Thurston County, Washington
County seat: Olympia · Population 304,261 (2025) · 723 sq mi
Thurston County is the 6th most populous of Washington's 39 counties, with 304,261 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Olympia, which is also the state capital. The map shows its 7 cities and towns and the 4 neighboring counties.
Thurston County facts
- County seat
- Olympia
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 304,261 +3.2% since 2020
- Land area
- 723 sq mi 32nd largest of 39
- Water area
- 52 sq mi
- Population density
- 421 per sq mi
- Established
- 1852
- Named after
- Samuel Thurston American pioneer (1815-1851)
- Largest city
- Lacey 58,833
- Median household income
- $96,563
- Cities and towns
- 7 plus 5 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 16
- Time zone
- Pacific
- FIPS code
- 53067
Cities and towns in Thurston County
Thurston County has 7 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Thurston County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey | City | 58,833 | |
| Olympia (county seat) | City | 56,724 | |
| Tumwater | City | 28,010 | |
| Yelm | City | 12,043 | |
| Rainier | City | 2,495 | |
| Tenino | City | 1,941 | |
| Bucoda | Town | 630 |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Tanglewilde | 6,314 | |
| Rochester | 5,834 | |
| Grand Mound | 3,287 | |
| North Yelm | 2,522 | |
| Nisqually Indian Community | 628 |
ZIP codes in Thurston County
16 ZIP codes reach into Thurston County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 98501
- 98502 also Mason County
- 98503
- 98505
- 98506
- 98512
- 98513
- 98516
- 98530
- 98531 also Lewis County
- 98556
- 98568 also Grays Harbor and Lewis counties
- 98576
- 98579 also Lewis and Grays Harbor counties
- 98589
- 98597
Population of Thurston County, 2020–2025
Thurston County grew by 9,471 people (+3.2%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 729 more births than deaths and a net gain of 8,808 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 296,013 |
| 2021 | 298,313 |
| 2022 | 298,556 |
| 2023 | 299,197 |
| 2024 | 302,132 |
| 2025 | 304,261 |
Neighboring counties
- Pierce County east · 946,288 people
- Lewis County southeast · 88,062 people
- Mason County northwest · 71,165 people
- Grays Harbor County west · 78,144 people
Printable Thurston County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (125 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (84 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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