Jobs in the United States → United States guide → Cities → Tacoma

Working in Tacoma, WA

Jobs, pay and daily life in Tacoma, from official statistics with source and year on every table.

In short: Tacoma (Washington): 222,758 residents, median household income $85,884, median rent $1,676, unemployment 4.9%.
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Map: Tacoma in Washington

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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.

222,758residents (ACS 2024)
$85,884median household income
$1,676median rent a month
4.9%unemployment (BLS)
34.5%bachelor's degree or higher
55.8%homeowners

Overview

CITY (Tacoma) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Tacoma is a city in Washington with 222,758 residents. The median household earns $85,884 a year and the median rent is $1,676 a month, which is 23.4% of the median household income. It is part of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, where BLS counts 2,086,210 jobs.

Federal jobs in Washington (1,197) →State guide: WashingtonCountry guide

Jobs

LIVE (federal) + METRO Live feed + official statistic Source: USAJOBS (federal jobs only) · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: 07/11/2026

There are 1,197 federal postings open in Washington (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.

Open federal jobs in Washington →

Occupations with the most jobs in the metro (among our 240 niches)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Software Developers92,7704.10$167,280$99,190$257,960+23%
Home Health and Personal Care Aides54,6700.95$48,210$44,190$54,980+35%
Fast Food and Counter Workers49,1900.95$39,150$35,580$50,980+25%
Retail Salespersons46,6200.89$42,080$37,000$56,960+19%
Registered Nurses39,9000.88$128,260$99,020$163,890+31%
Business Operations Specialists, All Other38,8002.66$101,920$66,820$171,710+23%
Stockers and Order Fillers30,8600.81$46,830$38,530$57,830+25%
Cashiers30,4700.74$44,210$36,600$54,720+34%
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand29,4900.75$47,740$39,240$62,400+19%
General and Operations Managers29,3700.62$146,030$79,610$292,160+38%
Office Clerks, General27,4600.83$53,290$41,000$77,520+18%
Project Management Specialists26,9101.88$130,380$78,780$209,220+27%
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners26,8200.90$46,490$38,490$63,120+26%
Waiters and Waitresses26,5300.87$57,280$36,730$95,940+63%
Customer Service Representatives25,8400.74$53,550$41,200$76,280+20%
Accountants and Auditors22,1001.14$99,370$73,250$160,640+19%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers21,2300.77$71,240$55,980$93,810+21%
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary21,0401.10$53,950$39,450$64,450+47%
Cooks, Restaurant20,8501.10$47,730$38,360$58,660+28%
Computer Systems Analysts19,0502.73$133,690$74,470$197,600+26%

Highest-paying occupations in the metro (at least 500 jobs)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Anesthesiologists9901.91$646,930$421,780$646,940+65%
Chief Executives2,0600.75$370,000$187,890$607,100+73%
General Internal Medicine Physicians8500.94$340,010$222,990$404,380+33%
Physicians, All Other3,5900.78$330,560$107,890$433,910+24%
Family Medicine Physicians8400.58$306,190$95,500$337,870+25%
Radiologists1,2103.36≥ $239,200≥ $239,200≥ $239,200n/a
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers3,3402.41$229,900$160,200$529,820-1%
Computer and Information Systems Managers13,1701.46$214,680$132,270$333,990+23%
Computer and Information Research Scientists1,6203.24$211,270$103,480$286,400+51%
Architectural and Engineering Managers4,3901.49$204,340$158,330$265,340+19%
Natural Sciences Managers1,7301.19$203,150$131,550$336,640+21%
Financial Managers8,5000.75$185,550$124,820$324,570+11%
Sales Managers6,6200.77$184,320$109,490$304,640+24%
Marketing Managers6,7201.27$175,850$99,180$296,680+5%
Air Traffic Controllers5101.69$175,280$96,640$215,840+18%
Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary3,3600.76$174,260$107,190$209,400+65%
Computer Network Architects3,7101.54$172,650$93,880$243,590+29%
Human Resources Managers3,2001.08$171,360$111,060$291,480+15%
Computer Hardware Engineers1,4101.37$169,120$104,770$260,210+5%
Managers, All Other7,1100.85$168,980$100,990$288,300+19%

Economy

METRO (Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA) Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · Data: OEWS May 2025; BLS 2026M09

These figures are for the whole Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, not the city alone.

