King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. 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, also the state's most populous city. King County is one of three Washington counties that are included in the Seattle– Tacoma– Bellevue metropolitan statistical area. (The others are Snohomish County 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 groups. Villages around the site that would become Seattle were primarily populated by the Duwamish people. The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe 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 tribal groups. In the first winter after the Denny Party 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 legislature and was named after

Alabamian (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

William R. 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. represent ...

, who had just been elected Vice President of the United States under President

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 when it was created later that year. King County originally extended to the Olympic Peninsula. According to historian Bill Speidel, when peninsular prohibitionists threatened to shut down Seattle's saloons, Doc Maynard engineered a peninsular independence movement; King County lost what is now Kitsap County but preserved its entertainment industry. Coal 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 started servicing the Renton coal fields in 1877, and the 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's Muldoon coal seam.

Name

Flag of King County, Washington (1984–2007)

On February 24, 1986, the King County Council approved a motion to rename the county to honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (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 was a

slaveowner Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

" 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 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, 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 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 R ...

at above sea level. King County borders Snohomish County to the north, Kitsap County 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 and Maury Island in Puget Sound.

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 * Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest *

, the highest point * Mount Si *

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 ...

* Maury Island * Mercer Island * Sammamish Plateau * Vashon Island

Water

* Cedar River * Green/Duwamish River * Elliott Bay *

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 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 * Pratt River * Puget Sound * Raging River *

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 River * Taylor River * Tolt River * White River

Major highways

* Interstate 5 *

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 * State Route 18 *

State Route 99 International * European route E99 Australia * Springbrook Road, Queensland Canada * British Columbia Highway 99 * Ontario Highway 99 (former) * Saskatchewan Highway 99 China * G99 Expressway India * National Highway 99 (India) I ...

* State Route 167 * State Route 520 * State Route 522

Public transit

King County Metro is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in the United States. Sound Transit manages Link light rail, Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express buses in King County that provide connections to adjacent counties.

Adjacent counties

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

– east/southeast * Kitsap County – west

National protected areas

* Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (part, also in Skagway, Alaska) * Snoqualmie National Forest (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 Mercer Island (). 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 (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, 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, 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 culture ...

. Those of Hispanic or Latino 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, 11.1% were Irish, 5.5% were Norwegian, 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, 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 Muckleshoot tribe and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe 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 heads the county's executive branch; the position has been held by Dow Constantine 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, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

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 Patti may refer to: People * Patti (name) * Patti caste, a group of people Places * Patti, Iran (disambiguation) * Patti, Punjab, India * Patti, Punjab Assembly constituency, India * Patti, Sicily * Patti, Uttar Pradesh, India * Patti, Uttar Prad ...

since 2022. Judicial power is vested in the King County Superior Court 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 ...

. Seattle houses the King County Courthouse. King County is represented in the United States Congress 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 Elliott Bay, including its original property, publicly owned Fishermen's Terminal, home to the North Pacific fishing fleet and the largest homeport for fishermen in the U.S. West Coast; four container ship terminals; two cruise ship 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 Girmay Hadish Zahilay ( ; born May 6, 1987) is an American politician and lawyer who is a member of the King County Council from District 2 in Seattle, Washington. He was elected in 2019, defeating longtime incumbent Larry Gossett. Early life a ...

* District 3 – Sarah Perry * District 4 –

Jeanne Kohl-Welles Jeanne Elizabeth Pearl Kohl-Welles (née Jean Elizabeth Pearl Kohl; October 19, 1942) is an American politician and academic. Since January 2016 she has served as a member of the King County Council from the 4th district. She previously served as ...

* District 5 –

Dave Upthegrove David Upthegrove (born May 3, 1971) is an American politician. He is a member of the King County Council, representing the 5th district since 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a member of the Washington House of Representatives, repr ...

* District 6 –

Claudia Balducci Claudia M. Balducci (born September 24, 1967) is an American politician from the state of Washington. She is the Chair of the King County Council, representing District 6. She previously served as the mayor of Bellevue, Washington. Educatio ...

* 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 A ...

* District 8 – Joe McDermott * District 9 – Reagan Dunn

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 This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are no ...

, Barack Obama 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's total over that of incumbent Republican Slade Gorton, winning her a seat in the United States Senate. In 2004, King County gave a lead to Democrat Christine Gregoire in her 2004 victory gubernatorial election, pushing her ahead of Republican Dino Rossi, who led by 261 votes after the initial count. Rossi resided in the county at the time of the election, in Sammamish. 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 by earning 75% of King County votes. Governor Jay Inslee 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''). 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'') also exist or have existed.

Religion

In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in King County was the

Archdiocese of Seattle ''Formerly known as Diocese of Nesqually, 1850-1907.'' The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the U.S. state of ...

, 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 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 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 * Enumclaw School District * Federal Way Public Schools *

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 * Issaquah School District * Kent School District * Lake Washington School District * Mercer Island School District * Northshore School District * Renton School District * Riverview School District * Seattle Public Schools * Shoreline School District *

Skykomish School District 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 ...

* Snoqualmie Valley School District *

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, Tah ...

* Tukwila School District *

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, 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) * Bellevue * Black Diamond * Bothell (partial) *

Burien Burien ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound. As of the 2020 census, Burien's population was 52,066, which is a 56.3% increase since incorporation in 1993. An annexation in 2010 ...

* Carnation * Clyde Hill *

Covington Covington may refer to: People * Covington (surname) Places United Kingdom * Covington, Cambridgeshire * Covington, South Lanarkshire United States * Covington, Georgia * Covington, Indiana * Covington, Kentucky, the largest American cit ...

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 Enumclaw ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,543 at the 2020 census. The Enumclaw Plateau, on which the city resides, was formed by a volcanic mudflow (lahar) from Mount Rainier approximately 5,700 ye ...

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 * Kenmore * Kent * Kirkland *

Lake Forest Park Lake Forest Park is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located northeast of Seattle. It was developed in the 20th century as a bedroom community with single-family housing on medium to large-sized lots. Less than 4% of ...

* Maple Valley * Medina * Mercer Island *

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) * Newcastle * Normandy Park * North Bend * Pacific (partial) * Redmond * Renton * Sammamish * SeaTac * Seattle (county seat) * Shoreline * Snoqualmie * Tukwila * Woodinville

Towns

Beaux Arts Village Beaux Arts () is a town located in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest municipality in the county, with a population of 299 as of the 2010 census and a land area of 0.1 sq mi. There is no town h ...

* Hunts Point * Skykomish *

Yarrow Point Yarrow Point is a town in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,001 at the 2010 census. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Yarrow Point ranks fifth of 522 areas in the state of Wash ...

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 *

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 Tanner may refer to: * Tanner (occupation), the tanning of leather and hides People * Tanner (given name), * Tanner (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *The Tanner Sisters, also referred to as "The Harbingers of Weir ...

* 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 * Palmer *

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

* Selleck * Spring Glen * Wabash

Former cities and towns

* East Redmond *

Foster Foster may refer to: People * Foster (surname) * Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor * Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player * Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player * John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), American ...

* Houghton

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 * Monohon * Nagrom * Osceola *

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 * Weston

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.