King County is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, also the state's most populous city. King County is one of three Washington counties that are included in the

– Tacoma–

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. (The others are

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...

to the north, and Pierce County to the south.) About two-thirds of King County's population lives in Seattle's

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

History

When Europeans arrived in the region that would become King County, it was inhabited by several

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coas ...

groups. Villages around the site that would become Seattle were primarily populated by the

Duwamish people The Duwamish ( lut, Dxʷdəwʔabš, ) are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American tribe in western Washington, and the indigenous people of metropolitan Seattle, where they have been living since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8000 BCE ...

. The

Snoqualmie Indian Tribe The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe (''S·dukʷalbixʷ''), is a federally recognized tribe of Snoqualmie people. They are Coast Salish Native American peoples from the Snoqualmie Valley in east King and Snohomish Counties in Washington state. Other nam ...

occupied the area that would become eastern King County. The

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

and White River were home for the

Muckleshoot The Muckleshoot ( lut, bəqəlšuł ) are a Lushootseed language, Lushootseed-speaking Native American tribe, part of the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest. They are descendants of the Duwamish and Puyallup peoples whose traditional t ...

tribal groups. In the first winter after the

Denny Party The Denny Party is a group of American pioneers credited with founding Seattle, Washington. They settled at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. History A wagon party headed by Arthur A. Denny left Cherry Grove, Illinois on April 10, 1851. The par ...

landed at

Alki Point Alki Point is a point jutting into Puget Sound, the westernmost landform in the West Seattle district of Seattle, Washington. Alki is the peninsular neighborhood on Alki Point. Alki was the original settlement in what was to become the city of S ...

, the settlement at the point consisted of a few dozen settlers and over a thousand Native Americans. The local tribes provided the settlers with construction labor, domestic service, and help with subsistence activities. The county was formed out of territory within Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

legislature and was named after Alabamian William R. King, who had just been elected

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

. Seattle was made the county seat on January 11, 1853. The area became part of the

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

when it was created later that year. King County originally extended to the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

. According to historian

Bill Speidel William C Speidel (1912–1988) was a columnist for ''The Seattle Times'' and a self-made historian who wrote the books ''Sons of the Profits'' and ''Doc Maynard, The Man Who Invented Seattle'' about the people who settled and built Seattle, Wa ...

, when peninsular prohibitionists threatened to shut down Seattle's saloons,

Doc Maynard David Swinson "Doc" Maynard (March 22, 1808March 13, 1873) was an American pioneer, doctor, and businessman. He was one of Seattle's primary founders. He was an effective civic booster and, compared to other white settlers, a relative advocate ...

engineered a peninsular independence movement; King County lost what is now

Kitsap County Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on ...

but preserved its entertainment industry.

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

was discovered in 1853 by Dr. M. Bigelow along the Black River, and in subsequent decades several companies formed to mine coal around Lake Washington and deliver it to Seattle. The

Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad The Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad (earlier Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad and Transportation Company) was a narrow gauge railroad and was the first proper railroad to serve Seattle, Washington, preceded only by horse-drawn rail vehicles an ...

started servicing the Renton coal fields in 1877, and the

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

fields in 1878. By 1880, King County produced 22% of the coal mined on the West Coast, most of that coal being found within the

Renton Formation The Renton Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Washington (state) within the Puget Group. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene Period (geology), period. Most of the formation consists of fine- to medium-grained ...

's Muldoon coal seam.

Name

Flag of King County, Washington (1984–2007)

On February 24, 1986, the

King County Council The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure i ...

approved a motion to rename the county to honor civil rights leader

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

(no relation to William R. King), preserving the name "King County" while changing its namesake. The motion stated, among other reasons for the change, that "

William Rufus DeVane King William Rufus DeVane King (April 7, 1786 – April 18, 1853) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the 13th vice president of the United States from March 4 until his death in April 1853. Earlier he had served as a U.S. represen ...

was a slaveowner" who "earned income and maintained his lifestyle by oppressing and exploiting other human beings," while Martin Luther King's "contributions are well-documented and celebrated by millions throughout this nation and the world, and embody the attributes for which the citizens of King County can be proud, and claim as their own." Because only the state can charter counties, the change was not made official until April 19, 2005, when Governor

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and again ...

signed into law Senate Bill 5332, which provided that "King county is renamed in honor of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr." effective July 24, 2005. The County Council voted on February 27, 2006, to adopt the proposal sponsored by Councilmember Larry Gossett to change the county's logo from an imperial crown to an image of Martin Luther King Jr. On March 12, 2007, the new logo was unveiled. The new logo design was developed by the Gable Design Group and the specific image was selected by a committee consisting of King County Executive

Ron Sims Ronald Cordell Sims (born July 5, 1948) is the former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, having served in the position from May 8, 2009 to July 2011. He is also the former King County Executive. Sims ...

