Washington County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 census, the population was 529,710, making it the state's second most populous county. The county seat and largest city is Hillsboro.
Washington County is part of the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Cities in Washington County include Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, and Forest Grove, the county's oldest city.
Originally named Twality when created in 1843, the territorial legislature renamed it for the first president of the United States, George Washington, in 1849. The original boundaries included the entire northwest corner of Oregon before sections became new counties. The Tualatin River and its drainage basin are almost entirely within the county, with the county nearly coterminous with the Tualatin Valley. It is bordered on the west and north by the Northern Oregon Coast Range, on the south by the Chehalem Mountains, and on the north and east by the Tualatin Mountains (or West Hills).
The county's major roads include small sections of Interstate 5 and Interstate 205, the Sunset Highway, Oregon Route 217, Oregon Route 47, Oregon Route 10, Oregon Route 6, and Oregon Route 8. Public transportation is primarily operated by TriMet and includes buses, the Westside Express Service commuter rail, and MAX Light Rail. Other transportation includes air travel at the Hillsboro Airport, private airfields and heliports, and heavy rail cargo on rail lines.
History
Washington County General Map Help - Washington County Wisconsin GIS interactive map instructional video - overview of the general map.
The Provisional Legislature of Oregon created the county as Twality District on July 5, 1843. Twality was one of the original four districts of the Provisional Government of Oregon in Oregon Country along with Clackamas, Champooick (later Marion), and Yamhill counties. Columbia, later known as Hillsboro, was selected as the county seat in 1850. With the exception of 160 acres annexed from Multnomah County in 2014, Washington County obtained the vast majority of its present boundaries in 1854 with the creation of Columbia County to the north and Multnomah County to the east.
The construction of Canyon Road to Beaverton helped Portland to consolidate its position as the primary port of Oregon, and defeat the rival efforts of settlements such as Oregon City and Milwaukie.
In November 2004, the County and the City of Beaverton agreed to a plan where the city would annex both unincorporated residential neighborhoods as well as high-value areas of land. This would result with Cedar Hills, Garden Home, Raleigh Hills, West Slope being incorporated by 2010, and the communities of Aloha, Bethany, and Cedar Mill at some point after that.
Those plans have since been put on hold after Beaverton attempted to forcibly annex Nike, Inc.'s World Headquarters, which would have increased Nike's taxes substantially. Nike successfully lobbied the legislature for a law that would prohibit their annexation for 99 years. Since that decision, annexation plans have been halted, and Washington County started urban planning to provide city-level services to the unincorporated urban areas in the county.
On January 1, 2014, 160 acres (65Â ha) of Multnomah County in the Bethany area transferred to Washington County. The area had originally been split off from Washington County when Multnomah County was created, and was transferred back to allow for development of the property.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 726 square miles (1,880Â km2), of which 724 square miles (1,880Â km2) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7Â km2) (0.3%) is water. It is located approximately 20 miles (32Â km) to the west of Portland. The Portland Metro Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) bisects the county. The county's highest point is South Saddle Mountain at 3,464 feet (1,056 m) above sea level in the Northern Oregon Coast Range.
Most of the county is in the Tualatin Valley, which is surrounded by the Tualatin Mountains to the east and north, the Chehalem Mountains to the south, and the Northern Oregon Coast Range to the west and north. In the valley is the only river in the county, the Tualatin River, the Tualatin Plains, and several small hills. The northern and western portions of the county are forested, while the remainder of the county includes urban areas, agricultural lands, and floodplains.
Waterways
The Tualatin River is the main river in Washington County. Henry Hagg Lake, southwest of Forest Grove, is the largest lake. The Willamette River lies to the east, the Columbia River to the northeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west of the county.
