King County, Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids King County
U.S. county
City Hall Park and King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle
Flag Logo
Location within the U.S. state of Washington
Washington's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Washington
Founded	December 22, 1852
Named for	William R. King (1852–2005) Martin Luther King Jr. (since 2005)
Seat	Seattle
Largest city	Seattle
Area
• Total	2,307 sq mi (5,980 km2)
• Land	2,116 sq mi (5,480 km2)
• Water	191 sq mi (490 km2)  8.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,269,675
• Estimate  (2023)	2,271,380
• Density	983.82/sq mi (379.86/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 7th, 8th, 9th

King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the state's most populous city.

Originally named after US representative, senator, and then vice president-elect William R. King in 1852, the county government amended its designation in 1986 to honor Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent activist and leader during the civil rights movement. The change was approved by the state government in 2005.

It is one of three Washington counties that are included in the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan statistical area along with Snohomish County to the north and Pierce County to the south. About two-thirds of King County's population lives in Seattle's suburbs, which largely developed in the late 20th century and early 21st century as bedroom communities before becoming job centers for the technology industry.

History

When Europeans arrived in the region that would become King County, it was inhabited by several Coast Salish groups. Villages around the site that would become Seattle were primarily populated by the Duwamish people. The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe occupied the area that would become eastern King County. The Green River and White River were home for the Muckleshoot tribal groups. In the first winter after the Denny Party landed at Alki Point, the settlement at the point consisted of a few dozen settlers and over a thousand Native Americans. The local tribes provided the settlers with construction labor, domestic service, and help with subsistence activities.

On December 22, 1852, the Oregon Territory legislature formed King County out of territory from within Thurston County. The county was named after Alabamian William R. King, who had just been elected Vice President of the United States under President Franklin Pierce. Seattle was made the county seat on January 11, 1853. The area became part of the Washington Territory when it was created later that year.

King County originally extended to the Olympic Peninsula. According to historian Bill Speidel, when peninsular prohibitionists threatened to shut down Seattle's saloons, Doc Maynard engineered a peninsular independence movement; King County lost what is now Kitsap County but preserved its entertainment industry.

Coal was discovered in 1853 by M. Bigelow along the Black River, and in subsequent decades several companies formed to mine coal around Lake Washington and deliver it to Seattle. The Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad started servicing the Renton coal fields in 1877, and the Newcastle fields in 1878. By 1880, King County produced 22% of the coal mined on the West Coast, most of that coal being found within the Renton Formation's Muldoon coal seam.

Name

King County's former flag, used from the 1980s to the 2000s

On February 24, 1986, the King County Council approved a motion to rename the county to honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (no relation to William R. King), preserving the name "King County" while changing its namesake. The motion stated, among other reasons for the change, that "William Rufus DeVane King was a slaveowner" who "earned income and maintained his lifestyle by oppressing and exploiting other human beings," while Martin Luther King's "contributions are well-documented and celebrated by millions throughout this nation and the world, and embody the attributes for which the citizens of King County can be proud, and claim as their own."

Because only the state can charter counties, the change was not made official until April 19, 2005, when Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law Senate Bill 5332, which provided that "King county is renamed in honor of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr." effective July 24, 2005.

The County Council voted on February 27, 2006, to adopt the proposal sponsored by Councilmember Larry Gossett to change the county's logo from an imperial crown to an image of Martin Luther King Jr. On March 12, 2007, the new logo was unveiled. The new logo design was developed by the Gable Design Group and the specific image was selected by a committee consisting of King County Executive Ron Sims, Council Chair Larry Gossett, Prosecutor Norm Maleng, Sheriff Sue Rahr, District Court Judge Corrina Harn, and Superior Court Judge Michael Trickey. The same logo is used in the flag.

Martin Luther King Jr. had visited King County once, for three days in November 1961.

Geography

Map of King County

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,307 square miles (5,980 km²), of which 2,116 square miles (5,480 km²) is land and 191 square miles (490 km²) (8.3%) is water. King County has nearly twice the land area of the state of Rhode Island. The highest point in the county is Mount Daniel at 7,959 feet (2,426 meters) above sea level.

King County borders Snohomish County to the north, Kitsap County to the west, Kittitas County to the east, and Pierce County to the south. It also shares a small border with Chelan County to the northeast. King County includes Vashon Island and Maury Island in Puget Sound.

The county has 760 lakes and 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of streams and rivers.

Geographic features

The Cascade Range (including Granite Mountain shown here) dominates the eastern part of King County.