, Council Chair Larry Gossett, Prosecutor

Norm Maleng Norman "Kim" Maleng (September 17, 1938 – May 24, 2007) was an American attorney and politician who served as the King County Prosecuting Attorney for 28 years. He was also an architect of Washington's Sentencing Reform Act. Early life a ...

, Sheriff Sue Rahr, District Court Judge Corrina Harn, and Superior Court Judge Michael Trickey. The same logo is used in the flag. Martin Luther King Jr. had visited King County once, for three days in November 1961.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.3%) is water. King County has nearly twice the land area of the state of Rhode Island. The highest point in the county is

Mount Daniel Mount Daniel is the highest summit on the Cascade Range crest of Alpine Lakes Wilderness of the central Washington, USA. It is the highest point in King and Kittitas counties. Streams on its eastern slopes form the headwaters of the Cle Elum ...

at above sea level. King County borders

to the north,

to the west,

Kittitas County Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...

to the east, and Pierce County to the south. It also shares a small border with Chelan County to the northeast. King County includes

Vashon Island Vashon is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,6 ...

and

Maury Island Maury Island is a tied island in Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is connected to Vashon Island by an isthmus built by local homeowners in 1913. Before construction of the isthmus, the island was connected to Vashon only durin ...

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

Geographic features

Granite Mountain King County Washington 2

Terrain

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

Issaquah Alps The Issaquah Alps is the unofficial name for the highlands near Issaquah, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, including Cougar Mountain, Squak Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Taylor Mountain, Rattlesnake Ridge, Rattlesnake Mountain, and Grand Ridge. The ...

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, the highest point *

Mount Si Mount Si (pronounced ), known as q'əlpc' to the Snoqualmie people, is a mountain in the northwest United States, east of Seattle, Washington. It lies on the western margin of the Cascade Range just above the coastal plains around Puget Soun ...

Harbor Island Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, US, where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, it was completed in 1909 and was then the largest art ...

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

Sammamish Plateau Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resi ...

Water

* Cedar River * Green/Duwamish River *

Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is in the U.S. state of Washington, extending southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. Seattle was founded on this body of water in the 1850s an ...

Greenwater River The Greenwater River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. Its watershed drains a portion of the Cascade Range east and northeast of Mount Rainier, including parts of the Norse Peak Wilderness. It flows into the White River at Greenwat ...

Issaquah Creek Issaquah Creek is a small stream flowing through the city of Issaquah and nearby communities, in the U.S. state of Washington. Its headwaters are on the slopes of Cougar, Squak, Tiger, and Taylor mountains in the Issaquah Alps. Tributaries of Is ...

Lake Sammamish Lake Sammamish is a freshwater lake east of Seattle in King County, Washington, United States. The lake is long and wide, with a maximum depth of and a surface area of . It lies east of Lake Washington and west of the Sammamish Plateau, and ...

Lake Union Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to ...

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...

Lake Youngs Lake Youngs is a reservoir in King County, Washington, United States. It is located between Maple Valley, Washington, Maple Valley and Renton, Washington, Renton along the route of pipelines carrying water from the Cedar River (Washington), Cedar ...

Pratt River The Pratt River is a river in King County in Washington. It is a tributary of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. It was named for prospector George A Pratt, who discovered nearby iron deposits in 1887. The river has its headwaters in tiny Uppe ...

Raging River The Raging River is a tributary of the Snoqualmie River in western Washington state in the United States. It is located in the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains in east central King County, Washington. It gets its name from the large a ...

Skykomish River The Skykomish River is a long river in the U.S. state of Washington which drains the west side of the Cascade Mountains in the southeast section of Snohomish County and the northeast corner of King County. The river starts with the confluence ...

