Tacoma, WA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Washington·Tacoma

Pierce County · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue · population 228,202

Tacoma, WA
Image: Wikipedia · Tacoma, Washington
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
61
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Tacoma stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $496,966
1-year -0.9%
5-yr CAGR +2.7%
vs 5-yr peak -2.5%
Population +1.0%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$497k$209k$316k$423k$530k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
52/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
38/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
92/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,760/mo$1,353$1,611$1,869202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent114122100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 23.5
Lean rent

At a 23.5 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Tacoma. Owner-occupier ROI requires longer holds and the assumption that prices keep appreciating roughly at the rate of rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
46 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
51 · w22%
Distance from peak
75 · w18%
Population growth
65 · w16%
Rent YoY
64 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
82 · w10%
Long thesis

Tacoma has held up across the cycle: home values at $496,966 with +2.7% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Tacoma's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Tacoma

Tacoma is a city in Pierce County, Washington, with an estimated population of 228,202. It anchors the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. The population grew 1.0% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Tacoma is $496,966 as of 2026-04, down 0.9% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.7% annual growth (-2.5% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Tacoma average $1,760 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.8%). The composite momentum score is 61 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -2.5% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
○The data is the data: Tacoma has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Tacoma (Wikipedia)

Tacoma is a city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along the Puget Sound roughly 30 miles (48 km) from Seattle and Olympia, and 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. Tacoma is the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area and the third-most populous city in the state with a population of 219,346 at the 2020 census. Tacoma is the economic and cultural center of the South Sound region, which has a population of about 1 million.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorAnders Ibsen
Area62.42 sq mi
Elevation387 ft
Adopted1868
Density4412.51/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Pierce County right now.

NWS active alerts (WA)Washington Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Pierce County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Tacoma

8 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Northeast Tacoma$656,426-0.8%
2North End$654,909-1.3%
3West End$610,119+0.0%
4Central$468,919-0.4%
5New Tacoma$446,277-4.5%
6Eastside-ENACT$440,441-0.8%
7South End$438,429-1.4%
8South Tacoma$418,888-1.8%

Cities like Tacoma

Vancouver, WA61 · StableSpokane, WA57 · StableKent, WA55 · StableFederal Way, WA55 · Stable

Run the numbers for Tacoma

ToolCan I afford Tacoma?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Tacoma rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Tacoma to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolTacoma cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
45° / 35°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
77° / 56°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
152
~42% of year
Annual precip
38″ rain
10″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Tacoma listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
75%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$90,400
Washington state median
Top industries (state-level)
Tech (Amazon/MS)Aerospace (Boeing)Agriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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