WAHKIAKUM COUNTY, WASHINGTON

'Wahkiakum County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after Chief Wahkiakum ("Tall Timber") of the Chinook. It is the smallest county (by area) in the state. As of 2000, the population is 3,824. The county seat is the town of Cathlamet, which is also the county's largest and only incorporated community.
Wahkiakum County was formed out of Cowlitz County on April 25, 1854.

Contents

Geography

Geographic features

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Census-recognized cities and towns

References

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 743 km² (287 mi²). 684 km² (264 mi²) of it is land and 58 km² (22 mi²) of it (7.83%) is water.

Geographic features

★ Columbia River

★ Elochoman River

★ Grays River

★ Puget Island

Adjacent counties

★ Pacific County, Washington - northwest

★ Lewis County, Washington - north/northeast

★ Cowlitz County, Washington - east/southeast

★ Columbia County, Oregon - south/southeast

★ Clatsop County, Oregon - south/southwest

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 3,824 people, 1,553 households, and 1,108 families residing in the county. The population density was 6/km² (14/mi²). There were 1,792 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (7/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.46% White, 0.26% Black or African American, 1.57% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.65% from other races, and 2.51% from two or more races. 2.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.7% were of German, 13.1% Norwegian, 10.6% United States or American, 9.1% English, 7.7% Irish, 6.5% Swedish, and 5.9% Finnish ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.7% spoke English and 2.5% Spanish as a first language.
There were 1,553 households out of which 26.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were married couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 22.20% from 25 to 44, 30.60% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,444, and the median income for a family was $47,604. Males had a median income of $37,123 versus $27,938 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,063. About 5.90% of families and 8.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 2.70% of those age 65 or over.

Census-recognized cities and towns

★ Cathlamet
==Unincorporated communities and CDPs==

★ Altoona

★ Brookfield

★ Dahua

★ Deep River

★ East Cathlamet

★ Elochoman Valley

★ Grays River

★ Pillar Rock

★ Puget Island

★ Rosburg

★ Skamokawa
Grays River, Roseburg, and Deep River are sometimes counted as one community. [Wahkiakum]

References

★ Wahkiakum County, Washington official web site

★ HistoryLink.org web site for Wahkiakum County, Washington