Snoqualmie Falls Snoqualmie Falls is a waterfall in the northwest United States, located east of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington. It is one of Washington's most popular scenic attractions and is known internationall ...

Snoqualmie River The Snoqualmie River is a long river in King County and Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. The river's three main tributaries are the North, Middle, and South Forks, which drain the west side of the Cascade Mountains near the town ...

* Taylor River *

Tolt River The Tolt River is located in the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains in north central King County in the U.S. state of Washington. The river begins at the confluence of the North Fork Tolt and South Fork Tolt rivers. It flows southwest joi ...

* White River

Major highways

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

* Interstate 405 *

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...

* State Route 18 * State Route 99 * State Route 167 * State Route 520 * State Route 522

Public transit

King County Metro King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...

is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in the United States.

Sound Transit Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...

manages

Link light rail Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: t ...

Sounder commuter rail Sounder commuter rail is a commuter rail service operated by BNSF on behalf of Sound Transit. Service operates Monday through Friday during peak hours from Seattle, Washington, north to Everett and south to Lakewood. In , the system had a ride ...

, and

Sound Transit Express Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses, operated by the multi-county transit agency, Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) in ...

buses in King County that provide connections to adjacent counties.

Adjacent counties

– north * Pierce County – south * Chelan County – east/northeast *

– east/southeast *

– west

National protected areas

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is a national historical park operated by the National Park Service that seeks to commemorate the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. Though the gold fields that were the ultimate goal of the stamped ...

(part, also in

Skagway, Alaska The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal wit ...

) *

Snoqualmie National Forest Snoqualmie might refer to: People * Snoqualmie people, a Coast Salish people of Washington state :*Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe of Snoqualmie people Places * Snoqualmie Indian Reservation *Snoqualmie Valley, ancestral home ...

(part)

Demographics

The

center of population In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geogr ...

of the state of Washington in 2010 was located in eastern King County (). King County's own center of population was located on

(). As of the fourth quarter of 2021, the median home value in King County was $817,547, an increase of 19.6% from the prior year. In 2021 King County experienced its first population decline in 50 years.

Racial and ethnic composition since 1960

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,931,249 people, 789,232 households, and 461,510 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 851,261 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 68.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

(64.8%

Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...

), 6.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 14.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.8%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.8% Native American, 3.9% from other races, and 5.0% from

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

. Those of

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

origin made up 8.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 17.1% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 11.6% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 11.1% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 5.5% were

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, and 2.9% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Of the 789,232 households, 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.5% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age was 37.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $68,065 and the median income for a family was $87,010. Males had a median income of $62,373 versus $45,761 for females. The per capita income for the county was $38,211. About 6.4% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Native American tribes

King County is home two federally-recognized tribes, the

tribe and the

tribe, and other unrecognized groups. The Muckleshoot Indian Reservation is located southeast of Auburn and is home to a resident population of 3,606 as of the 2000 census. The Snoqualmie tribe's casino property was federally recognized as their reservation in 2006, however few tribe members live near the reservation.

Government

The

King County Executive The King County Executive is the highest elected official representing the government of King County, Washington. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers o ...

heads the county's executive branch; the position has been held by

Dow Constantine James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American politician, lawyer, and urban planner in the state of Washington who is serving his third term as King County Executive, an office he has held since November 2009. He was in the stat ...

since 2009. The

King County Prosecuting Attorney The King County Prosecuting Attorney is a non-partisan elected official in King County, Washington. The Prosecuting Attorney leads the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and prosecutes all felonies (as well as all misdemeanors in unincorpo ...

(

Dan Satterberg Daniel Todd Satterberg is an American attorney and politician who served as the prosecuting attorney of King County, Washington, from 2007 to 2023. Early life and education Born in Seattle, Satterberg graduated from Highline High School and the ...

since 2007), Elections Director, and the

King County Assessor King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

are elected executive positions. The King County Sheriff is appointed by the county executive and approved by the county council. It was previously was an elected position from 1996 until 2020 and has been held by Patti Cole-Tindall since 2022. Judicial power is vested in the

King County Superior Court The Superior Court of Washington for King County (more commonly, the King County Superior Court) is the largest trial court in Washington state. It is based at the King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, in downtown Seattle, Washington. It als ...

and the

King County District Court King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

houses the

King County Courthouse The King County Courthouse is the administrative building housing the judicial branch of King County, Washington's government. It is located in downtown Seattle, just north of Pioneer Square. The 1916 structure houses the King County Prosecutin ...

