Covington is a city in
King County,
Washington, United States. The population was 20,777 at the
2020 census.
Covington was founded in 1900 at a
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
stop and grew into a suburban
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
in the late 20th century. It was incorporated as a city in 1997.
History
The area presently known as Covington was originally known as Jenkins Prairie. Between 1899 and 1900, the
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
built the Palmer Cutoff between
Auburn and
Palmer to improve the company's primary east–west rail route across
Stampede Pass. Richard Covington, a surveyor for the Northern Pacific, worked out of Fort Vancouver establishing the line from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Auburn.
In 1900, during the building of the Palmer Cutoff, the Northern Pacific built several facilities in Covington. These included a 2,850-foot passing track, a 700-foot loading track, a second-class section house, a 24-man bunkhouse, a box tank, and a standpipe for watering steam locomotives.
By 1908, the settlement was also home to the Covington Lumber Company, which had set up a mill capable of cutting 85,000 board feet of timber a day. NP's operations at Covington continued until the Great Depression; the facilities were then removed in 1941.
Dairies replaced lumber as the predominant industry in the Covington area by the 1920s; several
irrigation canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...
s were dug from local creeks to provide water during dry periods.
A school district for Covington was established in 1937.
[A History of Covington, Washington]
Over the years, the area grew as an
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
outside of
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
and was designated as a suburban development hub by the county government.
A local citizens' group formed to incorporate Covington as its own city to control development planning; an attempt to also include
Lake Meridian in the proposed city failed and it was instead annexed by Kent.
The vote to incorporate Covington as a city passed on November 6, 1996, the same day a similar measure created neighboring
Maple Valley. Covington was officially incorporated as a city on August 31, 1997, and had approximately 12,200 residents at the time.
Geography
Covington is located in southern King County.
The city is surrounded by
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
to the west,
Auburn to the southwest, and
Maple Valley to the east.
Pipe Lake is located in Covington and adjacent Maple Valley.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Economy
With its rapid population growth since the city's incorporation, much of the city's income depends on the
retail industry. The city's retail core, which largely developed in the 2000s, is located along the
State Route 516 corridor.
Covington is also a regional medical hub for southeast King County with MultiCare Health Systems and Valley Medical Center each having facilities in the city. MultiCare opened a four-story hospital serving the city in 2018 with 58 beds, emergency rooms, and a family birth center.
Government
The city is governed by a
council-manager government consisting of a seven-person
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
. Members are elected
at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
, (that is, each is elected by all citizens of the city, not by districts).
Fire protection is provided by
Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority.
Public schools in the city are part of the
Kent School District.
Demographics
Prior to the 2010 census, part of Covington was counted as part of
Covington-Sawyer-Wilderness CDP.
2020 census
As of the
2020 census, there were 20,777 people, 7,005 households, 5,416 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 7,149 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 63.8% (13,264)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 5.3% (1,109)
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.7% (145)
Native American, 11.8% (2,453)
Asian, 0.8% (169)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 5.2% (1,078) from
some other races and 12.3% (2,559) from
two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.6% (2,414) of the population.
2010 census
As of the
2010 census, there were 17,575 people, 5,817 households, and 4,649 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,081 housing units at an average density of . The
racial makeup of the city was 76.1% (13,378) White, 4.2% (741) African American, 0.8% (145) Native American, 8.5% (1,491) Asian, 0.6% (100) Pacific Islander, 3.9% (694) from other races, and 5.8% (1,026) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.3% (1,634) of the population.
There were 5,817 households, of which 46.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.2% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 20.1% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.31.
The median age in the city was 34.7 years. 28.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.9% were from 25 to 44; 27.4% were from 45 to 64; and 6.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.0% male and 50.0% female.
2000 census
As of the
2000 census, there were 13,783 people, 4,398 households, and 3,689 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,473 housing units at an average density of . The
racial makeup of the city was 87.88% White, 2.44% African American, 1.02% Native American, 3.12% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 1.80% from other races, and 3.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.48% of the population.
There were 4,398 households, 52.2% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.1% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 3.37.
In the city the population was spread out, with 33.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $63,711, and the median income for a family was $65,173. Males had a median income of $48,134 versus $34,576 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $22,230. About 2.1% of families and 3.6% 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 ...
, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Parks and recreation
The City of Covington maintains a year-round aquatic center.
The city also offers basketball, baseball, football and soccer youth leagues from pre-k through 8th grade, recreation classes, and special events. The city is also home to eight city-run parks, and one municipally maintained trail.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The city's principal arterial is
State Route 516, known locally as Southeast 272nd Street or Kent-Kangley Road, which runs through the city on its west–east route from
Des Moines
Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
to
Maple Valley. The only
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
that passes through the city is
State Route 18, which passes through the city on a northeast–southwest route.
State Route 18, which connects
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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
near
Snoqualmie and
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, 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 thro ...
in
Federal Way, is a major route used by vehicles traveling between south King County and Eastern Washington.
Public transportation is provided by
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 ...
.
Emergency services
Covington contracts with the
King County Sheriff's Office for police services. Deputies assigned to Covington wear Covington uniforms and drive
patrol cars marked with the city logo. There are currently 12 patrol officers, one chief, one sergeant, one school resource officer, one traffic officer, and one detective assigned full-time to the city.
Covington is part of the
Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (RFA), along with the cities of
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, and
SeaTac and portions of unincorporated
King County. The city's first fire station opened in 2009; it is a 17,385-square foot building located on Southeast 256th Street. The RFA's board meetings are conducted in the Covington fire station.
Notable people
*
Debra Entenman, member of the
Washington House of Representatives
The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...
*
Mark Hargrove, former member of
Washington House of Representatives
The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...
.
*
Reese McGuire, professional baseball player, first round draft pick for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
*
Lindsey Moore, professional basketball player
*
Bob Smith, comic book artist for
DC and
Archie Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...
*
Pat Sullivan, majority leader of the
Washington House of Representatives
The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...
and former mayor of Covington
References
External links
City of Covington – Official WebsiteHistory of Covingtonat
HistoryLink
HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of Washington (state), Washington state history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 23,000 weekly visitors. It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images.
The non-profit historical organi ...
{{authority control
1997 establishments in Washington (state)
Cities in King County, Washington
Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1997
Cities in Washington (state)