Olympia is the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city for a metropolitan statistical area of 298,758, the fifth-largest in Washington state. Located 50 miles southwest of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Olympia anchors the South Puget Sound region of Western Washington. The Squaxin and other

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...

peoples inhabited the southern Puget Sound region prior to the arrival of European and American settlers in the 19th century. The Treaty of Medicine Creek was signed in 1854 and followed by the Treaty of Olympia in 1856; these two treaties forced the Squaxin to relocate to an

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

. Olympia was declared the capital of the Washington Territories (later the state of Washington) in 1853 and incorporated as a town on January 28, 1859. It became a city in 1882. Aside from its role in the state government, Olympia is also recognized as a countercultural hub in the Pacific Northwest. The city's music scene gained prominence in the 1990s for its role in the emergence of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

movements such as riot grrrl and

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

. Olympia is also home to

The Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

, a public liberal arts institution known for its non-traditional curriculum. Today, Olympia has been ranked among the U.S. cities with the most potential for economic growth by the

Milken Institute The Milken Institute is an independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Miami, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. It publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-bas ...

, thanks to its booming technology sector. Intercity Transit provides fare-free bus service throughout the Olympia area, which has high per-capita use of public transportation relative to other cities of its size.

History

The site of Olympia had been home to Lushootseed-speaking peoples known as the Steh-Chass (or Stehchass, later part of the post-treaty Squaxin Island Tribe) for thousands of years. Other Native Americans regularly visited the head of Budd Inlet and the Steh-Chass, including the other ancestor tribes of the Squaxin, as well as the Nisqually, Puyallup, Chehalis, Suquamish, and Duwamish. The first recorded Europeans came to Olympia in 1792.

Peter Puget Peter Puget (1765 – 31 October 1822) was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for his exploration of Puget Sound, which is named for him. Midshipman Puget Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during Louis XIV's persecution of the ...

and a crew from the British

Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...

are said to have explored the site, but neither recorded any encounters with the resident Indigenous population. In 1846, Edmund Sylvester and Levi Lathrop Smith jointly claimed the land that is now downtown Olympia. In 1851, the U.S. Congress established the Customs District of Puget Sound for Washington Territory and Olympia became the home of the customs house. Its population steadily expanded from

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

immigrants. In 1850, the town settled on the name Olympia, at local resident Colonel Isaac N. Ebey's suggestion, because of its view of the

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus (Washington), Mount Olympus is the high ...

to the northwest. The area began to be served by a small fleet of steamboats known as the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. It was declared the capital of the Washington Territories by Governor Isaac I. Stevens in November 1853. Olympia was the first and only capital of Washington in its history as both a territory and a state. Over two days, December 24–26, 1854, Governor Stevens negotiated the Treaty of Medicine Creek with the representatives of the Nisqually, Puyallup, Squawksin, Steh'Chass, Noo-Seh-Chatl, Squi-Aitl, T'Peeksin, Sah-Heh-Wa-Mish, and S'Hotl-Ma-Mish tribes. Stevens's treaty included the preservation of Indigenous fishing, hunting, gathering and other rights. It also included a section which, at least as interpreted by United States officials, required the Native American signatories to move to one of three reservations. Doing so would effectively force the Nisqually people to cede their prime farming and living space. An additional agreement between the state, city, and indigenous groups, known as the Treaty of Olympia or as the Quinault Treaty, was completed during 1855. One of the leaders of the Nisqually, Chief Leschi, outraged, refused to give up ownership of this land and instead fought for his people's right to their territory, sparking the beginning of the

Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muck ...

. The war ended with Leschi's capture in 1856; he was executed two years later. Olympia was incorporated as a town on January 28, 1859, and as a city in 1882. The 1949 Olympia earthquake damaged many historic buildings beyond repair, and they were demolished. Parts of the city also suffered damage from earthquakes in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

was built through the south side of the city in the late 1950s as a replacement for earlier highways that traveled through downtown Olympia. The freeway was originally planned to cut through the city, but was moved farther out to save costs. It opened to traffic on December 12, 1958, and was later expanded in 1991.

Geography

Olympia is located in Thurston County at the southern end of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

Budd Inlet Budd Inlet is an inlet located at the southern end of Puget Sound in Thurston County, Washington. It is the southernmost arm of Puget Sound. Etymology Budd Inlet was named by Charles Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition, to hono ...