. King County is represented in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

through a near-entirety of the population in the

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

and

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

Congressional Districts, a majority of the population in the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

Congressional District and a plurality of the population in the 1st Congressional District. In the state legislature, King contains the entirety of the 5th, 11th, 33rd, 34th, 36th, 37th, 41st, 43rd, 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th legislative districts as well as the near-entirety of the 30th legislative district, about one-half of the 32nd legislative district, about one-third of the 1st and 31st legislative district, and a mere 627 people in the 39th legislative district. The only legislative districts represented by Republicans that include any part of King County are the 31st and 39th districts. The people of King County voted on September 5, 1911, to create a Port District. King County's

Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...

was established as the first Port District in Washington State. The Port of Seattle is King County's only Port District. It is governed by five Port Commissioners, who are elected countywide and serve four-year terms. The Port of Seattle owns and operates many properties on behalf of King County's citizens, including Sea-Tac International Airport; many seaport facilities around

, including its original property, publicly owned

Fishermen's Terminal Fishermen's Terminal is a dock opened in 1914 and operated by the Port of Seattle as the home port for Seattle's commercial fishing fleet, and, since 2002, non-commercial pleasure craft. The Terminal is on Salmon Bay in the Interbay neighborhood ...

, home to the North Pacific fishing fleet and the largest homeport for fishermen in the U.S. West Coast; four

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

terminals; two

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

terminals; the largest grain export terminal in the U.S. Pacific Northwest; three public

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

s; 22 public parks; and nearly 5,000 acres of industrial lands in the Ballard- Interbay and Lower Duwamish industrial centers.

Council members

* District 1 – Rod Dembowski * District 2 – Girmay Zahilay * District 3 – Sarah Perry * District 4 – Jeanne Kohl-Welles * District 5 – Dave Upthegrove * District 6 – Claudia Balducci * District 7 –

Pete von Reichbauer Peter G. von Reichbauer (born December 30, 1944) is an American businessman and politician serving as a member of the nonpartisan King County Council, representing District 7, a region of South King County which includes all of the cities of Al ...

* District 8 – Joe McDermott * District 9 –

Reagan Dunn Reagan Blackburn Dunn (born 1971) is an American politician and lawyer who is a member of the nonpartisan King County Council, representing District 9 in Southeast King County, Washington. District 9 includes the cities of Bellevue, Newcastle, Re ...

Politics

King County and Seattle are strongly liberal; the area is a bastion for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. No Republican presidential candidate has garnered the majority of the county's votes since

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's landslide reelection victory in 1984. In the 2008 election,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

defeated

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

in the county by 42 percentage points, a larger margin for the Democrats than that seen in any previous election. Slightly more than 29% of Washington state's population reside in King County, making it a significant factor for the Democrats in a few recent close statewide elections. In the 2000 Senate elections, King County's margin of victory pushed

Maria Cantwell Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Washington ...

's total over that of incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Slade Gorton Thomas Slade Gorton III (January 8, 1928 – August 19, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Washington from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1989 until 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he hel ...

, winning her a seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. In 2004, King County gave a lead to Democrat

in her 2004 victory

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, pushing her ahead of Republican

Dino Rossi Dino John Rossi (born October 15, 1959) is an American businessman and politician who served as a Washington State Senator thrice, from 1997 to 2003, in 2012, and again from 2016 to 2017. A Republican, he is a former Chair of the Washington Stat ...

, who led by 261 votes after the initial count. Rossi resided in the county at the time of the election, in

Sammamish Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resid ...

. In the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, Joe Biden defeated

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

by earning 75% of King County votes. Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

also defeated Republican challenger Loren Culp with 74% of the King County vote in the concurrent gubernatorial election. These were the largest margins by any candidate in a presidential race and a gubernatorial race since the county's creation. In 2004, voters passed a referendum reducing the size of the County Council from 13 members to 9. This resulted in all council seats ending up on the 2005 ballot. Some residents of eastern King County have long desired to secede and form their own county. This movement was most vocal in the mid-1990s (see ''

Cedar County, Washington The list of county secession proposals in the United States includes proposed new counties to be formed from existing counties within a given state that have not yet been formed. For counties that want to secede from their current state and to jo ...

