Serving Puyallup
Grow your business in Puyallup
Puyallup pairs a historic Main Street with one of the state’s busiest event economies, from the Washington State Fair to a Saturday farmers market. As a women’s business center for Puyallup, WCWB helps women start and grow businesses with free one-on-one advising, practical classes and a community of women owners.
CountyPierce County
Population44,000
WCWB advisingFree, by phone or video
Our officeLacey, Washington
Where business happens
Business districts in Puyallup
- Downtown Puyallup. The historic downtown where the Puyallup Main Street Association has worked on revitalization since 1989; it is home to the Saturday farmers market at Pioneer Park and signature events such as Meeker Days.
- South Hill commercial core. One of the City’s main general-commercial districts, concentrating retail and services on South Hill.
- Good Samaritan Hospital medical area. The hospital campus and the ring of private medical offices and support businesses that has grown up around it.
- River Road and East Main corridors. General-commercial corridors that the City lists alongside South Hill and downtown as its main commercial districts.
Good to know in Puyallup
- Puyallup requires a business license, added to your state license through the Business Licensing Service. There’s no fee if your gross annual income is $12,000 or less.
- Puyallup is not on the Association of Washington Cities’ list of cities with a general local B&O tax, though state B&O tax still applies.
- Businesses that pay state B&O tax can pledge to the Puyallup Main Street Association and get 75% back as a credit on their state B&O tax.
- The Puyallup Farmers’ Market runs Saturdays, April to October, at Pioneer Park downtown, and takes produce, food, flower and craft vendors.
Not sure what applies to you? An advisor can walk you through it.
Main Street meets the fairgrounds
Puyallup, Pierce County’s third-largest city, was once a center of agriculture and has grown into a regional hub for events, health care and shopping. The Washington State Fair & Events Center downtown hosts the fair each September and events year-round, Good Samaritan Hospital anchors what the City calls a growing medical colony, and the South Hill area and a busy auto-dealer cluster make retail a major part of the economy. Highways 410, 512 and SR-167 and the Sounder commuter rail station, which the City calls the region’s busiest by daily boardings, connect Puyallup to the rest of Puget Sound.
Fair, events and visitor services
The Washington State Fair & Events Center, which calls itself the largest event center in the state, puts on the 20-day Washington State Fair each September and an 8-day Spring Fair each April, and hosts more than 125 other events in a typical year.
Health care
Good Samaritan Community Healthcare, based in Puyallup since 1952, merged with MultiCare in 2006; a 2007 hospital master plan led to about $400 million in new investment, and medical offices and support services have grown up around the campus.
Retail and auto sales
The City highlights the region’s fifth-largest shopping mall and a 14-member car dealers’ association that ranks near the top in the region.
Agricultural research and education
Puyallup is home to WSU’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center (the university’s largest branch agricultural station), Pierce College’s Puyallup campus, and the Puyallup School District headquarters downtown.
Your women’s business center for Puyallup
Event vendors, Main Street shops and service businesses on South Hill all have a place to start with WCWB.
Plan for event season
Selling at the fair, Meeker Days or the farmers market? An advisor can help you plan inventory, pricing and cash flow for busy weekends and the quiet months between.
Sell at the Pop-Up Market
The INSPIRE Pop-Up Market at Capital Mall in Olympia is a low-cost market for women-owned businesses with a Washington business license.
Write your business plan
BEST is five self-paced online courses that take you from choosing a business structure to a finished business plan.
More help in Puyallup
Alongside WCWB, these Puyallup organizations support local businesses. Each link opens their own website.
City of Puyallup Economic Development
The City’s economic development office; its Downtown Economic Development Plan makes ‘provide business support’ the first of seven strategies.
Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce
The chamber for Puyallup and Sumner offers networking, advocacy, a Leadership Institute, the East Pierce County Business Expo and an annual Women in Business event.
Puyallup Main Street Association
A downtown Main Street nonprofit that promotes downtown businesses, runs events like Meeker Days and the Holiday Market, and runs the B&O tax credit donation program.
Puyallup Farmers’ Market
A large Saturday public market at Pioneer Park (April-October) where food, farm and craft businesses can apply to sell.
Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County (EDB)
The county’s economic development board offers site selection data, workforce connections, and links to financing and technical assistance partners.
Questions from Puyallup business owners
Can WCWB help me become a vendor at the Washington State Fair?
An advisor can help you get your product, pricing and paperwork ready for vendor applications. The fair posts its vendor and exhibitor applications on its own website.
Are there events for women business owners in Puyallup?
Yes. The Puyallup Sumner Chamber holds an annual Women in Business event with booths for women-owned vendors, and WCWB’s INSPIRE conference each May brings women owners from across the region together.
Does WCWB have an office in Puyallup?
No. We meet by phone and video, so we can work with you anywhere in Washington State. Our office is at 4220 6th Ave SE in Lacey.
Who can work with WCWB?
Anyone who is starting a business or growing a small to medium-sized one. We focus on women-identified business owners in Washington State, and our services are open to everyone.
Take your Puyallup business further
Free advising by phone or video, with no up-front commitment.