Terrain

Water

National protected areas

• Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (part, also in Skagway, Alaska)
• Snoqualmie National Forest (part)

Climate change

King County has been identified as vulnerable to higher risks of flooding caused by climate change due to the number of waterways in the area. The county's oceanic ecosystems are predicted to face harmful chemical changes, while the mountainous ecosystems could experience a decrease in ice and snow. Since the mid-2000s, the county government has adopted policies to mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the region.

Transportation

Major highways

Public transit

The King County Metro serves the county with local routes, paratransit, vanpools, and rideshare in select areas. It also operates an electric trolleybus network in Seattle as well as the city streetcar system. Metro was the seventh-largest transit bus agency in the United States by ridership in 2019, with 121.3 million annual passenger trips and 400,000 per weekday. Sound Transit manages Link light rail, Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express buses in King County that provide connections to adjacent counties. The Community Transit of Snohomish County and the Pierce Transit of Pierce County also operate routes that serve portions of King County. Most transit modes in the county use the ORCA card, a smart fare card system introduced in 2009.

The county is home to three major ferry terminals that are served by Washington State Ferries, a state-run passenger and automobile ferry system. Colman Dock in Downtown Seattle is served by routes from Bainbridge Island and Bremerton; Vashon Island is connected to West Seattle at Fauntleroy and also has service to Southworth in Kitsap County. The county government's Marine Division operates the King County Water Taxi, a passenger ferry service that connects Downtown Seattle to West Seattle and Vashon Island. The passenger-only Kitsap Fast Ferries system operated by Kitsap Transit connects a terminal near Colman Dock to communities on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Demographics

The center of population of the state of Washington in 2010 was located in eastern King County (47°19′51″N 121°37′12″W / 47.330750°N 121.619994°W / 47.330750; -121.619994 (Washington center of population, 2010)). King County's own center of population was located on Mercer Island (47°32′54″N 122°13′48″W / 47.548320°N 122.229983°W / 47.548320; -122.229983 (King County center of population, 2010)).

As of the fourth quarter of 2021, the median home value in King County was $817,547, an increase of 19.6% from the prior year.

In 2021 King County experienced its first population decline in 50 years.

Racial and ethnic composition since 1960

Ethnic origins in King County

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,269,675 people, 917,764 households, and 537,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,073.0 inhabitants per square mile (414.3/km²) There were 969,234 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 56.1% White (54.2% Non-Hispanic White), 6.7% African American (6.5% Non-Hispanic Black), 19.9% Asian (19.8% Non-Hispanic Asian), 0.9% Pacific Islander (0.8% Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander), 0.5% Native American, 5.2% from other races, and 10.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 10.7% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,931,249 people, 789,232 households, and 461,510 families residing in the county. The population density was 912.9 inhabitants per square mile (352.5/km²). There were 851,261 housing units at an average density of 402.4 per square mile (155.4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.7% White (64.8% Non-Hispanic White), 6.2% African American, 14.6% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 0.8% Native American, 3.9% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 17.1% were German, 11.6% were English, 11.1% were Irish, 5.5% were Norwegian, and 2.9% were American.

Of the 789,232 households, 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.5% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age was 37.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $68,065 and the median income for a family was $87,010. Males had a median income of $62,373 versus $45,761 for females. The per capita income for the county was $38,211. About 6.4% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Native American tribes

King County is home two federally-recognized tribes, the Muckleshoot tribe and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe tribe, and other unrecognized groups. The Muckleshoot Indian Reservation is located southeast of Auburn and is home to a resident population of 3,606 as of the 2000 census.

The Snoqualmie tribe's casino property was federally recognized as their reservation in 2006, however few tribe members live near the reservation.

Religion

In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in King County was the Archdiocese of Seattle, with 278,340 Catholics worshipping at 71 parishes, followed by 95,218 non-denominational adherents with 159 congregations, 56,985 LDS Mormons with 110 congregations, 25,937 AoG Pentecostals with 63 congregations, 25,789 ELCA Lutherans with 68 congregations, 24,909 PC-USA Presbyterians with 54 congregations, 18,185 Mahayana Buddhists with 39 congregations, 18,161 UMC Methodists with 50 congregations, 14,971 TEC Episcopalians with 35 congregations, and 12,531 ABCUSA Baptists with 42 congregations. Altogether, 37.6% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, King County had 944 religious organizations, the 8th most out of all US counties.

Education

K–12 schools

School districts in the county include:

Public libraries

Most of King County is served by the King County Library System, with the exception of Seattle, Hunts Point, and Yarrow Point. The city of Seattle is served by the Seattle Public Library system, which has 27 branches compared to King County's 49 locations.

Communities

Cities

Towns

• Beaux Arts Village
• Hunts Point
• Skykomish
• Yarrow Point

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Former cities and towns

• East Redmond
• Foster
• Houghton

Ghost towns

See also

In Spanish: Condado de King (Washington) para niños