Elevation of Olympia
96ft
above sea level · 29 m
Olympia is the capital of Washington. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 11th lowest. The state’s largest city is Seattle.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 47.04° N · 122.90° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 47° 2′ 16″ N · 122° 54′ 3″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 10T · 507,544 E · 5,209,378 N
- Zone 10 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 56,724 people
- 18.2 sq mi of land · 3,113 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from April 2017: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Olympia had 56,724 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 2.4% more than in April 2020, when it had 55,376. Its 18.2 sq mi of land work out to 3,113 people/sq mi; the state average is 120 people/sq mi.
It’s the 25th most populous of the 639 places the Census counts in Washington (cities, towns and CDPs), after Seattle (784,777), and holds 0.7% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Thurston County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 0.3 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Olympia sits at 96 ft (29 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Olympia is 1,002 ft below it.
The highest point in Washington is Mount Rainier, at 14,411 ft according to the USGS: 14,315 ft above Olympia, 55 mi away in a straight line.
- 40 Olympia 96 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Olympia.
What is the elevation of Olympia?
Olympia is 96 feet (29 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Olympia?
Latitude 47.03787 and longitude -122.90070, in decimal degrees (47° 2′ 16″ N · 122° 54′ 3″ W). In UTM, zone 10: 507,544 E and 5,209,378 N, on NAD83.
How does Olympia rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 11th lowest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Olympia in?
Thurston County, Washington.
Which is higher, Olympia or Seattle?
Seattle. Olympia sits at 96 ft and Seattle at 173 ft: a difference of 77 ft, 47 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know