, where the Deschutes River

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

enters the Sound. The river was dammed in 1951 to create Capitol Lake; in late 2022 the state government approved the dam's removal to restore the estuary at an unspecified date. The city is southwest of

, the most populous city in Washington, and north of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Olympia has an area of , of which is land and is water. The cities of Lacey and Tumwater border Olympia. The area is located near the southern limit of the Fraser Glaciation and the underlying sediments consist largely of Vashon-age

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

and outwash deposited at that time; the area also includes former lakebeds and alluvial deposits associated with proglacial lakes that existed in the area near the end of Vashon-stage glaciation. Residual glacial topography in the area includes drumlins, subglacial channels, and

kettle lake A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating ...

s. Much of downtown Olympia sits on

reclaimed land Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamatio ...

. Tidewater areas were filled as early as the 1870s, but the major change occurred in 1910–11 with placement of the Carlyon Fill (named for mayor P.H. Carlyon). Over of sediment were dredged, thereby creating a deep-water port at Olympia; the dredged material was used to fill tidelands, creating almost 30 blocks of what is now downtown.

Climate

Olympia has a warm-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csb''). The local

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

has dry summers in July and mildly humid summers in early June and late August, with cool July and August overnight lows. It is part of USDA

Hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

8a, with isolated pockets around Puget Sound in zone 8b. Most of western Washington's weather is brought in by weather systems that form near the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. It contains cold moist air, which brings western Washington cold rain, cloudiness, and fog. November through January are Olympia's rainiest months. City streets, creeks, and rivers can flood from November to February. The monthly mean temperature ranges from in December to in August. Seasonal snowfall for 1981–2010 averaged but has historically ranged from trace amounts in 1991–92 to in 1968–69. Olympia averages of precipitation annually and has a year-round average of 75% cloud cover. Annual precipitation has ranged from in 1952 to in 1950; for water year (October 1 – September 30) precipitation, the range is in 2000–01 to in 1998–99. With a period of record dating back to 1948, extreme temperatures have ranged from on January 1, 1979, up to , on June 28, 2021; the record cold daily maximum is on January 31, 1950, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is on July 22, 2006. Between 1991 and 2020 the mean coldest daily maximum was right on the freezing point at and the warmest night of the year averaged a very mild . On average, 6.3 days annually reach , 1.8 days stay at or below freezing all day, and 78 nights reach the freezing mark. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 8 through May 3, allowing a growing season of 157 days, nearly 100 days shorter than in Seattle.

Artesian water

Olympia was historically dependent on artesian waters, including springs that supplied early settlers in Swantown and Tumwater. The artesian spring at Fourth Avenue and Main Street (now called Capitol Way) was the main community well where settlers, as well as the local Steh-Chass and visiting Native Americans, gathered to socialize. Settler accounts recall paying Native Americans to collect water here. The artesian well at Artesian Commons park, a former parking lot, is active. Another still flows at the corner of Olympia Avenue and Washington Street. A small park was constructed around another spring in the Bigelow Neighborhood. The northeast end of Capitol Lake was the location of an artesian well until the construction of a new park that included changes to the shoreline. McAllister Springs, Olympia's main water source, is fed by artesian wells, and the former Olympia Brewery is supplied by 26 artesian wells. Efforts to protect and preserve the free-flowing artesian well on 4th Avenue in downtown Olympia began in 1991 with support from a local coffee roaster. Donations from the public were used to form "Friends of the Artesians", a group that researched the wells, maintained them, and tested their quality. They were later replaced by the non-profit organization H2Olympia in 2009. In 2011, the city of Olympia committed $50,000 toward improvements of an artesian well in a parking lot that the city purchased the same year. Renovations at the well were completed in late 2011, including surface improvements, solar lighting, and a raised area to fill bottles. In spring 2012, sea-themed mosaic artwork created by community members was installed at the site of the well.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 55,605 people within the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 25,642 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 78.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 9.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 3.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, and 6.9% from other races or multiracial.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 46,478 people, 20,761 households, and 10,672 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 22,086 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.7%

, 2.0%

, 1.1% Native American, 6.0% Asian, 0.4%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.8% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.3% of the population. There were 20,761 households, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.6% were other families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the city was 38 years. 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.5% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

Government

Economy

According to Olympia's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), the local principal employers are:

Arts and culture

Music

Despite its relatively small population, Olympia is internationally known for its local music scene, particularly in the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

genres. It is most notable for its role in incubating the riot grrrl and

movements of the 1990s. The Olympia Music History Project formed in 2023 to research and document the area's music scene during the late 20th century, the peak of its influence. Olympia has been a starting point or home for numerous bands that have achieved international recognition.

