List of counties in Washington

Counties of Washington
Location State of Washington
Number 39
Populations 2,266 (Garfield) – 1,931,249 (King)
Areas 175 square miles (450 km2) (San Juan) – 2,742 square miles (7,100 km2) (Okanogan)
Government County government
Subdivisions cities, towns, townships, unincorporated communities, indian reservations, census designated place

There are 39 counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington came from what was the western part of Washington Territory and was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889.[1] The first counties were created from unorganized territory in 1845.[2] Eight of the counties were created by Oregon governments prior to the organization of Washington Territory, 26 were created during Washington's territorial period, and five more were created after Washington became a state (Benton, Chelan, Grant, Ferry, and Pend Oreille).[3]

Article XI of the Washington State Constitution addresses the organization of counties. New counties must have a population of at least 2,000 and no county can be reduced to a population below 4,000 due to partitioning to create a new county.[4] At least one early county, named Quillehuyte, was disestablished by the territorial government due to low population.[5] To alter the area of a county, the state constitution requires a petition of the "majority of the voters" in that area. A number of county partition proposals in the 1990s interpreted this as a majority of people who voted, until a 1998 ruling by the Washington Supreme Court clarified that they would need a majority of registered voters.[6]

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. The FIPS code links in the table point to U. S. Census "quick facts" pages for each county.

Washington's postal abbreviation is WA and its FIPS state code is 53.

List

County
FIPS County Code
[7]
County seat
[8]
Established
[8]
Origin
[2]
Etymology
[2]
Population
[8]
Area
[8]
Map
Adams County 001 Ritzville 1883 Whitman County John Adams (1735–1826), 2nd U.S. President 18,728 1,925 sq mi
(4,986 km2)
State map highlighting Adams County
Asotin County 003 Asotin 1883 Garfield County The Nez Percé name for Eel Creek 21,623 636 sq mi
(1,647 km2)
State map highlighting Asotin County
Benton County 005 Prosser 1905 Yakima and Klickitat Counties Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858), a Missouri U.S. Senator 175,177 1,703 sq mi
(4,411 km2)
State map highlighting Benton County
Chelan County 007 Wenatchee 1899 Okanogan and Kittitas Counties A Native American word meaning "deep water", likely referring to Lake Chelan 72,453 2,922 sq mi
(7,568 km2)
State map highlighting Chelan County
Clallam County 009 Port Angeles 1854 Jefferson County A Klallam word meaning "the strong people" 71,404 1,745 sq mi
(4,520 km2)
State map highlighting Clallam County
Clark County 011 Vancouver 1845 Original county William Clark (1770–1838), the co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 425,363 628 sq mi
(1,627 km2)
State map highlighting Clark County
Columbia County 013 Dayton 1875 Walla Walla County The Columbia River 4,078 869 sq mi
(2,251 km2)
State map highlighting Columbia County
Cowlitz County 015 Kelso 1854 Original county Cowlitz, an Indian tribe 102,410 1,139 sq mi
(2,950 km2)
State map highlighting Cowlitz County
Douglas County 017 Waterville 1883 Lincoln County Stephen A. Douglas (1813–1861), U.S. Senator from Illinois 38,431 1,821 sq mi
(4,716 km2)
State map highlighting Douglas County
Ferry County 019 Republic 1899 Stevens County Elisha P. Ferry (1825–1895), 1st Governor of Washington State 7,551 2,204 sq mi
(5,708 km2)
State map highlighting Ferry County
Franklin County 021 Pasco 1883 Whitman County Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), writer, orator, inventor, and U.S. Founding Father 78,163 1,242 sq mi
(3,217 km2)
State map highlighting Franklin County
Garfield County 023 Pomeroy 1881 Columbia County James A. Garfield (1831–1881), 20th U.S. President 2,266 710 sq mi
(1,839 km2)
State map highlighting Garfield County
Grant County 025 Ephrata 1909 Douglas County Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), 18th U.S. President 89,120 2,681 sq mi
(6,944 km2)
State map highlighting Grant County
Grays Harbor County 027 Montesano 1854 Thurston County Grays Harbor, a body of water named after explorer and merchant Robert Gray (1755–1806) 72,797 1,917 sq mi
(4,965 km2)
State map highlighting Grays Harbor County
Island County 029 Coupeville 1853 Thurston County Whidbey and Camano Islands 78,506 209 sq mi
(541 km2)
State map highlighting Island County
Jefferson County 031 Port Townsend 1852 Thurston County Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), 3rd U.S. President and principal author of the Declaration of Independence 29,872 1,809 sq mi
(4,685 km2)
State map highlighting Jefferson County
King County 033 Seattle 1852 Thurston County William R. King (1786–1853), U.S. Vice President under Franklin Pierce; officially renamed in 1986 after Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) 1,931,249 2,126 sq mi
(5,506 km2)
State map highlighting King County
Kitsap County 035 Port Orchard 1857 King and Jefferson Counties Chief Kitsap (d. 1860), leader of the Suquamish tribe 251,133 396 sq mi
(1,026 km2)
State map highlighting Kitsap County
Kittitas County 037 Ellensburg 1883 Yakima County Kittitas tribe word of uncertain meaning, with popular translations ranging from "white chalk" to "land of the plenty" 40,915 2,297 sq mi
(5,949 km2)
State map highlighting Kittitas County
Klickitat County 039 Goldendale 1859 Walla Walla County Klickitat Tribe 20,318 1,872 sq mi
(4,848 km2)
State map highlighting Klickitat County
Lewis County 041 Chehalis 1845 Original county Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809), the co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 75,455 2,408 sq mi
(6,237 km2)
State map highlighting Lewis County
Lincoln County 043 Davenport 1883 Whitman County Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), 16th U.S. President 10,570 2,311 sq mi
(5,985 km2)
State map highlighting Lincoln County
Mason County 045 Shelton 1854 King County Charles H. Mason (1830–1859), 1st Secretary of Washington Territory 60,699 961 sq mi
(2,489 km2)
State map highlighting Mason County
Okanogan County 047 Okanogan 1888 Stevens County A Salish Native American word meaning "rendezvous" 41,120 5,268 sq mi
(13,644 km2)
State map highlighting Okanogan County
Pacific County 049 South Bend 1851 Lewis County The Pacific Ocean 20,920 975 sq mi
(2,525 km2)
State map highlighting Pacific County
Pend Oreille County 051 Newport 1911 Stevens County The Pend d'Oreille Native American tribe 13,001 1,400 sq mi
(3,626 km2)
State map highlighting Pend Oreille County
Pierce County 053 Tacoma 1852 Thurston County Franklin Pierce (1804–1869), 14th U.S. President 795,225 1,676 sq mi
(4,341 km2)
State map highlighting Pierce County
San Juan County 055 Friday Harbor 1873 Whatcom County San Juan Island 15,769 175 sq mi
(453 km2)
State map highlighting San Juan County
Skagit County 057 Mount Vernon 1883 Whatcom County The Skagit Native American tribe 116,901 1,735 sq mi
(4,494 km2)
State map highlighting Skagit County
Skamania County 059 Stevenson 1854 Clark County A Chinookan word meaning "swift water" 11,066 1,656 sq mi
(4,289 km2)
State map highlighting Skamania County
Snohomish County 061 Everett 1861 Island County The Snohomish tribe 713,335 2,090 sq mi
(5,413 km2)
State map highlighting Snohomish County
Spokane County 063 Spokane 1879 a Stevens County The Spokane Native American tribe 471,221 1,764 sq mi
(4,569 km2)
State map highlighting Spokane County
Stevens County 065 Colville 1863 Walla Walla County Isaac Stevens (1818–1862), 1st Governor of the Washington Territory 43,531 2,478 sq mi
(6,418 km2)
State map highlighting Stevens County
Thurston County 067 Olympia 1852 Lewis County Samuel Thurston (1815–1851), the Oregon Territory's first delegate to U.S. Congress 252,264 727 sq mi
(1,883 km2)
State map highlighting Thurston County
Wahkiakum County 069 Cathlamet 1854 Cowlitz County Leader of Wahkiakum ("Tall Timber"), Native American tribe 3,978 264 sq mi
(684 km2)
State map highlighting Wahkiakum County
Walla Walla County 071 Walla Walla 1854 Skamania County The Walla Walla Native American tribe, and also another name for running water 58,781 1,270 sq mi
(3,289 km2)
State map highlighting Walla Walla County
Whatcom County 073 Bellingham 1854 Island County Nooksack word meaning "noisy water" 201,140 2,120 sq mi
(5,491 km2)
State map highlighting Whatcom County
Whitman County 075 Colfax 1871 Stevens County Marcus Whitman (1802–1847), a Methodist missionary 44,776 2,159 sq mi
(5,592 km2)
State map highlighting Whitman County
Yakima County 077 Yakima 1865 Ferguson County (defunct) The Yakama Native American tribe 243,231 4,296 sq mi
(11,127 km2)
State map highlighting Yakima County

