List of municipalities in Washington facts for kids
Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest part of the United States. It's known for its beautiful nature, from mountains to coastlines. As of 2020, Washington is home to over 7.7 million people, making it the 13th most populated state. It's also the 18th largest state by land area. Washington is divided into 39 counties and has 281 different cities and towns.
Cities and towns in Washington are organized into different types, which helps decide how they are run. There are five main types of cities: First Class, Second Class, Town, Unclassified, and Code City.
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What are the different types of cities?
- First Class Cities: These are cities that had more than 10,000 people when they were first set up. They have a special "home rule charter," which means they can make many of their own rules, as long as they follow state laws.
- Second Class Cities: These cities had over 1,500 people when they were set up but don't have a "home rule charter." They also follow specific rules set by the state.
- Towns: These are smaller communities that had fewer than 1,500 people when they were formed. Towns don't have a special charter and follow state laws for how they operate. Since 1994, new towns must have at least 1,500 people to be created.
- Unclassified Cities: There's only one city like this in Washington: Waitsburg. It's special because it still uses rules from before Washington became a state in 1889!
- Code Cities: This is the most common type of city in Washington, with 192 municipalities choosing this option. Code cities have a lot of freedom to do what they need for their community, as long as it's not against the state's constitution or laws. They can pretty much do anything other city types can do.
How are cities governed?
Cities and towns in Washington usually have one of three ways of governing themselves:
- Commission Government: In this system, a small group of elected officials (usually three) runs the city. The last city to use this was Shelton, but its residents voted to change to a different system in 2017.
- Mayor-Council Government: This is the most common system. People elect a mayor who leads the city, and they also elect a city council that makes laws and decisions.
- Council-Manager Government: In this system, people elect a city council, but instead of a mayor running things day-to-day, the council hires a professional city manager. This manager is in charge of the city's operations.
Some larger Code Cities (with over 10,000 people) can even create their own unique government plan, but so far, none have chosen to do so.
Which are Washington's biggest and smallest cities?
The largest city in Washington by population is Seattle, with over 737,000 residents. It's also the largest by land area, covering about 83.84 square miles.
On the other hand, the smallest city by population is Krupp, with only 49 residents. The smallest by land area is Beaux Arts Village, which is tiny at just 0.08 square miles.
Images for kids
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Skyline of Seattle, Washington's largest city
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Skyline of Spokane, Washington's second largest city
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Skyline of Tacoma, Washington's third largest city, located in the south Puget Sound area.
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Skyline of Vancouver, a suburb in the Portland metropolitan area and Washington's fourth largest city
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Aerial view of Bellevue, a satellite city in the Seattle metropolitan area and the fifth largest municipality in Washington
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Downtown Everett, located in the north Puget Sound area and the seventh largest city in Washington
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Spokane Valley, a suburb in the Spokane metropolitan area, and Washington's ninth largest city (since 2015)
