According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management, Washington added nearly 80,000 new residents in the last year, boosting the state’s population to over 8.1 million.
While the state continues to grow, the rate of growth is slower than the growth experienced over the past decade and continues to be driven by migration rather than birth rates.
Of the 79,400 new Washingtonians, 62,348 decided to move into an incorporated city or town.
Despite a majority of growth taking place in cities, 36 cities saw a decrease in population growth and 61 cities saw no growth at all.
Below are charts showing the top ten cities by population growth and by population growth rate over the last year.
Top 10 cities by population increase
Rank | Municipality | Total population | Population increase | Growth rate |
|---|
1 | Seattle | 816,600 | 18,900 | 2.37% |
2 | Tacoma | 228,400 | 3,300 | 1.47% |
3 | Bellevue | 158,000 | 3,000 | 1.94% |
4 | Vancouver | 205,100 | 2,500 | 1.23% |
5 | Redmond | 82,380 | 2,340 | 2.92% |
6 | Shoreline | 63,740 | 1,830 | 2.96% |
7 | Spokane | 234,700 | 1,700 | 0.73% |
8 | Spokane Valley | 110,200 | 1,400 | 1.29% |
9 | Auburn | 90,320 | 1,370 | 1.54% |
10 | Marysville | 75,640 | 1,250 | 1.68% |
Top 10 cities by population growth rate
Rank | Municipality | Total population | Population increase | Growth rate |
|---|
1 | Entiat | 1,520 | 145 | 10.55% |
2 | Nooksack | 1,825 | 155 | 9.28% |
3 | Cusick | 180 | 15 | 9.09% |
4 | Yacolt | 1,785 | 115 | 6.89% |
5 | Index | 170 | 10 | 6.25% |
6 | La Center | 4,270 | 225 | 5.56% |
7 | Port Orchard | 19,260 | 960 | 5.25% |
8 | Burlington | 10,910 | 500 | 4.80% |
9 | Malden | 130 | 5 | 4.00% |
10 | North Bend | 8,590 | 330 | 4.00% |
City leaders interested in seeing their population change can view the updated population numbers on the Office of Financial Management (OFM) website. The agency also published a press release detailing changes and trends observed over the last year.
April 1 population estimates from OFM are important to cities, as state agencies use these estimates for state program administration and allocation of state revenues.