Tacoma, WA
Pierce County · Washington · United States
Home to 7,500 people across 1.18 square miles.
At a glance
98402 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 98402 is
| Coordinates | 47.25383, -122.444295 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/Los_Angeles |
| County | Pierce County |
| State | Washington (WA) |
| Land area | 1.18 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
America/Los_Angeles
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| Seattle, WA | 24.9 mi |
|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 654.9 mi |
| Los Angeles, CA | 938.0 mi |
| Denver, CO | 1013.9 mi |
People
Who lives in 98402
7,500 residents in 4,395 households, averaging 1.71 people per household. The largest age group is 25-34 at 33.2% of residents, and 63.1% of households are a single person living alone.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 4,395 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 1.71 |
| Family households | 23.1% |
| Living alone | 63.1% |
| Median age | 34.6 years |
| Households with internet | 83.7% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 98402
The median household here earns $54,712 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 98402 ahead of 23% of American ZIP codes. 24.6% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $54,712 ±$8,631 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $46,403 |
| Poverty rate | 24.6% |
| Unemployment rate | 8.6% |
| Labor force participation | 59.6% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 43.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 90.9% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 98402
A typical home is valued at $558,100, and median rent runs $1,478 a month. This is a renter-majority area — 80.0% of occupied homes are rented, and the typical building went up in 1978.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $558,100 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $1,478/mo |
| Median year built | 1978 |
| Housing units | 4,788 |
| Vacancy rate | 8.2% |
Own vs. rent
Of 4,395 occupied units
| Owner households | 878 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 3,517 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 98402 commutes
56.0% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 25.4 minutes. 22.2% work from home.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 25.4 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 98402
ZIP code 98402 is assigned to Tacoma, WA, and falls within Pierce County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 7,500 people live inside it.
At 6,356 residents per square mile spread over 1.18 square miles, 98402 reads as a densely built-up area. It is a smaller postal code by population, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings run below the national median. At $54,712, 98402 sits in the lower half, ahead of 23% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Tacoma looks like
Housing in 98402 costs well above the national median. A typical home is valued at $558,100 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $1,478 a month. This is firmly renter territory — 80.0% of occupied homes are rented, a pattern typical of city centres, student areas and neighbourhoods with a lot of apartment stock.
The building stock is dominated by larger apartment buildings of twenty units or more, which account for 66.7% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1978, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.
The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 34.6 against 42 nationally. Households average just 1.71 people, and 63.1% consist of one person living alone — a signature of areas with a lot of studio and one-bedroom stock.
Getting to work takes 25.4 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 56.0% of workers, while 9.0% walk, 22.2% work from home. Commute patterns are one of the better proxies for how a place actually functions day to day.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Tacoma, WA
Tacoma is a built-up area, so you will generally find a mix of chain hotels near the main approach roads and a smaller number of independent properties closer to the centre. Staying in 98402 itself often costs less than an equivalent room in the nearest downtown while keeping you close to it.
Median rent in 98402 is $1,478 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Seattle, WA is about 24.9 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
Opens Booking.com in a new tab. We are not affiliated with Booking.com and receive nothing from this link.
Practical uses
What ZIP code 98402 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 98402 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 98402 offers a compact profile of Tacoma: 7,500 residents, a median household income of $54,712, 43.9% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 8.6%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 98402 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Tacoma may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 98402
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Washington ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
Other ZIP codes in Tacoma
Tacoma is served by 35 postal codes.
More in Pierce County
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Questions
Common questions about 98402
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 98402. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).