Parkland is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 35,803 at the time of the 2010 census and had grown to 38,623 as of the 2020 census. It is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

suburb of the city of Tacoma and is home to

Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...

. Parkland borders most of Tacoma's southern cutoff at 96th St, and borders with much of the northern cutoff of

Spanaway, Washington Spanaway is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,476 at the 2020 census, up from 27,227 in 2010. Spanaway is an unincorporated area near Tacoma, and is often identified together with t ...

, at 152nd St (or Military Rd E). The most influential motorway is State Route 7/Pacific Ave, which travels north and south, and leads from

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south 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 through the states of Californi ...

in Tacoma all the way to Mount Rainier. Pacific Ave is also a main commercial corridor through much of the county, including Parkland. It was given its name by early white settlers for the park-like nature of the vast Garry Oak and blue camas flower prairie, and the many meandering creeks crossing it. In 1890, Norwegian-Americans from the Midwest chose this area as the site of their new college, which is now Pacific Lutheran University, home to 3,500 full-time students and the Lutes varsity sports teams.

Geography

Parkland is located at (47.141221, -122.437746). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.1 km²), of which, 7.4 square miles (19.1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.41%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,053 people, 8,869 households, and 5,782 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,267.2 people per square mile (1,261.8/km²). There were 9,340 housing units at an average density of 1,268.7/sq mi (490.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.91%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 8.07%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.04% Native American, 6.64%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.81%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2.06% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 6.47% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 5.33% of the population. There were 8,869 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.05. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 25.0% under the age of 18, 16.9% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $39,653, and the median income for a family was $46,210. Males had a median income of $36,169 versus $27,036 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $18,649. About 10.6% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of Parkland is within the Franklin Pierce School District. , the district had 7,942 students enrolled. The following schools have portions of Parkland CDP in their attendance boundaries: * High schools: ** Washington High School (most of the Franklin Pierce portion is zoned to this high school) **

Franklin Pierce High School Franklin Pierce High School is a public high school in Clover Creek, Washington (the facility has a Tacoma mailing address). It is named after the fourteenth US President, Franklin Pierce, who was president when the Washington Territory was f ...

(in Clover Creek) * Middle schools: ** Keithley Middle School (most of the Franklin Pierce portion is zoned to this middle school) ** Morris E. Ford Middle School (in Midland) * Elementary schools: ** Brookdale Elementary ** Christensen Elementary ** Elmhurst Elementary ** James Sales Elementary ** Collins Elementary (in Clover Creek) ** Midland Elementary (in Midland) * Preschools: ** Dr. Frank Hewins Early Learning Center Portions of Parkland are in the Bethel School District and the Clover Park School District. Private Schools: *Parkland Lutheran School - Vikings (PreK–8th) Parkland also holds the private college

Notable people

Q. Allan Brocka Quenton Allan Brocka (born 1972) is an American television and film director based in West Hollywood, California. He has directed and written a number of feature films while creating an animated television series for the Logo cable network. He ...

, television and film director * Jack Evans, professional wrestler *

Bjug Harstad Bjug Harstad (December 17, 1848 – June 20, 1933) was a Lutheran pastor, founding president of Pacific Lutheran University, and first president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Biography Bjug Aanondson was one of ten children born on the Ha ...

, pastor and founding president of Pacific Lutheran University * Oscar Harstad,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher *

Nils Joseph Hong Nils Joseph Hong (7 February 18661939) was a teacher of Norwegian descent. He was president of the Pacific Lutheran Academy 1898–1918. Early life and education Hong was born on February 7, 1866, to Norwegian parents Thore Olsen Hong and Hel ...

, educator and president of Pacific Lutheran University *

Demetrious Johnson Demetrious Johnson (born August 13, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in ONE Championship, where he is the current ONE Flyweight Champion (135 lb). He is the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight Champion. Known fo ...

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

fighter

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Pierce County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state)