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

, among the most popular bands of the 20th century and known for popularizing the Pacific Northwest-based

genre, has roots in Olympia: lead singer

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

lived in Olympia for several years during the band's rise to fame, and penned most songs on their bestselling album

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a Record label#Major versus independent record labels, major label an ...

while living there.

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pio ...

started the influential

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

movement riot grrrl in Olympia in 1990, as a counterpoint to grunge. Other prominent Olympia-based bands in the riot grrrl movement included Sleater-Kinney, named after a street in neighboring

Lacey, Washington Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Olympia, Washington, Olympia with a population of 53,526 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Washington, 24th mos ...

. In addition, local alternative rock record labels

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

and Kill Rock Stars have played a significant role in shaping

and its subgenres.

, founded by musician Calvin Johnson, supported the early careers of Pacific Northwest artists including

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock (musician), Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and ba ...

and

Phil Elverum Philip Whitman Elverum (; born May 26, 1978) is an American musician and songwriter known for his Independent music, indie bands the Microphones and Mount Eerie. Based in Anacortes, Washington, in the mid-2000s he began to spell his surname Elv ...

. Kurt Cobain is said to have had a tattoo of Johnson's logo on his forearm. During its heyday, Johnson and his label earned the attention of

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

, then a rising star, who traveled to Olympia to record the collaborative album

One Foot In The Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour episodes) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late ...

with Johnson. Kill Rock Stars, founded in Olympia shortly after K Records, got their start releasing Bikini Kill's first EP, and eventually grew into an indie label hosting the likes of Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, and Xiu Xiu, among others. Today, Olympia continues to play host to a strong local music scene, including several annual music festivals across various genres, including South Sound Block Party, Oly Funk Fest, and Olympia Old Time Music Festival. The Fleetwoods, a popular 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, whose hits included " Come Softly to Me" and " Mr. Blue", originated in Olympia. Additionally, acclaimed

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band Wolves in the Throne Room hails from the city, forming in 2002.

Fine and visual arts

Olympia is a regional center for fine arts. A number of

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...

experiences are available with companies such as Animal Fire Theater, Olympia Family Theater, Olympia Little Theater, Theater Artists Olympia, Broadway Olympia Productions, and Harlequin Productions at the historic State Theater, as well as Broadway Olympia's Black Box Theater at Capitol Mall. The Olympia Symphony Orchestra performs five regular-season concerts at the Washington Center and two pops concerts. The Masterworks Chorale Ensemble performs four regular-season concerts at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Visual art venues include some of the local coffeehouses, Olympia Coffee Roasting Co., Batdorf & Bronson, and Burial Grounds downtown, with the latter indefinitely closed. Art House Designs is an art gallery that also hosts a jazz performance space. Murals and public art installations of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

are prevalent in Olympia and are especially featured on the State Capitol Campus and along Percival Landing on the urban waterfront. The Washington Center for the Performing Arts also presents visual art exhibitions throughout the season in its lobby areas. Notable art venues near Olympia include Art in Ecology, housed in Washington Department of Ecology's 322,000-square-foot, three-story building on the campus of Saint Martin's University. Art in Ecology is a long-established art-in-the-workplace venue that has works by numerous northwest artists. Permanent installations by Alfredo Arreguin, commissioned by the Washington State Arts Commission, are accompanied by changing solo and group exhibitions throughout the year. Appointments to view the works are needed; tours take about an hour. South Puget Sound Community College has a gallery in its Minnaert Center with rotating exhibitions. Evergreen State College, northwest of Olympia, has a professionally curated gallery with rotating shows in the Dan Evans Library building. South of Olympia, Monarch Contemporary Art Center and Sculpture Park has an 80-acre sculpture garden and

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

. Each year, the Olympia Film Society (OFS) produces a film festival and fosters film and video education in Olympia. It also shows independent, classic, and international films year-round at the art-deco Capitol Theater. A mostly volunteer-powered organization, OFS supports and presents a variety of cultural events, including ''All Freakin' Night'', an all-night horror film screening with a cult following. Lakefair

On the fourth Saturday in April, in honor of

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

, Olympia is host to one of the region's largest community celebrations – the Procession of the Species. Held in conjunction with the city's biannual Arts Walk, the Procession is organized by the community-based nonprofit organization Earthbound Productions, and is the culmination of an annual Community Art Studio that is free and open to the public. In its July 2009 ''Best of America'' feature, ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' magazine honored the Procession of the Species with the top spot in its "can't resist" parades and processions list. Open to all, the Procession of the Species attracts up to 30,000 viewers, while its costumed participants of all ages frequently number nearly 3,000. On the Friday evening before the Procession of Species, a Luminary Procession is held. In February 2025, the Olympia city council passed a resolution declaring the city a "sanctuary city" for

LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

people, guaranteeing municipal-level protections on top of existing state laws enshrining LGBT rights.

