Puyallup is a city in Pierce County, Washington, located in the broad, fertile Puyallup Valley about six miles east of Tacoma and 30 miles south of Seattle. The valley's rich soil, formed by Mount Rainier's volcanic history, made the area an agricultural center from its earliest settlement, and the city takes its name from the Puyallup people, who inhabited the valley and the waters of the nearby sound long before European-American settlement. That agricultural heritage still shapes the community's identity and its signature event. The Washington State Fair is the defining institution of Puyallup. Founded in 1900 as a modest agricultural and livestock showcase by local farmers, it grew into one of the largest fairs in the country, drawing more than a million visitors each September to its fairgrounds on the edge of downtown. The phrase "Do the Puyallup" is embedded in Pacific Northwest culture, and the fair anchors a year-round event center that hosts concerts, trade shows, and community gatherings. The city of roughly 42,500 residents is the center of a much larger suburban area that extends onto South Hill and across the eastern reaches of Pierce County, with a combined population far exceeding the city proper. Downtown Puyallup retains a walkable, historic commercial core with early-20th-century buildings, local restaurants, and a strong sense of place, while newer residential and retail development spreads across the surrounding plateau. Puyallup is closely tied to the broader Puget Sound region through the Sounder commuter rail, which stops at Puyallup Station and connects the city to Tacoma, Seattle, and points north. The Puyallup School District is one of Washington's largest, serving the city and its surroundings. Together, the fair, the valley's farmland, strong schools, and rail access give Puyallup a distinctive role as a family-oriented South Sound city with deep roots and direct links to the region's urban core.