''). It has recently been revived as Cascade County. According to a map published by the ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

'', four different geographic borders are being considered. Additional plans (see ''

Skykomish County, Washington Skykomish County was a County (United States), county proposed to be carved out of Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish and King County, Washington, King Counties in Washington (state), Washington state, United States. The name comes from the ...

'') also exist or have existed.

Religion

In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in King County was the Archdiocese of Seattle, with 278,340 Catholics worshipping at 71 parishes, followed by 95,218

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

adherents with 159 congregations, 56,985

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations * LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...

Mormons with 110 congregations, 25,937 AoG Pentecostals with 63 congregations, 25,789 ELCA Lutherans with 68 congregations, 24,909 PC-USA Presbyterians with 54 congregations, 18,185

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

Buddhists with 39 congregations, 18,161 UMC Methodists with 50 congregations, 14,971 TEC Episcopalians with 35 congregations, and 12,531 ABCUSA Baptists with 42 congregations. Altogether, 37.6% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, King County had 944 religious organizations, the 8th most out of all US counties.

Education

K–12 schools

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> *

Auburn School District Auburn School District No. 408 is a public school district in King County, Washington, seated in Auburn. The district encompasses a 62 square-mile area bridging King County, Washington and Pierce County, Washington, and serves approximately 75,0 ...

Bellevue School District Bellevue School District No. 405 (BSD) is a public school district in King County, headquartered in Bellevue. As of October 1, 2016, the district has an enrollment of 19,974 students. The Bellevue School District includes 28 schools: 15 element ...

Enumclaw School District Enumclaw School District No. 216 is a public school district located in southern King County, Washington, headquartered in Enumclaw. Boundary The district's boundary includes all of Enumclaw, the vast majority of Black Diamond, areas with Ra ...

Federal Way Public Schools Federal Way Public Schools is a school district in King County, Washington covering all of Federal Way and portions of Kent, Des Moines, Auburn, and unincorporated census-designated places Lakeland North and Lakeland South, encompassing . Ther ...

Fife Public Schools Fife Public Schools is a school district comprising parts of the Washington state cities of Fife, Milton, Edgewood, Tacoma, Pacific as well as unincorporated census-designated places Lakeland South and Fife Heights. The district was establishe ...

Highline School District Highline Public Schools (HPS) is a List of school districts in Washington, public school district in King County, Washington, King County, headquartered in Burien, Washington. As of October 2007, it served 17,331 students and had 997 teachers, an ...

Issaquah School District Issaquah School District No. 411 is a public school district in King County, Washington, U.S., headquartered in Issaquah. As of the 2018–2019 school year, the district has an enrollment of 20,965 students with 24 total schools. Attendance b ...

Kent School District The Kent School District #415 is a public school district in the State of Washington, headquartered in Kent. Covering , the Kent School District has 40 schools (28 elementary schools, six middle schools, two academy schools, and four high school ...

Lake Washington School District The Lake Washington School District #414 or LWSD is a public school district in King County, Washington, in suburbs east of Seattle. Its headquarters is in Redmond. it is the second-largest school district in Washington. It serves the region t ...

Mercer Island School District The Mercer Island School District is a public U.S. school district in Washington. Located in an affluent bedroom community of Seattle, Mercer Island, it has a strong academic reputation. The six schools on Mercer Island provide approximately 4,00 ...

Northshore School District Northshore School District is a public school district covering portions of King County and Snohomish County, Washington. The district's service area covers the cities of Bothell, Brier, Woodinville, and Kenmore as well as portions of unincor ...

Renton School District Renton School District 403 is a public school district headquartered in Renton, Washington, USA The district boundaries include the vast majority of Renton, all of Bryn Mawr-Skyway, and portions of the adjacent cities and communities of Bellevue, ...

* Riverview School District *

Seattle Public Schools Seattle Public Schools is the largest Public school (government funded), public school district in the state of Washington (state), Washington. The school district serves almost all of Seattle. Additionally it includes sections of Boulevard Park, ...

Shoreline School District The Shoreline School District (No. 412) is a public school district in King County, Washington, United States of America, which serves the cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. It currently enrolls 9,456 students, and staffs 1,019 employees ...

