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Fort Lewis, Washington

Fort Lewis is an unincorporated community of about 15,200 people in Pierce County, Washington, in the Seattle area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Seattle, is about 38 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Seattle

Population
15,167
Census survey, 2020-24
Household income
$58,796
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Seattle area
111.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Lakewood, WA
To Seattle
38 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.1% above the U.S. average in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Fort Lewis to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town5 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Lakes High School, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySt. Clare Hospital in Lakewood, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 38 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Fort Lewis meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Fort Lewis runs into the built-up area around Seattle (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then
Up 7.9%Pierce County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,282 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$58,796U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
1%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
17%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
111.1U.S. average = 100 (the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 7.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, not Fort Lewis alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
15,167The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
22.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
0%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
27%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (38%); retail (16%); government (10%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
11 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood, WA, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

5 public schools in Fort Lewis, run by Clover Park School District. The nearest public high school is Lakes High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Washington's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
85%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
98%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
36°F
July average high
76°F
Days 90°F or hotter
2 a year
Nights at or below freezing
21 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.1 inches a year
Snow
6 inches a year
Elevation
320 feet

Weather stations: Tacoma Narrows Ap (12 miles away) and Mcmillin Rsvr (15 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood, Seattle.

Pierce County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mount Rainier National Park28 miles
  • Olympic National Park45 miles

Read about Fort Lewis's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fort Lewis?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Anderson Island, WA (unincorporated)1,448 people, 7 miles
  • Nisqually Indian Community, WA (unincorporated)628 people, 7 miles
  • Roy, WA795 people, 7 miles
  • South Creek, WA (unincorporated)2,191 people, 11 miles
  • McKenna, WA (unincorporated)669 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.