Jefferson County, Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jefferson County
U.S. county
Jefferson County Courthouse in Port Townsend
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	Thomas Jefferson
Seat	Port Townsend
Largest city	Port Townsend
Area
• Total	2,183 sq mi (5,650 km2)
• Land	1,804 sq mi (4,670 km2)
• Water	379 sq mi (980 km2)  17%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	32,977
• Estimate  (2023)	33,714
• Density	17/sq mi (7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional district	6th

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. The county seat and only incorporated city is Port Townsend. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson County was formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory, and included the northern 4,854-square-mile (12,571.8 km²) portion of the Olympic Peninsula. On April 26, 1854, the legislature of Washington Territory created Clallam County from the northwestern 2,670-square-mile (6,915.3 km²) portion of this original area.

The Hood Canal Bridge connects Jefferson County to Kitsap County, Washington. The Coupeville-Port Townsend route of the Washington State Ferries connects the county to Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington.

Geography

Ruby Beach, Kalaloch Area

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,183 square miles (5,650 km²), of which 1,804 square miles (4,670 km²) is land and 379 square miles (980 km²) (17%) is water.

The county is split in three parts by its landforms:

• Eastern Jefferson County along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, and the Hood Canal
• Central Jefferson County, which is uninhabited and lies in the Olympic Mountains within Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest
• Western Jefferson County, along the Pacific Ocean.

Because of the mountainous barrier, there is no road lying entirely within Jefferson County that connects the eastern and western parts. The most direct land route between the two ends of the county involves a drive of approximately 100 miles (160 km) along U.S. Route 101 through neighbouring Clallam County. The mountains also block the damp Chinook winds, which make the climate much wetter in the west than the so-called eastern "banana belt" in the rain shadow.

Geographic features

Hoh River in the Olympic National Park

Major highways

• U.S. Route 101
• State Route 20
• State Route 104

Adjacent counties

• Island County – northeast
• Kitsap County – southeast
• Mason County – south/southeast
• Grays Harbor County – south/southwest
• Clallam County – northwest
• San Juan County – northeast

National protected areas

• Olympic National Forest (part)
• Olympic National Park (part)
• Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge
• Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (part)

Demographics

Jefferson County also comprises the entirety of the Port Townsend micropolitan statistical area, which is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau. As of 2023^[update], the county's median age of 60.8 years old is the second-highest among metropolitan and micropolitan areas in the country, behind The Villages, Florida.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 29,872 people, 14,049 households, and 8,394 families living in the county. The population density was 16.6 inhabitants per square mile (6.4/km²). There were 17,767 housing units at an average density of 9.9 per square mile (3.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% white, 2.3% American Indian, 1.6% Asian, 0.8% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 0.7% from other races, and 3.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.8% were English, 20.3% were German, 13.9% were Irish, 8.3% were Norwegian, 5.9% were Scottish, and 4.2% were American.

Of the 14,049 households, 18.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 40.3% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.57. The median age was 53.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,048 and the median income for a family was $59,964. Males had a median income of $45,616 versus $29,508 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,528. About 8.9% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The largest private employer in Jefferson County is the Port Townsend Paper Mill. The largest employer overall (private and public) is Jefferson Healthcare, which operates Jefferson Healthcare Hospital.

Communities

Port Townsend and Admiralty Inlet

City

• Port Townsend (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Brinnon
• Marrowstone
• Port Hadlock-Irondale
• Port Ludlow
• Queets
• Quilcene

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Jefferson (Washington) para niños