Census Data Results: Bonney Lake Population Up 79 Percent

Bonney Lake’s population grew nearly 80 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday. Sumner increased a more modest 11.1 percent during the same period.  

Bonney Lake increased from a population of 9,687 in 2000 to 17,374 in 2010, a 79.4 percent increase; Sumner saw a smaller increase, from 8,504 in 2000 to 9,451 in 2010.

“A lot of raw land has been developed in Bonney Lake [during the past 10 years], so that growth makes sense,” said Sumner School District Superintendent Gil Mendoza. “In Sumner, there are small pockets of growth here and there […] but it’s a long-established community.”

The 2010 census results could mean changes in Bonney Lake population numbers and ward determinations; the City Council is currently considering at-large representation to cut costs on redrawing boundaries based on the new data.

"The state had officially estimated our 2010 population at 16,690 instead of the 17,374. That means we were shorted 684 people, which cost the city approximately $19,152 in lost 2010 state shared revenues that are distributed on a per capita basis," said Don Morrison, Bonney Lake City Administrator. "Most of the Bonney Lake population growth has not been due to infill or increased household size, but is attributable to people annexing into the city from unincorporated county subdivisions. If the county subdivisions are built close to the city, they eventually annex in order to obtain a higher level of  service they get from Bonney Lake that is not provided by Pierce County."

Sumner City Administrator Diane Supler was not surprised by Sumner’s population numbers; they are close to what Sumner has projected in their own planning. Historically, Sumner has only grown about 1 percent every year, said Supler, which is on target with the 2010 Census numbers.

“We don’t have a lot of residential vacant lots [in Sumner], we tend to see more construction on industrial buildings or warehouses,” said Supler. “Sumner has always been destined to be a small, quaint community, we’ll never be another Auburn. What we want to focus on is well-thought-out planning and growth.”

Bonney Lake and Sumner also have high rates of housing residency. Only 6.3 percent of housing units were unoccupied in Bonney Lake in 2010 and 7 percent of houses were documented as unoccupied in Sumner.

Both Sumner and Bonney Lake are predominately white/Caucasian communities, according to the census numbers. In Sumner, 87.3 percent of the population is white; in Bonney Lake, white people account for 88.8 percent of the population. Both cities saw growth in the Hispanic/Latino population with 6.1 percent of Bonney Lake residents declaring themselves of Hispanic descent and 10.1 percent of Sumner residents claiming Latino origin.

The Asian community showed dramatic increases in both communities. Bonney Lake’s Asian community nearly doubled (up 85 percent); Sumner's Asian population was up more than 40 percent.

These trends are reflected in the Sumner School District enrollment numbers for the current school year of 2010-2011. Students of Hispanic and Latino descent make up 10.71 percent of student population, which represents about half of the non-white student population, which encompasses 20 percent of the district. Students who claim an Asian background are the second largest ethnic group and make up 2.13 percent of the student body, Alaskan Native/American Indian students make up 1.67 percent and 1.50 percent are African American. Students claiming two or more cultural/racial backgrounds make up 4.04 percent of the student population.

in the past decade, reaching 6,724,540 in 2010. The state is slightly more diverse, with 77 percent of the population identifying themselves as white, vs. 82 percent in 2000.

The Hispanic and Latino population grew the fastest, rising 71 percent to about three-quarters of a million people. That group makes up about 11 percent of the state’s population, up from 7.5 percent in 2000.

Among people who identified themselves as one race, the population of native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders grew the fastest, up 69 percent. Asians grew 49 percent; blacks grew 26 percent; American Indian and Alaska natives grew 11 percent; and the white population rose just under 8 percent. People who identified themselves as “Some Other Race” rose 53 percent."

People who identified themselves as two or more races rose 47 percent. They’re still just a small portion of the population, at about 313,000, or just under 5 percent.

Pierce County’s population grew 13.5 percent from 2000 to 2010.

Here’s a deeper look at the population breakdown in Bonney Lake and Sumner, according to race. (Note: these numbers wont add up to 100; some identified themselves as belonging to one or more races).

Identifying Race                                 Total Percentage of Population in 2010

White                                                                                    88.8

Black/African American                                                      1.3

American Indian and Alaska Native                                 1.0

Asian                                                                                       2.4

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander                  0.2

Some other race                                                                    1.8

Two or more races                                                                4.5

Identifying Race                                 Total Percentage of Population in 2010

White                                                                                     87.3

Black/African American                                                       1.2

American Indian and Alaska Native                                  1.0

Asian                                                                                         2.4

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander                    0.4

Some other race                                                                      3.4

Two or more races                                                                  4.3