What is the cost of living in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 103.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 116.7, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,960/month.

What is the median salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?

The median salary in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater is $77,750 annually (mean: $80,865). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How safe is Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?

The violent crime rate in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area is 329 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2498 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?

The state of WA has 2,465 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.6:1. Charter schools make up 0.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?

Infant center-based childcare in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area averages $15,987 per year. Preschool averages $12,531/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater a good place to relocate?

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has a Life Score of 43.6/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ranks #258 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA

BEA RPP 103.7 ranks #350 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

103.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,960
2BR rent / mo: $77,750
Median salary: 47.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ranks #258 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (47.2/100), with its strongest marks in air quality and job market.

#258
of 387 US metros · Near median: 7,958,180
metro-area population: 329
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,465
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (10/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ranks #258 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 103.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,960/mo, median salary $77,750; LiveAbility Score 47.2/100, strongest in air quality and job market.

Signature: BEA RPP 103.7 ranks #350 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 103.7 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,960/mo.

LiveAbility 47.2/100 puts Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater in the bottom third (#258 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area is 123,100.

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

47 Top 67% higher than 33% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater MSA; housing RPP 116.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,960/mo.

Studio

$1,538

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,682

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,960

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,613

/month

4 Bedroom

$3,288

/month

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater wages and employment

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater posts 123,100 total employment with median salary $77,750 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$77,750

Mean Salary

$80,865

Total Employment

123,100

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$36,110
General and Operations Managers	$122,210
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$44,060
Retail Salespersons	$37,350
Management Analysts	$88,790

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area from NCES.

Schools

2,465

Enrollment

1,092,149

Student:Teacher

17.6:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$15,987

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,531

per year

Preschool (Center)

$12,531

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater's composite Life Score is 43.6/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

10/100

Bottom decile

Wages

95/100

Elite

Rent

10/100

Bottom decile

Crime

46/100

Average

Schools

72/100

Strong

Childcare

12/100

Bottom decile

Environment

59/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ranks #258 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 47.2/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Air quality (96/100)

Air quality

96
Job market

95
Low hazard

87
Safety

46
Climate

33
Schools

28
Cost of living

10
Housing

10

What this shows Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater's strongest dimensions are air quality and job market; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 10/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater to

Fairbanks-College Fargo Farmington Fayetteville Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Flagstaff

Metros near Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater?

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater runs a $77,750 median salary at a 103.7 cost index, ranking #258 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.