We’ll see what happens when the real census count is tallied, but new city-by-city population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau still chart Tacoma as Washington’s third city.
The final estimates of the decade put Tacoma at 199,637 residents as of July 1, 2009, just behind Spokane’s 203,276 population. If it’s any consolation, Tacoma looks to be gaining ground. It grew at just over 1 percent from 2008 to 2009, while Spokane grew at about half that. For the decade, Tacoma and Spokane grew at about 3 percent, roughly what you’d expect for mature cities.
Locally, the big gainers for the July 2008 to July ’09 period included DuPont (6.2 percent), Yelm (8.5 percent), Lacey (3 percent), Bonney Lake (2.4 percent) and Gig Harbor (3.3 percent).
As a whole, the state grew 1.5 percent during the estimate period and 13.6 percent since 2000.
Read on to see a chart of the top 10 and selected South Sound cities and towns.
| 2009 Rank | July 1, 2009 | July 1, 2008 | 2008-09 growth | Estimates Base | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 6,664,195 | 6,566,073 | 1.49% | 5,894,143 | 13.06% | |
| 1 | .Seattle city | 617,334 | 603,627 | 2.27% | 563,377 | 9.58% |
| 2 | .Spokane city | 203,276 | 202,180 | 0.54% | 197,070 | 3.15% |
| 3 | .Tacoma city | 199,637 | 197,494 | 1.09% | 193,585 | 3.13% |
| 4 | .Vancouver city | 165,809 | 163,110 | 1.65% | 146,307 | 13.33% |
| 5 | .Bellevue city | 126,626 | 123,564 | 2.48% | 112,182 | 12.88% |
| 6 | .Everett city | 99,384 | 98,568 | 0.83% | 95,981 | 3.55% |
| 7 | .Spokane Valley city | 87,378 | 86,017 | 1.58% | 80,910 | 7.99% |
| 8 | .Federal Way city | 85,929 | 85,172 | 0.89% | 85,342 | 0.69% |
| 9 | .Yakima city | 85,832 | 84,254 | 1.87% | 83,503 | 2.79% |
| 10 | .Kent city | 85,631 | 84,775 | 1.01% | 80,485 | 6.39% |
| 13 | .Auburn city | 63,544 | 62,884 | 1.05% | 55,396 | 14.71% |
| 16 | .Lakewood city | 57,710 | 57,155 | 0.97% | 58,376 | -1.14% |
| 21 | .Olympia city | 46,100 | 45,562 | 1.18% | 43,016 | 7.17% |
| 22 | .Lacey city | 42,046 | 40,831 | 2.98% | 31,578 | 33.15% |
| 25 | .Puyallup city | 37,743 | 37,327 | 1.11% | 34,321 | 9.97% |
| 34 | .University Place city | 30,685 | 30,417 | 0.88% | 29,975 | 2.37% |
| 57 | .Bonney Lake city | 17,168 | 16,765 | 2.40% | 11,796 | 45.54% |
| 72 | .Enumclaw city | 10,858 | 10,783 | 0.70% | 11,123 | -2.38% |
| 75 | .Edgewood city | 9,841 | 9,733 | 1.11% | 9,090 | 8.26% |
| 76 | .Sumner city | 9,840 | 9,727 | 1.16% | 8,589 | 14.57% |
| 87 | .Fife city | 8,169 | 8,062 | 1.33% | 4,783 | 70.79% |
| 88 | .Port Orchard city | 8,017 | 8,002 | 0.19% | 7,799 | 2.80% |
| 92 | .DuPont city | 7,318 | 6,893 | 6.17% | 2,452 | 198.45% |
| 94 | .Gig Harbor city | 7,240 | 7,012 | 3.25% | 6,561 | 10.35% |
| 99 | .Orting city | 6,319 | 6,162 | 2.55% | 3,921 | 61.16% |
| 100 | .Fircrest city | 6,278 | 6,217 | 0.98% | 5,868 | 6.99% |
| 101 | .Yelm city | 6,242 | 5,752 | 8.52% | 3,227 | 93.43% |
| 104 | .Steilacoom town | 6,127 | 6,069 | 0.96% | 6,048 | 1.31% |
| 105 | .Milton city | 6,076 | 6,024 | 0.86% | 5,797 | 4.81% |
| 106 | .Pacific city | 6,028 | 5,894 | 2.27% | 5,517 | 9.26% |
| 119 | .Buckley city | 4,509 | 4,472 | 0.83% | 4,145 | 8.78% |
| 138 | .Algona city | 2,814 | 2,769 | 1.63% | 2,460 | 14.39% |
| 145 | .Eatonville town | 2,563 | 2,527 | 1.42% | 2,071 | 23.76% |
| 211 | .Ruston town | 748 | 736 | 1.63% | 738 | 1.36% |
| 214 | .Roy city | 695 | 690 | 0.72% | 260 | 167.31% |
| 223 | .Carbonado town | 610 | 603 | 1.16% | 621 | -1.77% |
| 240 | .Wilkeson town | 425 | 423 | 0.47% | 395 | 7.59% |
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