Parks and recreation

Olympia has a wide array of

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

s and nature conservation areas. Percival Landing Park is one of three city waterfront parks, located on the southern-most point of

. It includes of

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...

along

, as well as a playground, picnic areas, and a large open space. The boardwalk leads north to an open-air amphitheater, a viewing tower beside the Port of Olympia, as well as the Olympia Farmers' Market. Sylvester Park is a historic block-sized park downtown, across from the Old Capitol Building. Capitol Lake near downtown and the Washington State Capitol offers several parks and walking trails. Squaxin Park is a 314 acre park with an extensive trail system, playground and beach access. Additional developed parks in the city include Sunrise Park, Watershed Park and

Woodruff Park Woodruff Park, named for Robert W. Woodruff, is located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The park's are north of Edgewood Ave, between Peachtree Street NE and Park Place NE. The park includes a fountain, a performance pavilion, ...

. Neighborhood parks include Friendly Grove, located in a small eastside community, Trillium Park, which was created by the efforts of adjoining neighborhood associations, and Yauger Park, home to one of Olympia's public skate parks. Protected areas such the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is near Olympia, as are Burfoot Park, Capitol State Forest, and the Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area.

Sports

In May 1984, Olympia hosted the U.S. Olympic women's marathon trial under the auspices of the Capital City Marathon. The city had won a bid ahead of several larger U.S. cities. The winner of the event was Joan Benoit, who won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the first women's Olympic marathon at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

later that year in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Olympia is the home of the Oly Rollers, the local women's flat track roller derby league whose travel team, the Cosa Nostra Donnas, were the 2009 national champions of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), winning the national Declaration of Derby tournament in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. FC Olympia (formerly the Oly Town Artesians) is an amateur soccer club that was founded in 2014 and primarily played at Black Hill High School. They field an amateur men's team in

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

and the Evergreen Premier League. The women's team was associated with the Northwest Premier League. , the teams play their home matches at South Sound Stadium and the women's team plays in the

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a Women's association football, women's soccer league in the United States. It began play in May 2022 and follows the USL W-League (1995–2015), USL W-League, a similar league that existed from 1995 to 2015. It is c ...

Education

The majority of Olympia is located in the Olympia School District.
Text list
/ref> It enrolled 9,782 students in K-12 in the 2021–22 school year. The district has a total of 18 schools: 11 elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools. Its high schools are Olympia High School (formally known as William Winlock Miller High School), Capital High School, and Avanti High School. Portions of Olympia are in the North Thurston Public Schools district and the Tumwater School District. In the 2007–08 school year, Olympia began the Parent Partnership Program, which provides more opportunities to homeschooling families. Olympia's online high school, Olympia Regional Learning Academy (ORLA), is part of the same program. Private elementary schools include Olympia Waldorf School, Olympia Community School, St. Michael School, Holy Family, and Evergreen Christian. Private middle schools include Olympia Waldorf School and NOVA School. Pope John Paul II High School is a private high school. In addition to primary and secondary schools, Olympia has a number of institutions of higher learning, including

and South Puget Sound Community College. The Evergreen State College (TESC) offers bachelor's degrees in liberal arts and science, and master's degrees in environmental studies, public administration, education, and teaching. South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) offers associate degrees in arts, science, biology, elementary education, pre-nursing, applied science, general studies, and business.

Media

Robust journalism in Olympia dates to before

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

's incorporation in 1853. '' The Olympian'' is the local daily newspaper. The Tacoma-based '' Weekly Volcano'' has covered Olympia entertainment since 2001. Progressive newspaper ''Works in Progress'' is published monthly. The statewide government channel TVW is based in Olympia. Online outlet NorthAmericaTalk, an aggregate for local community news and marketing, was established with headquarters in Olympia. Olympia and Thurston County are included in the Seattle-Tacoma designated market area (DMA), and therefore are chiefly served by Seattle's network-affiliated television stations and some radio stations. Since 1983, Olympia has had a public, educational and government access television station, which was rebranded in 2016 as Thurston Community Media. Olympia sits on the southern fringe of the FM signal of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

member station KUOW. An AM simulcast is transmitted from a tower in nearby Tumwater. Evergreen State College's KAOS broadcasts a mix of educational and political programming, with student-driven music shows.

