Olympia, Washington

Olympia is the capital city of the state of Washington, in the United States of America. It became a city on January 28, 1859. As of the 2020 census, it has 55,605 people living in it. The people of Olympia are called Olympians. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County.

Olympia, Washington
State capital city
From top, and left to right: Old Capitol Building, East Olympia, Interstate 5 at the junction of U.S. Route 101, Port of Olympia, Downtown from Capitol Lake, Washington State Capitol, Salmon sculpture, Mount Rainier, Percival Landing Park, Olympic Mountains and Swantown Marina
Nickname:  Oly
Location within Thurston County in Washington
Olympia Location within Washington Olympia Location within the United States
Coordinates: 47°2′16″N 122°54′3″W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Thurston
Incorporated	January 28, 1859
Named for	Olympic Mountains
Government
• Type	Council/City Manager
Area
• City	20.09 sq mi (52.02 km2)
• Land	18.23 sq mi (47.20 km2)
• Water	1.87 sq mi (4.82 km2)
Elevation	95 ft (29 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	55,605
• Rank	US: 718th WA: 24th
• Density	2,902.26/sq mi (1,120.58/km2)
• Urban	208,157 (US: 182nd)
• Urban density	1,960.0/sq mi (756.8/km2)
• Metro	298,758 (US: 172nd)
Demonym	Olympian
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	98501–98509, 98511–98513, 98516, 98599
Area code	360, 564
FIPS code	53-51300
GNIS feature ID	1533353
Website	olympiawa.gov

Geography

Olympia is located at 47°2'33" North, 122°53'35" West (47.042418, -122.893077).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total size of 48.0 km² (18.5 mi²). 43.3 km² (16.7 mi²) of it is land and 4.7 km² (1.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.77% water.

Olympia is on the water (Puget Sound) and close to dark green forests and high mountains (the Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier). On most days of the year the sky is full of clouds and it rains, but sunny weather is more common in July, August, and September.

Economy

Many people in Olympia work for the government of the State of Washington. Every year, state representatives and state senators come to Olympia to make laws and to pass a budget for the state government.

Olympia is the home of the Olympia Farmers Market and The Evergreen State College.

Culture

Every April, the people of Olympia celebrate the "Procession of the Species". It is a parade. Many Olympians, of all ages, dress up to look like animals, birds, fish, plants, and even insects, and walk in the parade. Some also play drums or dance the samba.

Other websites

• City of Olympia
• State of Washington Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
• The Evergreen State College
• Procession of the Species
• Photography of Olympia Archived 2006-11-16 at the Wayback Machine