Sort:
Occupation field ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Office and Administrative Support212,9000.89$59,660+26%
Business and Financial Operations201,1601.42$101,950+23%
Computer and Mathematical194,9702.76$156,000+43%
Sales and Related168,9000.94$50,760+32%
Food Preparation and Serving Related167,0400.91$46,480+33%
Transportation and Material Moving161,3000.88$52,940+19%
Management117,5700.79$168,110+33%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical110,2300.84$122,880+42%
Educational Instruction and Library107,0400.88$72,190+19%
Healthcare Support101,4800.96$49,150+28%
Construction and Extraction88,6401.03$78,670+32%
Production84,1800.73$59,600+27%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair71,6400.88$74,630+25%
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance51,8600.85$47,380+26%
Architecture and Engineering50,3501.43$124,180+25%
Protective Service43,2300.85$59,620+19%
Personal Care and Service42,3700.97$48,570+33%
Community and Social Service35,8801.00$72,180+24%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media29,1901.06$73,870+18%
Life, Physical, and Social Science25,8101.31$102,320+24%
Legal18,1101.03$116,750+14%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry2,3700.41$45,050+23%

Median pay across all occupations: $72,610 (US $50,980); unemployment 4.9% (2026M09).

Industries where residents work

Sort:
Industry (residents) ⇅Share of employed residents ⇅
Education and health care25.0%
Professional, scientific, management, administrative10.8%
Retail trade10.7%
Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food9.4%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities7.8%
Construction7.6%
Manufacturing7.4%
Public administration6.8%
Finance, insurance, real estate4.9%
Other services4.7%
Wholesale trade3.0%
Information1.3%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining0.5%

Commuting

CITY (Tacoma) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
How residents get to work ⇅Share ⇅
Drive alone66.0%
Public transit3.9%
Walk2.7%
Work from home15.7%
Commute of 45 minutes or more20.0%

Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.

Pay and cost

CITY + METRO Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · BEA Regional Price Parities · Data: ACS 2020–2024; RPP 2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median household income$85,884
Income per person$45,650
Median gross rent per month$1,676
Yearly rent as share of median household income23.4%
Median home value$479,600
Homeowners55.8%
Poverty rate12.4%
Price level of the metro area (US = 100)111.1
Metro median pay, all occupations$72,610

Does this salary work here? (estimate)

Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.

State tax: No state tax on wages.

People and education

CITY (Tacoma) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median age37.2
High school or higher (25+)91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)34.5%
Born abroad12.6%
Labour force participation (16+)64.9%

Where the foreign-born residents come from (by region)

Asia9,832 (62.4%)
Europe2,711 (17.2%)
Latin America2,063 (13.1%)
Africa667 (4.2%)
Oceania239 (1.5%)
Northern America232 (1.5%)

Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.

Climate

CITY (Tacoma) Model estimate on a 0.5° grid Source: NASA POWER climatology (MERRA-2, 2001–2025) · Data: monthly means 2001–2025

Sort:
Month ⇅Mean temperature (°C) ⇅Mean temperature (°F) ⇅Precipitation (mm) ⇅
Jan4.440174
Feb4.640108
Mar6.744138
Apr9.04895
May12.85570
Jun15.25951
Jul18.26519
Aug18.36529
Sep15.46058
Oct10.851125
Nov6.744188
Dec3.839175

Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.

Nearby cities

CITY Calculation Source: straight-line distance from coordinates (Census Gazetteer) · Data: 2024

Sort:
City ⇅State ⇅Distance (straight line) ⇅Population ⇅Median household income ⇅Median rent ⇅
KentWA15 mi135,603$92,302$1,909
SeattleWA26 mi780,992$118,745$2,007
BellevueWA28 mi151,847$165,576$2,572
VancouverWA112 mi195,300$81,338$1,702
PortlandOR119 mi636,958$91,478$1,648
SalemOR163 mi178,865$75,487$1,400
EugeneOR223 mi179,591$66,562$1,402
SpokaneWA237 mi230,293$70,064$1,215
MeridianID387 mi130,138$100,795$1,805
Boise CityID393 mi237,242$83,904$1,446

Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.

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FAQ

How many people live in Tacoma?

222,758 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).

What is the median rent in Tacoma?

$1,676 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 23.4% of the median household income.

What is the median household income in Tacoma?

$85,884 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).

What is the unemployment rate in Tacoma?

4.9% (BLS metro area 2026M09).

Which state is Tacoma in?

Washington. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.

Sources

Sources

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