Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 30/100
F
Median home value$479,600
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$1,676/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households40%
Seattle 35%
Tacoma
Pierce County222,758 residentsTacoma School District
55
C−
Suburbgrade score
39th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
55
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Tacoma yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 55 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Tacoma is like to live in, by category
Bars show Tacoma against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 49/100
D+
Within-state proficiency38th pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio18.9
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate90%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 70/100
B−
Housing cost index81
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.86%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax10.50%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 58/100
C
Mean commute28.8 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi31
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 89/100
A
Restaurants & cafés184
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries7
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks91
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 44/100
D
Median household income$85,884
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment5.6%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations42%
Seattle 52%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Tacoma yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Tacoma on housing & affordability
Tacoma's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Mercer Island24 mi from TacomaB 75 B Artondale10 mi from TacomaC+ 54 C− Maple Valley21 mi from TacomaC 60 C Bonney Lake14 mi from TacomaC− 58 C Fairwood20 mi from TacomaC− 54 C− Covington18 mi from TacomaC− 56 C− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Tacoma
Is Tacoma, WA a good place to live?
Tacoma scores 55 out of 100, 39th of 59 Seattle suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Tacoma expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $479,600, 33% below the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.86%. $1,676/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Tacoma?
Schools grade D+. The districts serving Tacoma sit at the 38th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 90% graduation rate and a 18.9 student–teacher ratio. Tacoma is served by Tacoma School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Tacoma?
The mean commute is 28.8 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 16% working from home. Transit density is 31 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Tacoma?
Within two miles there are 7 groceries, 184 restaurants and cafés and 91 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Tacoma old or new?
The median home in Tacoma was built in 1967 — older than the Seattle median of 1985. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 64% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.