Adjacent counties
- Clackamas County (southeast)
- Clatsop County (northwest)
- Columbia County (north)
- Multnomah County (east)
- Tillamook County (west)
- Yamhill County (south)
Major highways
National protected areas
- Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 445,342 people, 169,162 households, and 114,015 families residing in the county. The population density was 615 people per square mile (238/km²). There were 178,913 housing units at an average density of 247 per square mile (95/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.19% White, 1.15% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 6.68% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 5.86% from other races, and 3.17% from two or more races. 11.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.2% were of German, 9.9% English, 8.2% Irish, and 6.7% American ancestry. 81.7% spoke only English at home, while 9.6% spoke Spanish and 1.2% Vietnamese.
There were 169,162 households out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.90% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 34.10% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 8.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $52,122, and the median income for a family was $61,499. Males had a median income of $43,304 versus $31,074 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,969. About 4.90% of families and 7.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 5.30% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 529,710Â people, 200,934Â households, and 134,323Â families residing in the county. The population density was 731.4 inhabitants per square mile (282.4/km2). There were 212,450 housing units at an average density of 293.3 per square mile (113.2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 76.6% white, 8.6% Asian, 1.8% black or African American, 0.7% American Indian, 0.5% Pacific islander, 7.5% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.8% were German, 12.4% were English, 12.1% were Irish, and 3.2% were American.
Of the 200,934Â households, 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.2% were non-families, and 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.14. The median age was 35.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $62,574 and the median income for a family was $76,778. Males had a median income of $54,417 versus $40,254 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,522. About 6.7% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The county is governed by an elected board of five commissioners. The county is divided into four commissioner districts. One commissioner sits for each district, and the fifth commissioner is "at large" and is the Chair of the board.
Politics
Like all of the Willamette Valley and Oregon Coast, Washington County was in its pre-Depression history strongly Republican. It voted for the Republican Presidential nominee in every election from Oregon statehood until 1930, except for the 1912 election when it supported Progressive candidate and former President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first Democrat to ever carry the county, and he repeated this in 1936 and 1940, but between 1944 and 1988 the county was never won by a Democrat except in Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide. As late as 1976 Washington was the second-most Republican county in the state behind remote Malheur, and Gerald Ford’s nineteen thousand-vote victory in the county was decisive in carrying the state for him during that year’s Presidential election.
Since the 1990s, the increasing drift of the Republican Party towards the South and evangelicialism, along with urbanization, has resulted in a strong shift of Washington County towards the Democratic Party. No Republican Presidential candidate has carried Washington County since George Bush senior did so in 1988, and in two of the past three Presidential elections Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have carried the county by over twenty percentage points. The last Republican to win a statewide election in Washington County was Gordon H. Smith in the 2002 Senate contest. In the 2008 Senatorial election Democrat Jeff Merkley winning 48.8 percent of the county’s vote (111,367) while Republican incumbent Smith won 46.5 percent (106,114), but no subsequent Republican Senate candidate has won 40 percent of the county’s vote.
Economy
Washington County is centered on a fertile plain that attracted farmers before the first wagon trains. In 1997, orchards covered 8,403 acres (34 km²) of the county's lands and 1,163 acres (4.7 km²) were devoted to vineyards. Agriculture is still a major industry in Washington County, as are lumber, manufacturing, and food processing. (The county is home to Roloff Farms, featured in the TV show Little People, Big World.)
The development of a large electronics industry during the 1980s and 1990s is the dominating factor of the county economy. California-based Intel, Oregon's largest private for-profit employer, has its largest concentration of employees in the county, mainly in Hillsboro. Other technology companies include Electro Scientific Industries, FEI Company, Qorvo, Tektronix, SolarWorld, Planar Systems, and EPSON.
Nike, one of two Fortune 500 corporations based in Oregon, has its headquarters in Washington County. Until it was acquired by IBM, Sequent Computer Systems was headquartered right next door to Nike. Other companies with headquarters in Washington County include optical instruments manufacturer Leupold & Stevens, Columbia Sportswear, and Reser's Fine Foods.
Communities
Cities
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Oregon
- Washington County Museum
- L. L. "Stub" Stewart State Park
- Ki-a-Kuts Falls
- Washington County Jail
- Washington County Courthouse
References
External links
- Washington County Visitors Association