted 415 people in Roy.

In 1873 a railroad was built through the area. The town was called Media as it was halfway between Tacoma and Tenino by train. In 1884 co-founders James McNaught and Dr. Samuel Warren platted the townsite and named it for McNaught's son, Roy. The City of Roy was incorporated in 1908.

Today Roy occupies 1.5 miles of Highway 507 connecting rural Thurston County with Pierce County and other points north. Roy celebrates its rural, western heritage every year with not one but three rodeos - the Junior Rodeo in May and Pioneer Rodeos in June and again on Labor Day Weekend.

Geography

Roy is located 20 mile south of Tacoma and 29 miles east of Olympia. The Nisqually Indian Community and Joint Base Lewis-McChord share its western and northern boundaries. The closest population center is Yelm, 8 miles to the south.

Highway 507 or Interstate 5 to the west offers access to Seattle to the north, 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 20 miles away in Tacoma and 20 miles away in Lacey. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is an hour's drive north. The Spanaway 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 Tumwater and Tacoma.

Roy Real Estate

Mean real estate prices in 2008:

All housing units $177,075
Detached houses $197,538
Mobile homes $38.056

Weather

Roy's location gives it a slightly cooler temperate and wetter climate than its neighbors in western Washington State.

  Jan April July Oct
Avg. Temp 39 49 62 50
Precip in inches 6 4.5 1 4

Population

Roy's population as of July 2008 stands at 689 people. An average of 2.9 persons occupy each household in Roy. Median age is 34 years, slightly below the Washington State average at 35.3 years.

Employment

The US military is a significant source of public-sector employment. The top 10 private sector employers in Pierce County are MultiCare Health System, Franciscan Health System, Fred Meyer Stores, Good Samaritan Hospital, Intel Corporation, Emerald Queen Casino, The Boeing Company, Comcast Cable, State Farm Insurance and Costco. Most common industries for male workers are, in order, construction, public administration, automotive, and self-employed. Most common industries for female workers are, in order, healthcare, public administration, education, manufacturing and retail. Yelm, Olympia, Spanaway, Puyallup and Tacoma offer careers in government, retail, healthcare, commercial, manufacturing, transportation and service industries. Average commute time for Roy residents is 23minutes each way.

Income

Median household income in 2008 was $42,148, an increase over $32,727 in 2000. This is well below Washington state's average of $58,000. 10.8% of Roy residents were below the poverty line, very near the overall Washington average of 10.6%.

Cost of Living

The Cost of Living Index for Roy is 107 as of December 2009. The average for all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas participating in the Cost of Living Index = 100.

Roy Schools

The Bethel School District operates the Roy Elementary School with an enrollment of 272 K-6 students.

85.2% of Roy residents over age 25 have earned a high school diploma or higher level of education, and 6.8% 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.