Lacey | |
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 St. Martin's University in Lacey | |
 Show Lacey Show Thurston County Show Washington Show the United StatesInteractive location map of Lacey | |
| Coordinates:47°1′35″N122°48′26″W / 47.02639°N 122.80722°W /47.02639; -122.80722 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Thurston |
| Incorporated | December 5, 1966 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager[1] |
| • Mayor | Andy Ryder[2] |
| • Deputy mayor | Malcolm Miller[3] |
| Area | |
• City | 17.66 sq mi (45.75 km2) |
| • Land | 17.20 sq mi (44.55 km2) |
| • Water | 0.46 sq mi (1.20 km2) |
| Elevation | 203 ft (62 m) |
| Population | |
• City | 53,526 |
• Estimate (2024)[6] | 58,644 |
| • Rank | US: 669th WA:23rd |
| • Density | 3,057.7/sq mi (1,180.57/km2) |
| • Metro | 298,758 (US:172nd) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code | 98516 |
| Area code | 360 |
| FIPS code | 53-36745 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1512362[7] |
| Website | cityoflacey.org |
Lacey is a city inThurston County, Washington, United States. It is asuburb ofOlympia with a population of 53,526 at the2020 census, making it the24th most populous city in Washington.[5] Lacey is located alongInterstate 5 between Olympia and theNisqually River, which marks the border withPierce County andJoint Base Lewis–McChord.
Lacey was originally called Woodland after settlers Isaac and Catherine Wood, who claimed land there in 1853.[8] By 1891, the railroad had come to the community of Woodland and the residents decided it was time to apply for a post office. The request was denied because there was already a town calledWoodland on theColumbia River. The name Lacey was chosen for the new post office application, presumably after O. C. Lacey, a Justice of the Peace in Olympia.[9] The small settlements of Woodland and Chambers Prairie consolidated into Lacey in the 1950s.
Initial studies on incorporation of the Lacey area were undertaken in 1963 by a localchamber of commerce to prevent the City of Olympia from annexing the area.[10] The study proposed an incorporated area of 5.64 square miles (14.6 km2) that would encompass 5,738 residents.[11] A proposal to incorporate Lacey was placed before voters at a special election on August 11, 1964, and was defeated by a margin of over 300 votes.[12]
A second attempt to incorporate 10.29 square miles (26.7 km2) and 8,860 residents into the City of Lacey was proposed in 1966.[13] Voters approved incorporation in the November 8, 1966, election, by a margin of approximately 200 votes.[14] The City of Lacey was officially incorporated on December 5, 1966, after the election results were certified.[15][16] The City of Olympia responded with a special election to annex 2 square miles (5.2 km2) that would be withdrawn from Lacey under provisions of a state law.[17] The special election would encompass the entirety of Olympia rather than be solely restricted to the affected area; it was approved on January 24, 1967.[18]
At the time, the main industries were cattle, milk, forest products, and retail. Lacey later became acommuter town forOlympia,Fort Lewis,[19] and, to some extent,Tacoma.[citation needed] In 1975, the localJaycees chapter proposed moving thecounty seat for Thurston County from Olympia to Lacey to give the city "an identity" beyond being a bedroom community.[20]
Lacey generally lies betweenOlympia to the west and theNisqually River delta (which includes theBilly Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge) to the east. The city's northernmost point is along theNisqually Reach onPuget Sound adjacent toTolmie State Park and its southern boundary is a section of theBNSF Railway'sSeattle Subdivision, a major freight and passenger railway.[21][22]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.51 square miles (42.76 km2), of which, 16.06 square miles (41.60 km2) is land and 0.45 square miles (1.17 km2) is water.[23]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 6,630 | — | |
| 1970 | 9,696 | 46.2% | |
| 1980 | 13,940 | 43.8% | |
| 1990 | 19,279 | 38.3% | |
| 2000 | 31,226 | 62.0% | |
| 2010 | 42,393 | 35.8% | |
| 2020 | 53,526 | 26.3% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 58,644 | [6] | 9.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[24] 2020 Census[5] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 53,526 people, 20,984 households in the city.
As of the2010 census, there were 42,393 people, 16,949 households, and 10,869 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,639.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,019.2/km2). There were 18,493 housing units at an average density of 1,151.5 per square mile (444.6/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 74.2% White, 5.4% African American, 1.2% Native American, 8.0% Asian, 1.7% Pacific Islander, 2.6% from other races, and 7.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.2% of the population.
There were 16,949 households, of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% weremarried couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.9% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99.
