Friday Harbor, Washington

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Cars at the entrance to the ferry dock at Friday Harbor.

Friday Harbor is a town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,989 at the 2000 census. Located on San Juan Island, it is the major commercial center of the San Juan Islands archipelago. It is the county seat of San Juan County^GR6.

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

[edit] History

Friday Harbor was officially incorporated on February 10, 1909. It is the only incorporated town in the San Juan Islands.

[edit] Geography

Friday Harbor is located at 48°32′7″N, 123°1′52″W (48.535260, -123.031055)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.7 km² (1.4 mi²). 3.5 km² (1.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (4.93%) is water.

The harbor at Friday Harbor, with a docked ferry awaiting passengers.

Friday Harbor's primary connection to the mainland is via Washington State Ferries, which sails between the town and Anacortes, Washington several times per day, and the Friday Harbor Airport, which has limited airline service.

[edit] Education

The town has six schools, Friday Harbor High School, Friday Harbor Middle School and Friday Harbor Elementary School that are part of the San Juan Island School District, the Paidea school (private) and Spring Street School (private). Also on the island is a branch of Skagit Valley Community College. The school district also includes the small Stuart Island School that was established in 1897 and is one of Washington's "remote and necessary" schools.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,989 people, 896 households, and 468 families residing in the town. The population density was 564.7/km² (1,467.7/mi²). There were 1,053 housing units at an average density of 298.9/km² (777.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.01% White, 0.65% African American, 1.31% Native American, 1.41% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 2.61% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.23% of the population.

There were 896 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.6% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.7% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,139, and the median income for a family was $45,208. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $24,741 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,792. About 7.7% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.