Welcome to Lakewood, WA

Lakewood was officially incorporated on February 28, 1996. Historical names include Lakewood Center and Lakes District (this name was used by the U.S. Census in the 1970 and 1980 Census). Lakewood is a major suburb of Tacoma and is home to Western State Hospital, a regional state psychiatric hospital.

Geography

Lakewood is located at [show location on an interactive map] 47°9′50″N, 122°31′34″W (47.163920, -122.526008)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.0 square miles (49.1 km²), of which, 17.1 square miles (44.3 km²) of it is land and 1.9 square miles (4.8 km²) of it (9.81%) is water.

There are several lakes within the city limits; the largest in area are American Lake, Lake Steilacoom, Gravelly Lake, Lake Louise and Waughop Lake. A number of small creeks flow through Lakewood, some of which drain into nearby Puget Sound. The largest of these, Chambers Creek, flows from Lake Steilacoom to Chambers Bay between nearby University Place and Steilacoom.

The western terminus of Washington State Route 512 is in Lakewood, at its intersection with Interstate 5. The proposed State Route 704 would be the only other state highway entering the city.

Lakewood shares its eastern boundary with McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis. The city is considering annexing the two installations, in part to use its zoning laws to maintain clear space around them