Federal Way

Sister cities

• Donghae City
• Hachinohe

History

Originally a logging settlement, the area was first called "Federal Way" when a consolidated school district was established in 1929. The name derived from U.S. Route 99 (now State Route 99 or Pacific Highway South), a federally-designated highway which ran through the state and connected Seattle to Tacoma. It followed an earlier road between Fort Steilacoom and Fort Bellingham that was completed in the 1850s and later became known as Military Road. The first homestead in the area was established in 1871 by Sam Stone near modern-day Redondo and was followed by other settlers. Five existing school districts consolidated operations into School District No. 210 in 1929 and planned construction of Federal Way High School, which opened in 1930 and gave its name to the school district. The local chamber of commerce adopted the name in the early 1950s. New businesses, including motels and restaurants, moved to the Federal Way area in the 1940s and 1950s to serve the growing numbers of automobile travelers on the Pacific Highway. The first shopping mall in the future city, named Federal Shopping Way, opened in 1955 and included a small amusement park named Santafair and "Old World Square", which reproduced historic European buildings. Federal Shopping Way was primarily home to small businesses and specialty retailers, but its amusement park and recreational areas were gradually closed by the 1980s. An effort to demolish Old World Square was resisted by the mall's businesses, who filed a lawsuit, but began in 1980 under the landlord's direction. The mall was demolished in 1995 and replaced by the Pavilions Centre, a conventional strip mall. The historic cabins were moved to a site near West Hylebos State Park and later restored by the local historical society. A section of…

Geography

Federal Way is located in the southwest corner of King County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. * West Hylebos Wetlands Park – at S 348th Street and 4th Avenue S, with hiking trails through wetlands. The park also features two iconic buildings: the nearby Barker Cabin built in 1883, which is the city's oldest known building, and the Denny Cabin, which was once located west of present-day Seattle Center. The Denny Cabin was built by David Denny in 1889 as a real-estate office and was made from trees cut down on Queen Anne Hill. * Dumas Bay Centre Park – on SW Dash Point Road; includes a beach, picnic area and walking trail * Lakota Park – on SW Dash Point Road; includes baseball field, softball field, football field and 440 yard running track This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Federal Way has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  42,524
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  34,621
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  32,718
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  31,449
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  29,510
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  26,686
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,792
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  24,127

Largest nearby schools

• Kent-Meridian High School
  High · Kent · 2,128 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Auburn Riverside High School
  High · AUBURN · 1,909 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• Mount Rainier High School
  High · Des Moines · 1,873 students · 24.3:1 ratio
• Auburn Senior High School
  High · AUBURN · 1,844 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Thomas Jefferson High School
  High · AUBURN · 1,797 students · 23.6:1 ratio
• Federal Way High School
  High · FEDERAL WAY · 1,640 students · 21:1 ratio
• Auburn Mountainview High School
  High · Auburn · 1,581 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Decatur High School
  High · FEDERAL WAY · 1,327 students · 22.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-06-26
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• M 2.82 — 2026-06-26
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• M 2.84 — 2026-05-27
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• M 2.75 — 2026-04-11
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• M 2.52 — 2026-03-17
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• M 2.86 — 2026-03-11
  2 km W of Home, Washington