Moving to
Fort Lewis.

15,167people live here $58,796median household income▼ 27% below US $2,282median rent per month▲ 62% above US

Fort Lewis is part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. These figures cover the people who live on base, mostly young service members and their families, so it isn’t ranked against other cities. Most people stationed here live off base, in Lakewood or Tacoma.

What it's like to live in Fort Lewis

Fort Lewis is an unincorporated community in Washington with commutes that run shorter than most cities, a growing population, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Fort Lewis deals with rent well above the national average, household incomes below the national average, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.

The good

Short commutes
Growing population
Average class sizes

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
Below-average household incomes
High rent burden for renters
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options

How Fort Lewis compares

Median household income

Fort Lewis$58,796

Washington avg$98,141

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Fort Lewis$2,282

Washington avg$1,760

US$1,413

What it takes to move to Fort Lewis

Based on Fort Lewis's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$4,564

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $91,280 a year
74% of Fort Lewis renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 62% above US

$2,282/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $2,282 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move.

74% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.0% county unemployment

Unemployment in Pierce County is 5.0%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Pierce County (county-wide)

Safety

226 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Fort Lewis doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1070/100k · Policed by Pierce County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 56% below US

11 min average commute

Commutes run short here, averaging 11.4 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 8 in 10 workers drive to work.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

61%

Walk

20%

Carpool

15%

Work from home

3.4%

Other

0.5%

Public transit

0.1%

Climate

Summers are comfortable, with highs around 74°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 36°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforce▼ 32% below US

24% bachelor's degree or higher

College degree attainment runs below average at 24%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.

Schools

3 public schools inside the boundary

There are 3 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park (35 miles away). There are 7 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Fort Lewis's strongest points are commutes that run shorter than most cities and a growing population; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($2,282/mo) equals 47% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.

See all the data for Fort Lewis →·All Washington cities →