King County, WA

Home of salmon streams and aircraft manufacturing, King County is located in scenic western Washington.1 On a clear day, Mount Rainier looms on the horizon to the southeast, while the Olympic Mountains appear across the large expanse of Puget Sound to the west. Water is everywhere—Puget Sound is a dominant feature, with freshwater lakes inland, and almost 1,000 wetlands, 4 major river systems, and 3,000 miles of streams. The county covers 2,130 square miles, which is about the size of Delaware. The City of Seattle is the county seat, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, and is frequently cited as a “most livable city” in national rankings.

The county’s population is 1.7 million (including Seattle), up from 1.5 million in 1990 and 1.3 million in 1980. This was an increase of 15 percent from 1990 to 2000. King County boasts more than 40 percent of Washington State’s jobs and payroll, making it the primary economic engine of the Pacific Northwest. This engine slowed when the region’s economy reached its lowest point in 30 years in 2001–2003. During that time, Boeing (the region’s largest employer) laid off 18,000 people, the dotcom bust left its mark, and an earthquake in early 2001 left an even bigger scar on the region, resulting in expensive infrastructure repairs throughout the county. This has slowed the rate of growth slightly, but the local economy remains strong despite higher unemployment. Rural agriculture continues to play a role.

In the 1970s and 1980s, land was being developed in the region faster than the population was growing—developed land grew by 87 percent while the population increased only by 36 percent. King County reacted by becoming one of the first Puget Sound jurisdictions to delineate an urban growth boundary in 1985. It has managed to keep its urban areas relatively dense compared with other counties in the region, with approximately 3,600 people per square mile of urban land.

King County is a leader in an already progressive region. This is good news for the diverse species that call King County home—including the chinook salmon and bull trout that were listed as threatened species in 1999. The county has been taking a lead role for years in addressing regional environmental needs.

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