Thurston County, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thurston County
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Former Thurston County Courthouse
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Location within the U.S. state of Washington
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Washington's location within the U.S. |
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Country | United States |
State | Washington |
Founded | January 12, 1852 |
Named for | Samuel Thurston |
Seat | Olympia |
Largest city | Olympia |
Area | |
• Total | 774 sq mi (2,000 km2) |
• Land | 722 sq mi (1,870 km2) |
• Water | 52 sq mi (130 km2) 6.7%% |
Population
(2020)
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• Total | 294,793 |
• Estimate
(2021)
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297,977 |
• Density | 368/sq mi (142/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
Congressional districts | 3rd, 10th |
Thurston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat and largest city is Olympia, the state capital.
Thurston County was created out of Lewis County by the government of Oregon Territory on January 12, 1852. At that time, it covered all of the Puget Sound region and the Olympic Peninsula. On December 22 of the same year, Pierce, King, Island, and Jefferson counties were split off from Thurston County. It is named after Samuel R. Thurston, the Oregon Territory's first delegate to Congress.
Thurston County comprises the Olympia-Tumwater, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area.
Contents
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 774 square miles (2,000 km2), of which 722 square miles (1,870 km2) is land and 52 square miles (130 km2) (6.7%) is water.
Major watersheds: Black River, Budd/Deschutes, Chehalis River, Eld Inlet, Henderson Inlet, Nisqually River, Skookumchuck River, Totten Inlet and West Capitol Forest.
Geographic features
- Alder Lake
- Bald Hill Lake
- Barnes Lake
- Bass Lake
- Bigelow Lake
- Black Lake
- Black River
- Budd Inlet
- Capitol Lake
- Capitol Peak
- Capitol State Forest
- Chambers Lake
- Chehalis River
- Clear Lake
- Coopers Pothole
- Deep Lake
- Deschutes River
- Elbow Lake
- Eld Inlet
- Fifteen Lake
- Gehrke Lake
- Grass Lake
- Henderson Inlet
- Hewitt Lake
- Hicks Lake
- Lake Lawrence
- Lois Lake
- Long Lake
- McIntosh Lake
- Mima Mounds
- Munn Lake
- Nisqually River
- Offut Lake
- Patterson Lake
- Puget Sound
- Reichel Lake
- Saint Clair Lake
- Scott Lake
- Simmons Lake
- Skookumchuck River
- Smith Lake
- Southwick Lake
- Springer Lake
- Summit Lake
- Susan Lake
- Totten Inlet
- Trails End Lake
- Trosper Lake
- Ward Lake
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Pierce County - northeast
- Lewis County - south
- Grays Harbor County - west
- Mason County - north/northwest
National protected areas
Demographics
Historical population | |||
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Census | Pop. | %± | |
1860 | 1,507 | — | |
1870 | 2,246 | 49.0% | |
1880 | 3,270 | 45.6% | |
1890 | 9,675 | 195.9% | |
1900 | 9,927 | 2.6% | |
1910 | 17,581 | 77.1% | |
1920 | 22,366 | 27.2% | |
1930 | 31,351 | 40.2% | |
1940 | 37,285 | 18.9% | |
1950 | 44,884 | 20.4% | |
1960 | 55,049 | 22.6% | |
1970 | 76,894 | 39.7% | |
1980 | 124,264 | 61.6% | |
1990 | 161,238 | 29.8% | |
2000 | 207,355 | 28.6% | |
2010 | 252,264 | 21.7% | |
2020 | 294,793 | 16.9% | |
2021 (est.) | 297,977 | 18.1% | |
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020 |
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 252,264 people, 100,650 households, and 66,161 families living in the county. The population density was 349.4 inhabitants per square mile (134.9/km2). There were 108,182 housing units at an average density of 149.8 per square mile (57.8/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 82.4% white, 5.2% Asian, 2.7% black or African American, 1.4% American Indian, 0.8% Pacific islander, 2.2% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 21.2% were German, 13.4% were English, 13.2% were Irish, 5.0% were Norwegian, and 4.7% were American.
Of the 100,650 households, 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 38.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $60,930 and the median income for a family was $71,833. Males had a median income of $53,679 versus $41,248 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,707. About 7.1% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
Towns
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
- Boston Harbor
- Driftwood
- East Olympia
- Gate
- Indian Summer
- Kellys Corner
- Lake Lawrence
- Littlerock
- Maytown
- Mushroom Corner
- Offutt Lake
- Saint Clair
- Schneiders Prairie
- South Bay
- Steamboat Island
- Union Mill
- Vail
Ghost towns
Education
School Districts in Thurston County:
- North Thurston
- Olympia
- Rainier
- Rochester
- Tenino
- Tumwater
- Yelm
Higher Education in Thurston County:
- Evergreen State College
- Saint Martin's University
- South Puget Sound Community College
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Thurston (Washington) para niños