The median age in the city was 34 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.5% were from 25 to 44; 21.8% were from 45 to 64; and 14.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $46,848, and the median income for a family was $54,923. Males had a median income of $41,053 versus $32,497 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $20,224. About 7.1% of families and 8.8% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
Mushroom Corner is located alongInterstate 5 and is included in theTanglewilde-Thompson Placecensus-designated place (CDP) forcensus purposes. The "corner" in Mushroom Corner is located at the intersection of Steilacoom Road SE and Marvin Road SE. The community takes its name from the localmushroom crop; the Ostrom Mushroom Farm formerly operated nearby.[25][26]
The largest retail area in Lacey is theSouth Sound Center, which opened in 1966 and was originally an enclosed mall until 2000.[27] Plans to develop a city center near the mall were considered as early as the 1990s to revitalize the area around the civic campus.[28] The Lacey Gateway was developed in the 2000s and is home to aCabela's store, but failed to attract other major tenants.[29] TheNisqually Tribe announced plans in 2023 to build Quiemuth Resort, a casino resort with a 350-room hotel adjacent to Lacey Gateway, and a mixed-use development at a nearby site.[30]
The city designated 500 acres (200 ha) of land in the Hawks Prairie area for industrial use in the 1990s with the intent of attracting high-tech businesses. It instead was developed into largewarehouses anddistribution centers that serve the Puget Sound region and connect with thePort of Seattle andPort of Tacoma.[31] In 2003, retailerTarget opened its West Coast distribution center in Lacey with 1.7 million square feet (160,000 m2) of space—among the largest warehouses in the U.S. by usable volume.[32][33] The city council passed a cap of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) for new warehouses in 2006, but lifted it in 2015 for additional development.[34]
Lacey was the twelfth city to be designated an official "Green Power Community" by theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its use ofrenewable energy sources; 8.4% of its total energy use comes from green power sources.[35] It is working to meet itsAlternative Energy Initiative, which includes using 100 percent green electrical energy in all of its municipal buildings, parks, utilities, and 3,000 streetlights and traffic signals; providing electric vehiclecharging stations to visitors and employees at its city hall and library campus; and initiating conversion of its municipal fleet to energy efficient vehicles powered by electricity, hybrid technology, and 80/20 biofuel.[36] Lacey has received the "Tree City, USA" designation from theNational Arbor Day Foundation for 26 years.[37]
As of 2023[update], the city had an unemployment rate of 4.1% and an estimated 34,160 jobs; Lacey's top employers were:[38]
| Rank | Employer | Employees in 2023 | Employees in 2014 | 2023 Share | 2014 Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State of Washington |  2,520 | 2,590 | 7.4% | 12% |
| 2 | North Thurston Public Schools |  2,000 | 1,700 | 5.9% | 8% |
| 3 | Amazon | 838 | - | 2.5% | - |
| 4 | St. Martin's University | 612 | 100-500 | 1.8% | 1% |
| 5 | PetSmart | 480 | - | 1.4% | - |
| 6 | Harbor Wholesale | 407 | - | 1.2% | - |
| 7 | South Sound Behavior Hospital | 405 | - | 1.2% | - |
| 8 | Medline Industries | 393 | - | 1.2% | - |
| 9 | Walmart | 368 | 100-500 | 1.1% | 1% |
| 10 | City of Lacey | 330 | 241 | 1% | 1% |
A pair of bronze sculptures known asKite Girl andKite Boy are located specifically at main entrance points into Lacey. The sculptures were funded in part by a 25-cent taxpayer fee collected for artwork improvements and maintenance in the community. The artwork of the little girl is 7 feet (2.1 m) tall and situated on a pedestal; it was installed in late 1999 on Pacific Avenue at the border between Lacey and Olympia.[39] The boy statue, 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm) in height, was not placed at its permanent location on Sleater-Kinney Road near I-5 until May 2008 after several attempts were undertaken to find a suitable spot for the piece.[40][41]
The city is entirely within the boundaries ofNorth Thurston Public Schools,[42] the largest school district in Thurston County. Lacey is also home to various faith based schools, such as Holy Family School (Roman Catholic Preschool through 8th grade), Faith Lutheran School (Preschool through 8th Grade) and Foundation Campus, which includes Community Christian Academy (Pre-school to Middle School) andNorthwest Christian High School. Lacey is also the home ofPope John Paul II High School.
Lacey is also home toSaint Martin's University, a private four-year university that was founded in 1895 by theOrder of Saint Benedict.[43] The Olympia-basedSouth Puget Sound Community College opened a satellite center in a Hawks Prairie strip mall in 1995 to serve Lacey. It was replaced in September 2015 by a larger branch campus at a formeroffice park.[44] The college had also purchased 54.5 acres (22.1 ha) in 2005 to build a larger permanent campus, but sold the land after issues withwetlands mitigation were discovered.[44][45]
Lacey is bisected from west to east byInterstate 5, a north–south freeway connectingSeattle toPortland, Oregon.[22] The firstdiverging diamond interchange in Washington opened in August 2020 at a junction in Lacey between Interstate 5 and Marvin Road (State Route 510).[47] As of 2021[update], the city maintains 178.6 miles (287.4 km) of streets within its city limits.[48]
The city is served byIntercity Transit, thepublic transit system for Thurston County, and is the eastern terminus of The Onebus rapid transit line. The agency also runs express buses from Olympia and Lacey to Lakewood with onward connections to other transit systems.[49][50] The county's onlyAmtrak station,Centennial Station, is located near Lacey's southern boundary and is served by dailyCascades andCoast Starlight trains.[51]
As of 2013[update], the city government providestap water to over 22,000 customers, of which 89 percent are classified as residential users. Lacey sources its water from 19groundwater wells and maintains seven reservoirs and 357 miles (575 km) ofwater mains to deliver and distribute water throughout the city.[52]
The largest hospital in Thurston County is theProvidence St. Peter Hospital, which has a 372-bed capacity and is located northwest of Lacey.[53][54] St. Peter Hospital was originally located in Olympia from its foundation in 1887 until January 1971, when its current location opened outside of the city limits.[55][56] It is operated byProvidence Health & Services, a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare provider that also has outpatient and specialty facilities in Lacey.[57] The city also has an off-campusemergency room for theMultiCare Capital Medical Center, the other major hospital in the Olympia area. The facility opened in 2023 and has 18 beds.[58] Amental health hospital was opened in Lacey byUS HealthVest in 2018 and a second facility with 85 beds was planned by Providence St. Peter Hospital andFairfax Behavioral Health.[59] The Providence–Fairfax plan was later put on hold after Fairfax announced in 2023 that they would not pursue the project.[60]
Lacey has asister city in Poland,Mińsk Mazowiecki.[72]
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Municipalities and communities ofThurston County, Washington,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Town | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
