Census Data 2010: More Homes Built, Higher Percentage of Vacancies

Bonney Lake almost doubled its number of homes with 2,990 homes built in the last 10 years, new U.S. Census data reveals.

During the same time, Sumner expanded by 588 homes. The majority of homes in Bonney Lake, 81 percent, are inhabited by their owners, compared to 51.6 percent of the homes in Sumner. Only 18.2 percent of Bonney Lake residents are renting, compared to 48.4 percent in Sumner, census data shows. The numbers grew slightly since 2000 -- Bonney Lake’s renter population grew about 4 percent, Sumner’s grew about 1 percent.

But both towns have more empty homes compared to a decade ago, data shows. In Sumner, 7 percent of homes are vacant, compared to 4.7 percent in Bonney Lake.

Families made up 61.7 percent of households in Sumner and 77.3 percent in Bonney Lake, nearly a 2 percent dip in both towns since 2000. In those households, 40.9 percent in Bonney Lake families had children in 2010, a decrease from 47.3 percent in 2000. In Sumner, 28.6 percent of families had children, compared to 32 percent of households in 2000.

The median age of the Bonney Lake resident is 34.6; Sumner’s median age is 38.2. The average Bonney Lake female is 34.7 years old, the Bonney Lake male is 34.5. The median age for a male Sumner resident is 36.1, compared to 39.9 for women.

With 7.3 percent of the population between 50 and 54, Sumner's seniors make up a majority. 13.5 percent, the second highest population majority, are between the ages of 40 to 49 years old. In Bonney Lake, a majority of residents are middle aged: 8.5 percent of the population are between 45 and 49 years old and 24.6 percent of the population are between the ages of 30 to 44.

Bonney Lake shows a larger population of small children, with 15.9 percent under the age of 9, and 15.5 percent of the population between 10 to 19 years old. In Sumer, 13.4 percent of the population is under 9 year old and 13.5 percent are between the ages of 10 and 19.

To learn more about how the Bonney Lake and Sumner populations have evolved over the last 10 years, see previous stories on census data, both and .

Washington state got a bit older in the past 10 years, with women continuing to live longer than men, according to new Census data released Wednesday night. Our households stayed about the same size or shrank slightly, but we had a smaller proportion of children in our homes and a larger proportion of other relatives living with us. And our racial makeup changed as well, with the Indian and Mexican populations growing significantly statewide.
Here’s a look at the numbers:

• In Washington state, the median age was 37.3 in 2010, up from 35.3 in 2000.
• The percentage of males to females was the same, 49.8 percent to 50.2 percent.
• The median age for males was 36.2 and 38.3 for females last year, up from 34.4 for males and 36.3 for females in 2000.
• The average household size was 2.51 people, nearly flat from 2.53 in 2000.
• The average family size was 3.06, about the same as 3.07 in 2000.

But looking at households, families made up 64.4 percent in 2010, down from 66 percent 10 years ago.
And of those family households, those with their own children under 18 dropped from 32.7 percent to 29.1 percent.
At the same time, the proportion of other relatives living in households jumped considerably. In 2000, the Census counted 236,631 "other relatives" living in all households, or 4 percent of the population. Ten years later, that grew to 349,380, or 5.2 percent -- a 30 percent jump in the proportion.
Our age groups have shifted, too. Children made up smaller percentages of the population in all age groups for the state. For example:

• The percentage of preschoolers shrank slightly, from 6.7 percent in 2000 to 6.5 percent in 2010. The percentage of 5- to 14-year-olds shrank from 14.6 percent to 12.9 percent. And 15- to 19-year-olds shrank from 7.3 percent to 6.9 percent.

Also losing ground was the percentage of 25- to 44-year-olds.
On the growth side, the percentage of 20- to 24-year-olds rose, as did older age groups.
Those 85 and older rose 39 percent, from 84,085 in 2000 to 117,271 last year.
The Census also looked at people’s racial and ethnic backgrounds. Of people who considered themselves one race and Asian, the proportion of people of Indian descent grew the greatest, more than doubling from 23,992, or 0.4 percent of the population, in 2000 to 61,124, or 0.9 percent, last year. Other Asian groups grew more slowly, with the population of Japanese descent actually shrinking, from 35,985, or 0.6 percent, in 2000 to 35,008, or 0.5 percent, in 2010.
Among people who identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, those of Mexican descent grew the most, nearly doubling from 329,934, or 5.6 percent of the population, in 2000 to 601,768, or 8.9 percent, last year.

Other data released Wednesday:

Pierce County:
Median age:  34.1 (2000: 34.1)
Males 49.7 percent; females 50.3 percent (2000: unchanged)
Median age by gender:  males 34.9, females 36.8 (2000: males 33.1, females 35.1)
Average household size: 2.59 (2000: 2.60)
Average family size: 3.09 (3.10)

King County:
Median age: 37.1 (2000: 35.7)
Males 49.8 percent, females 50.2 (2000: unchanged)
Median age by gender: males 36.3, females 37.9 (2000: males 34.9, females 36.6)
Average household size: 2.40 (2000: 2.39)  
Average family size: 3.05 (2000: 3.03)

Patch will release more Census data as it becomes available, so stay tuned!