Counties in Washington by population

King County had the highest population of 39 counties in 2023, at 2.28 million. Garfield County had the lowest, at 2,357. The median was 68,768 and the figure for Washington was 7.84 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2,283,086King County
Lowest2,357Garfield County
Median68,76839 counties
Washington7,838,655History

All counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

King CountyKing County: 2,283,086 persons2,283,086Pierce CountyPierce County: 931,408 persons931,408Snohomish CountySnohomish County: 848,363 persons848,363Spokane CountySpokane County: 552,475 persons552,475Clark CountyClark County: 521,954 persons521,954Thurston CountyThurston County: 299,197 persons299,197Kitsap CountyKitsap County: 277,358 persons277,358Yakima CountyYakima County: 257,314 persons257,314Whatcom CountyWhatcom County: 232,620 persons232,620Benton CountyBenton County: 215,705 persons215,705Skagit CountySkagit County: 131,453 persons131,453Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County: 112,866 persons112,866Grant CountyGrant County: 103,035 persons103,035Franklin CountyFranklin County: 99,683 persons99,683Lewis CountyLewis County: 86,277 persons86,277Island CountyIsland County: 86,194 persons86,194Chelan CountyChelan County: 80,341 persons80,341Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County: 77,582 persons77,582Clallam CountyClallam County: 77,543 persons77,543Mason CountyMason County: 68,768 persons68,768Walla Walla CountyWalla Walla County: 61,745 persons61,745Stevens CountyStevens County: 48,895 persons48,895Kittitas CountyKittitas County: 47,765 persons47,765Whitman CountyWhitman County: 47,568 persons47,568Douglas CountyDouglas County: 44,843 persons44,843Okanogan CountyOkanogan County: 43,722 persons43,722Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 33,715 persons33,715Pacific CountyPacific County: 24,197 persons24,197Klickitat CountyKlickitat County: 23,613 persons23,613Asotin CountyAsotin County: 22,492 persons22,492Adams CountyAdams County: 20,903 persons20,903San Juan CountySan Juan County: 18,563 persons18,563Pend Oreille CountyPend Oreille County: 14,364 persons14,364Skamania CountySkamania County: 12,636 persons12,636Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 11,732 persons11,732Ferry CountyFerry County: 7,495 persons7,495Wahkiakum CountyWahkiakum County: 4,764 persons4,764Columbia CountyColumbia County: 4,064 persons4,064Garfield CountyGarfield County: 2,357 persons2,357
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
persons
Change on 2022
1King County2,283,086+0.8%
2Pierce County931,408+0.4%
3Snohomish County848,363+0.9%
4Spokane County552,475+0.5%
5Clark County521,954+1%
6Thurston County299,197+0.2%
7Kitsap County277,358-0.2%
8Yakima County257,314+0.3%
9Whatcom County232,620+0.9%
10Benton County215,705+1.4%
11Skagit County131,453+0.3%
12Cowlitz County112,866+0.8%
13Grant County103,035+1.7%
14Franklin County99,683+1.3%
15Lewis County86,277+1.2%
16Island County86,194-0.6%
17Chelan County80,341+0.4%
18Grays Harbor County77,582+0.6%
19Clallam County77,543-0.1%
20Mason County68,768+0.8%
21Walla Walla County61,745-0.4%
22Stevens County48,895+1.3%
23Kittitas County47,765+0.9%
24Whitman County47,568+0.1%
25Douglas County44,843+1.6%
26Okanogan County43,722+1.4%
27Jefferson County33,715+0.4%
28Pacific County24,197+0.4%
29Klickitat County23,613+1.7%
30Asotin County22,4920%
31Adams County20,903+0.3%
32San Juan County18,563-0.6%
33Pend Oreille County14,364+1.5%
34Skamania County12,636+1.4%
35Lincoln County11,732+1.1%
36Ferry County7,495+0.7%
37Wahkiakum County4,764+1.5%
38Columbia County4,064+1.1%
39Garfield County2,357+0.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

King County, with 2.28 million in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Garfield County, with 2,357 in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Washington: more rankings