Former county names

Former counties

Proposed counties

Notes

References

  1. "Historical Timeline of Events Leading to the formation of Washington State". Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  2. Smith 1913, p. 1 (As noted on p. 15, Pend Oreille County was not included in this tally because it was organized after the article was first published in 1909.)
  3. Article XI, Section 3 ("New Counties") of the Washington State Constitution
  4. 1 2 Smith 1913, p. 11
  5. Hal Spencer (February 6, 1998). "New counties dealt major blow". The Spokesman-Review. AP. p. B8.
    "Cedar County Committee v. Munro (No. 64958-8)". FindLaw. February 5, 1998.
  6. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  7. 1 2 3 4 National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find A County". Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  8. Ott, Jen (July 1, 2008). "Chehalis -- Thumbnail History". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  9. "Chapter 77 (S.B. 297), Changing Name of Chehalis County". Session Laws of the State of Washington. 1915. p. 250.
  10. Wilma, David (April 19, 2006). "Washington Territorial Legislature creates Sawamish (Mason) County on April 15, 1854". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  11. Wilma, David (July 27, 2006). "Slaughter County is renamed Kitsap County on July 13, 1857". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  12. Smith 1913, pp. 7–8
  13. Smith 1913, pp. 1–2
  14. Holman 1910, pp. 3–5
  15. Becker, Paula (September 20, 2005). "Ferguson County is established on January 23, 1863". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  16. "Milestones for Washington State History -- Part 2: 1851 to 1900". HistoryLink.org. March 6, 2003. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  17. Smith 1913, pp. 3–4
  18. Meany 1922, pp. 11–12
  19. Smith 1913, p. 7
  20. Smith 1913, pp. 13–14
  21. Smith 1913, p. 9

Works

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