Sumner is a city in northern
Pierce County,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, United States. The population was 10,621 at the
2020 census.
Nearby cities include
Puyallup to the west,
Auburn to the north, and
Bonney Lake to the east.
History
Sumner was founded in 1853 as Stuck Junction and platted in 1883 by George H. Ryan, in anticipation of a stop on the
Northern Pacific Railway. The town was named "Franklin" until 1891, when the
Post Office Department requested that the name be changed to avoid confusion with similarly named towns. The name of abolitionist Senator
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...
was chosen for the town after a lottery.
Geography
Sumner is located at (47.205823, -122.235803).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
After
Orting, Sumner and
Puyallup are geographically next in line to be hit by
lahars whenever
Mount Rainier erupts in the future. This is depicted in the ''
Modern Marvels'' episode titled "Most Dangerous," which shows a simulation of a lahar flooding the Orting and Puyallup valleys from an eruption.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census of 2010,
there were 9,451 people, 3,980 households, and 2,454 families living in the city. The
population density was . There were 4,279 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.3%
White, 1.2%
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 enslav ...
, 1.0%
Native American, 2.4%
Asian, 0.4%
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 Oce ...
, 3.4% from
other races, and 4.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 10.1% of the population.
There were 3,980 households, of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were
married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.3% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the city was 38.2 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.8% were from 45 to 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.
2000 census
As of the
census of 2000, there were 8,504 people, 3,517 households, and 2,215 families living in the city. The population density was 1,271.0 people per square mile (490.8/km
2). There were 3,689 housing units at an average density of 551.4 per square mile (212.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 90.32%
White, 0.93%
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 enslav ...
, 1.41%
Native American, 1.66%
Asian, 0.24%
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 Oce ...
, 2.42% from other races, and 3.02% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 5.97% of the population.
There were 3,517 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,598, and the median income for a family was $42,602. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $29,221 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $18,696. About 4.5% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
In addition to road and highway connections, Sumner is also served by
Sounder commuter rail
Sounder commuter rail is a commuter rail service operated by BNSF on behalf of Sound Transit. Service operates Monday through Friday during peak hours from Seattle, Washington, north to Everett and south to Lakewood. In , the system had a rid ...
which stops at the
railroad station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...
in downtown and directly connects Sumner with much of the
Puget Sound region, including Seattle and Tacoma.
Education
K-12 schools
Most of Sumner is in the
Sumner School District. Portions are in the
Dieringer School District and the
Puyallup School District
Puyallup School District is a school district that supports the City of Puyallup, Washington, United States, and its surrounding areas. It was the third school district formed in the state of Washington. It is the 8th largest school district in ...
.
Public libraries
Sumner has a branch of the
Pierce County Library System
The Pierce County Library System (PCLS) is a library system serving the residents of Pierce County, Washington. The Pierce County Library System has 20 library locations serving 580,000 people in unincorporated Pierce County and 15 cities and tow ...
.
Cultural attractions
Sumner hosts part of the annual four-part
Daffodil Parade, which takes place every April in
Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, and
Orting.
Notable people
*
Eddie Dew
Eddie Dew (January 29, 1909 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is best remembered for his starring roles in B movie western films during the 1940s. In the 1950s he became active in ...
, actor and director, was born in Sumner.
*
Wayne Northrop
Wayne Alan Northrop (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor known for his parts in soap operas such as '' Dynasty'' and ''Days of Our Lives''.
Career
Northrop portrayed chauffeur Michael Culhane on '' Dynasty'' from the pilot episode, "Oil" ( ...
, actor, is from Sumner.
*
Kelly Joe Phelps, musician, grew up in Sumner.
Notable companies
Dillanos Coffee Roasters, Pacific Northwest Baking Company, and Bellmont Cabinets are all based in Sumner.
Notes
External links
City of SumnerPierce County Library System*
{{authority control
Cities in Washington (state)
Cities in Pierce County, Washington
Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area