Tacoma is the county seat and largest city of Pierce County, Washington, situated on Commencement Bay, an inlet of Puget Sound roughly 30 miles south of Seattle. Its 2020 census population of about 219,000 makes it Washington's third-largest city and the urban, economic, and cultural center of the South Sound. The city's skyline and daily life are framed by two powerful geographic features: the deep-water bay that built its economy, and Mount Rainier, whose summit rises some 45 miles to the southeast and gives Tacoma one of the Pacific Northwest's most memorable settings. Tacoma's origins lie in the 19th-century competition for Pacific trade. Settled in 1864 and platted in 1868 as Commencement City, it was soon renamed Tacoma, a Coast Salish name for Mount Rainier. The city's fortunes turned when the Northern Pacific Railroad chose Tacoma as its western terminus in the 1870s, and by 1890 the population had surged from about 1,100 to 36,000. Sawmills, grain elevators, a smelter, and deep-water wharves made Tacoma a major port, and that maritime-industrial heritage endures in the modern Port of Tacoma, a significant container and international trade gateway. Today Tacoma's economy is more diversified, resting on the port, health care, education, government, and a growing arts and tourism sector. The city's museum district — anchored by the Museum of Glass, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the LeMay–America's Car Museum — draws regional and national visitors, while the University of Washington Tacoma and the University of Puget Sound anchor higher education. Joint Base Lewis-McChord to the south adds a substantial military and civilian workforce to the regional economy. Residentially, Tacoma is prized for its historic neighborhoods and waterfront parks. The North End and Stadium District hold some of the region's finest early-20th-century architecture, Point Defiance Park offers old-growth forest, a zoo, and shoreline trails, and the Sounder commuter rail links the city to Seattle. For homebuyers, Tacoma combines urban amenities, deep history, and relative value within one of the nation's most dynamic metropolitan regions.