Skykomish School District Skykomish is a town in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 198 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from an estimated peak of "several thousand" in the 1920s. ...

Snoqualmie Valley School District The Snoqualmie Valley School District is located in King County, Washington about from Seattle at the foothills of Snoqualmie Pass. It encompasses over , making it geographically one of the largest school districts in Washington state. The distr ...

Tahoma School District Tahoma School District is a school district based in Maple Valley, Washington, United States. The district provides for citizens in southeast King County and operates 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and the district's sole high school, T ...

Tukwila School District Tukwila ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States, located immediately to the south of Seattle. The population was 21,798 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Tukwil ...

Vashon Island School District Vashon Island School District is a school district headquartered in Vashon Island, Washington. Schools *Chautauqua Elementary School *McMurray Middle School *Vashon Island High School Vashon Island High School (VHS) is a public high school located ...

Public libraries

Most of King County is served by the

King County Library System The King County Library System (KCLS) is a library system serving the residents of King County, Washington, United States. Headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, KCLS was the busiest library system in the United States as of 2010, circulating 22.4 ...

, while the city of Seattle is served by its own system.

Communities

Cities

* Algona *

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

(partial) *

* Black Diamond *

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 resident ...

(partial) * Burien *

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

* Clyde Hill * Covington *

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

* Duvall * Enumclaw *

Federal Way Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the tenth-largest city in Washington and the fifth-larges ...

Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the "Issaquah Alp ...

* Kenmore *

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

* Kirkland * Lake Forest Park * Maple Valley *

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

(partial) *

* Normandy Park * North Bend *

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

(partial) * Redmond * Renton *

* SeaTac *

(county seat) *

Shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

* Snoqualmie * Tukwila *

Woodinville Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. There is also a much larger population with Woodinville mailing addresses in adjacent unincorporated areas of King ( Cottage Lake) and ...

Towns

* Beaux Arts Village * Hunts Point *

Skykomish Skykomish is a town in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 198 as of the 2010 census, down from an estimated peak of "several thousand" in the 1920s. Located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 49 miles east ...

* Yarrow Point

Census-designated places

* Ames Lake * Baring * Boulevard Park * Bryn Mawr-Skyway * Cottage Lake *

East Renton Highlands East Renton Highlands is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States, located between Issaquah, Washington, Issaquah and Renton, Washington, Renton. The population was 11,9 ...

* Fairwood *

Fall City Fall City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States, east of Seattle. The community lies along the Snoqualmie River and Raging River. The population was 1,993 at the 2010 census ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

* Inglewood-Finn Hill (former) * Klahanie (former) * Lake Holm * Lake Marcel-Stillwater * Lake Morton-Berrydale * Lakeland North * Lakeland South * Maple Heights-Lake Desire * Mirrormont * Ravensdale * Riverbend * Riverton (former) * Shadow Lake * Tanner * Union Hill-Novelty Hill * Vashon *

White Center White Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It lies between West Seattle and Burien. The population was 16,631 at the 2020 census. White Center is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Rat City" ...

* Wilderness Rim

Other unincorporated communities

* Cedar Falls *

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

* Denny Creek *

Ernie's Grove Ernie's Grove is a small unincorporated community in King County, Washington, United States, near the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River The Snoqualmie River is a long river in King County and Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. ...

Grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

* Kanaskat * Kangley * Lake Joy * Naco *

Novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

* Preston * Selleck * Spring Glen * Wabash

Former cities and towns

* East Redmond * Foster *

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada * Houghton Townshi ...

Ghost towns

* Bayne * Cedar Falls (aka Moncton) * Edgewick *

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

* Krain *

Lester Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and given name. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name * Lester Bangs (1948–1982), American music critic * Lester W. Bentley (1908–1972), American artist from Wisc ...

* Monohon * Nagrom *

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

References

External links

King County website

presents King County, Washington, through 12,000 historical images carefully chosen from twelve cultural heritage organizations' collections. These catalogued 19th and 20th century images portray people, places, and events in the county's urban, suburban, and rural communities. {{Authority control 1852 establishments in Oregon Territory Populated places established in 1852 Seattle metropolitan area Western Washington Memorials to Martin Luther King Jr.