In 1853, the Washington Territory was formed from part of the Oregon Territory. Named in honor of George Washington, Washington was the 42nd state to join the Union, in 1889. Its coastal location and Puget Sound harbors give it a leading role in trade with Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Rim. The state has two major mountain ranges--the 7,000-foot Olympic Mountains surrounded by temperate rain forest on the peninsula west of Puget Sound, and the more majestic Cascade Range, which boasts the 14,410-foot Mount Rainier and the volcanic Mount St. Helens, which erupted twice in the 1980s. Although the capital is Olympia, most people live in the metropolitan areas of Seattle-Everett and Tacoma. The state tree of the "Evergreen State" is the western hemlock, and the flower is the western rhododendron.
State Flower: Coast rhododendron or Western rhododendron
State Motto: By and by
State Nickname: Evergreen State
State Bird: Willow goldfinch
Land area, 2000 (square miles): 66,544
Length: 360 miles
Width: 240 miles
10 largest cities, 2010:
- Seattle, 608,660
- Spokane, 208,916
- Tacoma, 198,397
- Vancouver, 161,791
- Bellevue, 122,363
- Everett, 103,019
- Kent, 92,411
- Yakima, 91,067
- Renton, 90,927
- Spokane Valley, 89,755
Geographic Center: 10 miles west-southwest of Wenatchee
Geographic Center County: Chelan
Highest Point: 14,410 ft. — Mt. Ranier
Lowest Point: sea level — Pacific Ocean
Number of counties: 39
State forests: 3 (about 3 million ac.)
State parks: 120 (260,000 ac.)
Persons per square mile, 2010: 101.1
Population, 2010: 6,724,540
Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010: 14.10%
Population, 2000: 5,894,143
Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2009: 6.80%
Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2009: 23.60%
Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2009: 12.10%
Female persons, percent, 2009: 50.00%
White persons, percent, 2010 (a): 77.30%
Black persons, percent, 2010 (a): 3.60%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a): 1.50%
Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a): 7.20%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a): 0.60%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010: 4.70%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 (b): 11.20%
White persons not Hispanic, persons, 2010: 72.50%
Living in same house 1 year ago, pct 1 yr old & over, 2005-2009: 81.10%
Foreign born persons, percent, 2005-2009: 12.10%
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2005-2009: 16.50%
High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2005-2009: 89.40%
Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2005-2009: 30.80%
Veterans, 2005-2009: 615,860
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2005-2009: 25.4
Housing units, 2009: 2,814,238
Homeownership rate, 2005-2009: 65.30%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2005-2009: 25.90%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2005-2009: $277,600
Households, 2005-2009: 2,512,327
Persons per household, 2005-2009: 2.52
Per capita money income in past 12 months (2009 dollars) 2005-2009: $29,320
Median household income, 2009: $56,479
Persons below poverty level, percent, 2009: 12.30%
(a) Includes persons reporting only one race.
(b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories.
D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information
F: Fewer than 100 firms
FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data
NA: Not available
S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards
X: Not applicable
Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown
GDP Data — Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Population and Economic Data — US Census Bureau
Government Data — Congress.Org
