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Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it is the 13th-most populous state, with 7,705,281 inhabitants, and ranked 18th by land area, spanning 66,456 square miles (172,120 km) of land. Washington is divided into 39 counties and contains 281 municipalities that are classified into cities and towns. Approximately 65.4% of the state's population lives in incorporated municipalities.

The largest municipality by population in Washington is Seattle with 737,015 residents, and the smallest municipality by population is Krupp with 49 residents. The state has ten cities with populations greater than 100,000 residents and sixteen with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 residents; the majority of cities have fewer than 5,000 residents. Seattle is also the largest municipality by land area, at 83.84 sq mi (217.1 km), while Beaux Arts Village is the smallest at 0.08 sq mi (0.21 km); both are located in King County. The oldest municipality is Steilacoom, which was incorporated in 1854; the most recent municipality to incorporate was Spokane Valley in 2003.

The state has five classifications for its 281 municipalities: 197 are code cities, 10 are first-class cities, 5 are second-class cities, 69 are towns, and 1 is an unclassified city. All municipalities have an elected city or town council and an executive—either a mayor or manager—to oversee administration of the government. The municipal government generally provides policing, fire protection, emergency services, a court system, road maintenance, planning and permitting, parks and recreation, and some utilities.

Classification of municipalities

Legally, a city in Washington can be described primarily by its class. There are five classes of municipalities in Washington: first-class city, second-class city, town, unclassified city, and code city.

• First-class cities are the 10 cities with a population over 10,000 at the time of reorganization and operating under a home rule charter. They are permitted to perform any function specifically granted them by Title 35 RCW (Revised Code of Washington).
• Second-class cities are the 5 cities with a population over 1,500 at the time of reorganization and operating without a home rule charter. Like first class cities, they are permitted to perform any function specifically granted them by Title 35 RCW.
• Towns are the 68 municipalities with a population of under 1,500 at the time of reorganization. Towns are not authorized to operate under a charter. Like the previously listed cities, they are permitted to perform any function specifically granted them by Title 35 RCW. In 1994, the legislature made 1,500 the minimum population required to incorporate.
• Unclassified cities are cities that are not operating under any other class. Only one city—Waitsburg, in Walla Walla County—is unclassified. It operates under the 1881 territorial charter under which it was organized, eight years before Washington was admitted to the Union in 1889.
• Code cities were created by the state legislature in 1967 in order to grant the greatest degree of local control to municipalities possible under the state constitution and general law. This classification has been adopted by 197 municipalities in Washington. Code cities (shorthand for optional municipal code cities, as encoded by Title 35A RCW) are authorized to perform any function not specifically denied them in the state constitution or by state law. They may perform any function granted to any other city classification under Title 35 RCW.

A city in Washington can be described by its form of government. Cities and towns are specifically authorized three forms of government: commission, mayor–council, council–manager. The last city to use the three-member commission form of government was Shelton; it adopted a council–manager structure in 2017. Most cities in Washington have the mayor–council form of government, which calls for an elected mayor and an elected city council. Cities with a council–manager system have an elected council and appointed city manager. In addition, if the population of code cities is over 10,000, they may incorporate as charter code cities. They may then "set out any plan of government deemed 'suitable for the good government of the city'" (RCW 35A.08.050), which need not be a commission, mayor–council, or council–manager form. No charter code city has opted for a different type of government as of 2024.

List of municipalities

• Downtown skyline of Seattle, the most populous city in Washington
• Aerial view of Spokane, Washington's second-most populous city
• Skyline of Tacoma, Washington's third-most populous city, located in the south Puget Sound area.
• Skyline of Vancouver, a suburb in the Portland metropolitan area and Washington's fourth-most populous city.
• Aerial view of Bellevue, a satellite city in the Seattle metropolitan area and the fifth-most populous city in Washington.
• Aerial view of Kent, a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area and the sixth-most populous city in Washington.
• The skyline of Everett, located in the north Puget Sound area and the seventh-most populous city in Washington.

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See also

• Washington (state) statistical areas
• List of counties in Washington (state)
• List of census-designated places in Washington
• List of unincorporated communities in Washington

Notes

1. ^ The municiaplity spans multiple counties. The counties are listed in the order given by GNIS, primary county first.
2. Also referred to as Marlin or Marlin/Krupp.

References

1. ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. August 12, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
2. "State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates". United States Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
3. ^ Rey, Oskar (September 6, 2022). "Why Are There so Many Types of Cities and Counties? A Guide to Municipal Classifications and Forms of Government". Municipal Research and Services Center. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
4. "Guide to 2010 State and Local Census Geography: Washington". United States Census Bureau. October 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
5. "April 1, 2024 Population of Cities, Towns and Counties Used for Allocation of Selected State Revenues" (PDF). Washington State Office of Financial Management. September 25, 2024. p. 9. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
6. Balk, Gene (May 21, 2020). "Seattle drops out of top 5 for growth among major U.S. cities; here are the new leaders". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
7. ^ "Exploring Washington's Cities and Towns" (PDF). Association of Washington Cities. pp. 3–4. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
8. "Washington: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts 2010 Census of Population and Housing" (PDF). 2010 United States Census. United States Census Bureau. September 2012. p. III-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
9. Leventis, Angie (April 23, 2004). "State's first town marks time". The News Tribune. p. B1. Retrieved November 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "City and Town Forms of Government". Municipal Research and Services Center. February 23, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
11. ^ "Arc of Statehood". Washington State Capitol Campus. Washington State Department of Enterprise Services. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
12. "Court Directory: County–City Reference List". Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
13. ^ "Washington City and Town Profiles". Municipal Research and Services Center. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
14. ^ "Domestic Names Search Application". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Board on Geographic Names. September 10, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
15. "Decennial Census Counts of Population for the State, Counties, Cities and Towns". June 28, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024 – via Washington State Office of Financial Management, with corrections.
16. "2020 Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
17. Dougherty, Phil (December 2, 2021). "Krupp (Marlin) — Thumbnail History". HistoryLink. Retrieved November 28, 2024.

External links

• Title 35 RCW (governing all cities)
• Title 35A RCW (governing code cities)
• Association of Washington Cities

• Cities in Washington (state)
• Lists of cities in the United States by state
• Lists of towns in the United States
• Washington (state) geography-related lists