Transportation

is the main highway through Olympia and traverses the southern edge of downtown near the Capitol Campus. It continues south towards

, and northeast to Tacoma and Seattle. In Tumwater, Interstate 5 intersects

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

, which travels northwest across Olympia's outskirts and connects the city to the rest of the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Olympia Regional Airport, located in Tumwater, is operated by the Port of Olympia and serves

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

as well as

corporate aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

. The airport hosts the Olympic Flight Museum and the Olympic AirShow, a local airshow that is held annually in June at the museum. Public transit services in Olympia and surrounding areas are provided by Intercity Transit, a local system that is primarily financed by a

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

. Olympia Transit Center is the main hub of the system and is also served by Grays Harbor Transit, the Mason Transit Authority, Lewis County Transit and intercity

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

and

FlixBus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...

buses. Intercity Transit also operates a prototype bus rapid transit service, the One, from Olympia to Lacey as well as connecting express service to Lakewood. All Intercity Transit services have been fare-free since 2020 as part of a demonstration program. , Olympia is among the top 50 metropolitan areas in the United States for public transit ridership per capita and is tied with Phoenix with 14.1 riders per capita.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

provides intercity train service to the Olympia–Lacey area at

Centennial Station The Centennial Station (also known as Olympia–Lacey) is a train station located immediately south of Lacey, Washington, Lacey, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, United States, that also serves the capital city of Olympia, Washington, Olym ...

, which is staffed by volunteers. It is served by the daily ''

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland, Oregon, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, ...

'' from

and the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

and more frequent Amtrak ''Cascades'' trains that operate from Portland to Seattle and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia. In the early 21st century, several organizations have proposed the start of an intercity passenger-only

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

service to connect Olympia to Seattle and other areas on Puget Sound.

Notable people

* Lynda Barry, cartoonist * Neil Boyal, soccer player *

, musician in

Rachel Corrie Rachel Aliene Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American nonviolence activist and diarist. She was a member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and was active throughout the Israeli-occupied terr ...

, peace activist * Carrie Brownstein, musician in Sleater-Kinney, actress and comedian known for Portlandia * Kimya Dawson, singer-songwriter and member of

the Moldy Peaches The Moldy Peaches are an American independent music, indie group founded by Adam Green (musician), Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band had been on Recess (break), hiatus since 2004, but in 2023 announ ...

* Dan Erickson, playwright and producer *

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

, creator of

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

* Kathleen Hanna, musician in

, leader of the 1990s riot grrrl feminist punk movement * Christopher Hedrick, entrepreneur * Donald Hume, American rower who won Olympic gold at the 1936 Summer Olympics. * Geoff Jenkins, Major League Baseball outfielder * Calvin Johnson, musician in Beat Happening, founder of Olympia-based record label

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, an ...

, Grammy-winning musician *

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, and was the starting Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for the United State ...

, US soccer goalkeeper * Peter Kennedy, five-time national champion and 1952 Winter Olympics silver medalist in pairs figure skating * Scott LaValla, USA Rugby player * Jim Lynch, writer * Nikki McClure, artist *

Sam Miller Sam Miller (born 28 September 1962) is a British television director and former actor from Saxmundham, England. As an actor, he is known for his role as Sgt. John Maitland in the ITV (TV network), ITV police procedural drama ''The Bill'' from 1 ...

, comedian * William Henry Mitchell, pioneer and sheriff * Roland S. Morris (1874–1945), U.S. ambassador to Japan. * Colin O'Brady, endurance athlete and mountain climber * Don Rich, lead guitarist for Buck Owens *Gary Toxel, member of the Fleetwoods * Unwound, a

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

band formed in Olympia *Aaron and Nathan Weaver, members of the band, Wolves in the Throne Room

International relations

Olympia is twinned with: * Katō, Hyōgo, Japan A previous sister city agreement with

Olympia, Greece Olympia ( ; ), officially Archaia Olympia ( ), is a small town in Elis (regional unit), Elis on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, famous for the nearby archaeological site of the same name. The site was a major Panhellenic sanctuary, Panhell ...

, is no longer in effect. An attempt to create a sister city partnership with

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, was rejected by the city council in 2007. On December 12, 2023, the City Council passed a resolution calling for an "immediate and permanent ceasefire" during the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

. Furthermore, the city recognized the right of existence of both the Palestinian and Israeli states.

References

External links

City of OlympiaOlympia Historical Society
*
Convention and Visitors Bureau
{{Authority control Cities in Washington (state) Cities in Thurston County, Washington Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area County seats in Washington (state) Populated places established in 1853 1853 establishments in Washington Territory Native American history of Washington (state) Pre-statehood history of Washington (state) State capitals in the United States