Housing in Bonney Lake is predominantly single-family and was largely built out during the city's growth of recent decades. The typical landscape includes traditional cul-de-sac streets, newer master-planned sections with pocket parks woven into subdivisions, and larger lots on the edges of town. Waterfront and lake-view homes cluster around Lake Tapps, the area's big recreation lake, while the State Route 410 corridor offers more central, walkable convenience near shopping and restaurants. Owner occupancy is high, and the stock leans toward family-sized homes rather than dense multi-family development, though apartments and townhomes have been added near the main corridors as the city has matured.

Bonney Lake is organized less around named historic districts than around the subdivisions and planned sections that developed with the city's growth. Lake Tapps anchors the waterfront market, with lake-view and shoreline homes surrounding one of Pierce County's most popular recreation lakes. The central 410 corridor, sometimes referred to as downtown Bonney Lake, concentrates shopping, dining, and services along State Route 410. Residential areas fan out from there into cul-de-sac subdivisions and newer planned communities that include pocket parks and walking paths. The overall pattern is a series of family-oriented neighborhoods connected by the city's trail network and anchored by schools and parks such as Allan Yorke Park.

Life in Bonney Lake revolves around outdoor recreation and family activities. Lake Tapps is the centerpiece of summer, with boating, swimming, paddle sports, and shoreline parks, including the Allan Yorke Park boat launch. The city's trails, such as the Fennel Creek Trail, provide walking and biking routes through wooded areas, and the annual Tunes at Tapps concert series draws residents for summer music. The 410 corridor offers everyday shopping and dining, while larger retail and entertainment are a short drive toward Sumner, Puyallup, or Tacoma. With Mount Rainier on the horizon and the plateau's parks nearby, residents balance suburban convenience with ready access to the outdoors.

Bonney Lake is served by the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, which operates schools across the city and neighboring Sumner. Among the district's campuses in Bonney Lake are Bonney Lake High School, Bonney Lake Elementary, Crestwood Elementary, Donald Eismann Elementary, and Lakeridge Middle School. The district also runs athletic facilities, performing arts centers, and recreation programs that anchor community life. Families moving to the city generally attend schools within this single district, though attendance zones vary by neighborhood, and private and early-learning options supplement the public system.

State Route 410 bisects Bonney Lake and is the city's principal thoroughfare, connecting west toward the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area and east toward the northeast slopes of Mount Rainier. Commuters to employment centers in South King County, Sumner, Puyallup, and Tacoma generally travel by car along 410 and connecting highways, with mean commute times near 34 minutes. Transit options are more limited than in the urban core of Pierce County, so most residents rely on personal vehicles for daily travel. The plateau setting and highway orientation make the car the primary mode, with Seattle and Tacoma reachable within roughly an hour by road.

Outdoor recreation defines Bonney Lake. Lake Tapps, a large reservoir bordering the city, offers boating, water skiing, swimming, and fishing, with Allan Yorke Park providing a public boat launch and waterfront access. Victor Falls and other neighborhood parks add trails and green space, while the Fennel Creek Trail connects portions of the city for walking and cycling. The city's parks and recreation department runs youth sports, classes, and seasonal events such as Tunes at Tapps. Beyond the city, State Route 410 opens onto the foothills of Mount Rainier and the Cascade recreation areas to the east.