Ferndale, Washington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ferndale is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,758 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Sister City
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

Ferndale was officially incorporated on March 19, 1907. It is so called because of the ferns that once grew around the original school house. Ferndale was originally called Jam because the town was located next to logjam on the Nooksack river. The original school teacher decided it needed a more picturesque name.

[edit] Geography

Ferndale is located at 48°50′48″N, 122°35′23″W (48.846670, -122.589720)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.2 km² (6.3 mi²). 16.1 km² (6.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.80%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,758 people, 3,147 households, and 2,303 families residing in the city. The population density was 543.6/km² (1,409.1/mi²). There were 3,292 housing units at an average density of 204.3/km² (529.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.85% White, 0.82% African American, 2.56% Native American, 2.43% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 5.31% from other races, and 3.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.02% of the population.

There were 3,147 households out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,375, and the median income for a family was $44,626. Males had a median income of $34,658 versus $25,851 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,982. About 10.4% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.