
Washington · Census place 36710
La Center, WA population, income and ZIP codes
Quick answer
The population of the city of La Center, Washington (La Center, WA — Census place “La Center city”) is 3,885 residents, ranking #221 of 639 places in Washington. Median household income is $118,629, the median home is worth $549,900 and median gross rent runs $1,947 a month. Looking for the La Center Washington ZIP code list? 2 ZIP codes serve La Center, WA: 98629, 98642.
- Population
- 3,885La Center city residents
- Median household income
- $118,629Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $549,900Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $1,947Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 38.3 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 84%Owner-occupied households
La Center ZIP codes (Washington)
Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps La Center.
The La Center WA ZIP code list below covers 2 ZIP codes. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.
What the numbers mean in La Center city
Housing cost measured against local earnings.
A household earning the La Center city median would spend about 19.7% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 4.6× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 3.3% of residents and 84% of households own their home.
Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year
La Center city, WA in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
La Center city is a small town in Washington, with 3,885 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #221 of 639 ranked by population — larger than 65% of them. The median age here is 38.3 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.
Households in La Center city earn a median of $118,629 a year, 51% above the national figure of $78,538 and 31% above 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 3.3% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.
The typical owner-occupied home in La Center city is valued at $549,900, 81.2% above the national figure and 17% above the $468,400 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,947 a month, 38.5% above the national figure, or roughly $23,364 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 19.7% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 4.6×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 84% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, an owner-dominated market where rental listings are scarce and rent medians rest on a thin sample. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.
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.
Compare with nearby places
Places of similar size in Washington.
- Cascade Valley CDP 3,824
- Esperance CDP 3,988
- Bunk Foss CDP 3,718
- Larch Way CDP 4,046
- Grand Mound CDP 3,711
- Montesano city 4,157
- Port Hadlock-Irondale CDP 3,695
- Mirrormont CDP 4,217
Keep going
More Washington coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this area.
- What is the population of La Center city?
- La Center city has 3,885 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #221 of 639 in Washington.
- What is the median household income in La Center city?
- Median household income in La Center city is $118,629 a year, 51% above the national figure of $78,538.
- How much does it cost to rent or buy in La Center city?
- Median gross rent is $1,947 a month and the median home value is $549,900, so rent absorbs about 19.7% of median household income.
- Is La Center city affordable compared with the rest of the US?
- Homes cost about 4.6× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so La Center city is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 19.7% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
- How current is this La Center city data?
- All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.