Lewis County, Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lewis County
U.S. county
Lewis County Historic Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Washington
Washington's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Washington
Founded	December 19, 1845
Named for	Meriwether Lewis
Seat	Chehalis
Largest city	Centralia
Area
• Total	2,436 sq mi (6,310 km2)
• Land	2,403 sq mi (6,220 km2)
• Water	33 sq mi (90 km2)  1.4%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	82,149
• Estimate  (2021)	84,398
• Density	32.5/sq mi (12.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Lewis County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 82,149. The county seat is Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia. Lewis County comprises the Centralia, WA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area.

Geography and natural features

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,436 square miles (6,310 km²), of which 2,403 square miles (6,220 km²) is land and 33 square miles (85 km²) (1.4%) is water. One of the world's tallest Douglas fir trees ever recorded was in the town of Mineral within Lewis County, attaining a height of 120 metres (390 ft).

Geographic features

• Cascade Mountains
• Chehalis River
• Cowlitz River
• Nisqually River
• Lake Mayfield
• Riffe Lake
• Big Horn, the highest place in Lewis county
• Boistfort Peak, the highest point in the Willapa Hills
• Walupt Creek Falls

Major highways

• Interstate 5
• U.S. Route 12

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

• Gifford Pinchot National Forest (part)
• Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (part)
• Mount Rainier National Park (part)
• Mount St. Helens Volcanic National Monument (part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 Census, there were 75,455 people, 29,743 households, and 20,104 families residing in the county. The population density was 31.4 inhabitants per square mile (12.1/km²). There were 34,050 housing units at an average density of 14.2 per square mile (5.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county's population: 89.7% white, 1.4% American Indian, 0.9% Asian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 4.0% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.1% were German, 14.9% were Irish, 12.5% were English, 7.7% were American, and 5.1% were Norwegian.

Of the 29,743 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.4% were non-families, and 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 41.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,874 and the median income for a family was $53,358. Males had a median income of $43,695 versus $31,720 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,695. About 10.3% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Towns

• Pe Ell

Census-designated places

• Fords Prairie
• Mineral
• Onalaska
• Packwood

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Lewis (Washington) para niños