THURSTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON

'Thurston County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after Samuel R. Thurston, the Oregon Territory's first delegate to Congress. As of July 1, 2006, the population was 234,670. The county seat is at Olympia, the state capital and also the county's largest city.
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.[1][2]

Contents

Geography

Geographic features

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Census-recognized communities

Other communities

School Districts

External links

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,004 km² (774 mi²). 1,883 km² (727 mi²) of it is land and 121 km² (47 mi²) of it (6.03%) is water.
Major watersheds: Nisqually, Henderson, Budd/Deschutes, Eld, Totten & Chehalis

Geographic features

★ Alder Lake

★ Black Lake

★ Budd Inlet

★ Deschutes River

★ Mima Mounds

★ Nisqually River

★ Puget Sound

★ Summit Lake

★ Totten Inlet

Major highways

★ Interstate 5

★ U.S. Route 12

★ U.S. Route 101

Adjacent counties

★ Pierce County, Washington - northeast

★ Lewis County, Washington - south

★ Grays Harbor County, Washington - west

★ Mason County, Washington - north/northwest

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 207,355 people, 81,625 households, and 54,933 families residing in the county. The population density was 110/km² (285/mi²). There were 86,652 housing units at an average density of 46/km² (119/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.66% White, 2.35% Black or African American, 1.52% Native American, 4.41% Asian, 0.52% Pacific Islander, 1.69% from other races, and 3.85% from two or more races. 4.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.1% were of German, 10.2% English, 9.8% Irish, 6.9% United States or American and 5.5% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 81,625 households out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,975, and the median income for a family was $55,027. Males had a median income of $40,521 versus $30,368 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,415. About 5.80% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.80% of those under age 18 and 5.00% of those age 65 or over.

Census-recognized communities

★ Bucoda ★ Grand Mound ★ Lacey ★ Nisqually Indian Community ★ North Yelm ★ Olympia

★ Rainier ★ Rochester ★ Tanglewilde-Thompson Place ★ Tenino ★ Tumwater ★ Yelm

Other communities

★ Boston Harbor ★ Driftwood ★ East Olympia ★ Five Corners ★ Gate ★ Griffin ★ Indian Summer ★ Kellys Corner ★ Littlerock ★ Maytown

★ Mushroom Corner ★ Nisqually ★ Offutt Lake ★ Saint Clair ★ Schneiders Prairie ★ South Bay ★ South Sound ★ Steamboat Island ★ Union Mills ★ Vail

School Districts

School Districts in Thurston County:

★ North Thurston ★ Olympia ★ Rainier ★ Rochester

★ Tenino ★ Tumwater ★ Yelm

External links

★ OlympiaCommunitySchool.org - Independent K-3 Education

★ Thurston Conservation District - Local Solutions to Local Problems

★ Thurston County