Welcome to Rainier ...

The town of Rainier is located in Thurston County<1>.

Google driving directions from your current location to Rainier

The pronunciation of Rainier: ray-NIR<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Rainier, you might consider that their post office opened in 1890.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, Rainier has a population of 2,285 people<3> (see below for details).

Rainier is 440 feet [134 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Rainier lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Rainier: 360 & 564<5>

The ZIP code for Rainier: 98576<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Rainier had an population of 2,285 people. This is an increase of 27.37% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 53.15% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Rainier had a population of 1,794 people. This makes Rainier the county's 5th most populous community.

The population of Rainier represents 0.03% of the total population of Washington (which has 6,724,540 people), making it the state's 165th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,794 people, the population of Rainier increased 20.24% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,492 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Rainier.

Communities Also Named Rainier ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Rainier - they are located in Alberta and Oregon.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rainier.

Communities near Rainier ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rainier.

Lacey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Lacey is located in Thurston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <7>
Olympia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olympia
- Olympia is located in Thurston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53,620 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olympia <7>
Tumwater
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tumwater
- Tumwater is located in Thurston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,272 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tumwater <7>
Centralia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Centralia is located in Lewis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,995 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centralia <7>
DuPont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DuPont
- DuPont is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,594 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DuPont <7>
Yelm
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm
- Yelm is located in Thurston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yelm <7>
Steilacoom
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steilacoom
- Steilacoom is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,416 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steilacoom <7>
Eatonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eatonville
- Eatonville is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,026 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eatonville <7>
Tenino
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenino
- Tenino is located in Thurston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tenino <7>
Roy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
- Roy is located in Pierce County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <7>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rainier. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rainier.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rainier. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rainier.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainier. See our Newspapers Page for Rainier.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rainier ...

Looking for more information about Rainier? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Rainier, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rainier.

Adding Rainier to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Rainier in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Rainier was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

From that list, the Rainier post office opened in 1890.

We also found Rainier mentioned on a train schedule titled Union Pacific Railroad Time Tables (September 1924).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Rainier.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rainier. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Thurston County: www.co.thurston.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://wa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Washington's counties, including Thurston, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Rainier. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<3>	Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Rainier.
<4>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rainier - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>	When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 360 code has been Overlayed with the 564 area code. New phone numbers in the Rainier area will be assigned with one of these codes: 360 or 564. As a result, placing a call in the Rainier area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Rainier). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rainier or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>	A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/