Yelm, Washington

About Yelm

Yelm is located southeast of the Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater tri-city region.  It refers to itself as “Pride of the Prairie,” due to its original use by local Nisqually Indians as pasture for their horses.  Americans arrived in 1853 to settle the area named for the Coast Salish Indian word “shelm,” which describes heat waves shimmering over the prairie.  In 1873, the Norther Pacific Railway arrived, providing a manner of transporting timber and agricultural products.  It currently serves primarily as a bedroom community for the tri-city region, and offers residents large open tracts of land with an easy commute to work.  Yelm continues to grow and prosper.

Geography

Yelm is in rural Thurston County, close to the border of Pierce County.  It is close to I-5, which offers access to both Seattle, WA to the north and Portland, OR to the south.  It also offers easy access to the Pacific Coast to the west and the Cascade Mountain Range to the east.  It is close to Lacey, which has an Amtrak passenger station for the predominant north/south railway of the west.  I-5 also provides easy access to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, while Tumwater offers a regional airport for light craft.

Yelm Real Estate

Affordable housing and real estate is available in Yelm, with many standard 3-bed, 2-bath homes for under $200,000.  There are a number of new developments, all of which have homes for under $300K.    For more country living, areas like the Bald Hills, Lake Lawrence, and the Clearwood community offer rural settings.

Mean real estate prices in 2008:

All housing units $244,667
Detached houses $258,686
Townhouses or other attached units $285,538
In 2-unit structures $255,863
Mobile homes $78,725

Weather

The weather in Yelm is characterized as a temperate climate.  It is a bit warmer and drierthan coastal towns in the region. It rarely experiences extreme temperatures.  Winters are rainy, with occasional snow, and summers are warm and dry.  The rainy months make Yelm an easy place to garden, and spring is vibrantly colorful.

Jan April July Oct
Avg. Temp 39 49 63 50
Precip in inches 6.5 3 0.8 3.5

Population

As of 2008, the population of Yelm was 5,800 people, up 76.3% from the 2000 census.  Yelm households were occupied by an average of 2.67 people.  The median age of residents was 30.8 years, compared to the Washington state average of 35.3 years.

Employment

Yelm residents are employed by Washington state government, as well as healthcare and educational employers in the tri-city area of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater.  Both military and civilian residents of Yelm commute to Joint Base Lewis McChord for employment, while others commute to Tacoma or Seattle.  Yelm itself offers employment in retail and service jobs, as the population increase draws more and more chain restaurants and big box retailers.  Yelm residents commute an average of 30+ minutes each way.

Income

As of 2008, the median per household income was $52,497, compared to Washington's state average of $58,000.  10.5% of residents lived below the poverty line.

Cost of Living

As of December, 2009, the Cost of Living Index for Yelm is 95, compared to the national average of areas participating in the Cost of Living Index of 100.

Yelm Schools

Public schools in Yelm are administrated by the Yelm School District, which offers 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 1 high school, and 1 extension high school.  The district serves over 5,400 students.

Of residents aged 25 or older, 89% have achieved at least a high school diploma.  Opportunities for post-secondary education include South Puget Sound Community College, a two year college, and The Evergreen State College, a nationally ranked liberal arts college, both of which are in Olympia.  Saint Martin's University in Lacey is a private institution offering both undergraduate and graduate programs.  Tacoma also has a number of institutions, including Pacific Lutheran University, the University of Puget Sound, a branch campus of the University of Washington, and Tacoma Community College.