Federal Way, WA population, income and ZIP codes

Federal Way city is a small city in Washington, with 99,232 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #10 of 639 ranked by population — larger than 98% of them. The median age here is 37.6 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Federal Way city earn a median of $82,144 a year, 4.6% above the national figure of $78,538 and 9% below the $90,592 median for the 393 Washington cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 12.7% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Federal Way city is valued at $499,600, 64.7% above the national figure and 7% above the $468,400 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,738 a month, 23.6% above the national figure, or roughly $20,856 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 25.4% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 6.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 55.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

Home values sit at 6.1× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere. Median income runs above the national figure while poverty also runs above it — a split distribution, not a uniformly comfortable place. Averages hide that; the two numbers together do not.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.