The county was named after William Rufus King, vice president under president Franklin Pierce. In 1986, the County Council passed a motion "setting forth the historical basis for the 'renaming' of King County in honor of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr"; however, the motion has no legal or practical force, and the "name change" is not widely publicized in the county. The full text of the motion appears at " class="external">http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/mlk/motion.htm.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Demographics 3 Cities and Towns |
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,974 km² (2,307 mi²). 5,506 km² (2,126 mi²) of it is land and 467 km² (180 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 7.82% water.
Geographic Features
Major Highways
Adjacent Counties
Demographics
As of the census1 of 2000, there are 1,737,034 people, 710,916 households, and 420,151 families residing in the county. The population density is 315/km² (817/mi²). There are 742,237 housing units at an average density of 135/km² (349/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 75.73% White, 5.40% African American, 0.92% Native American, 10.81% Asian, 0.52% Pacific Islander, 2.56% from other races, and 4.06% from two or more races. 5.48% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 710,916 households out of which 28.40% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.40% are married couples living together, 9.00% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.90% are non-families. 30.50% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.50% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 3.03.
In the county, the population is spread out with 22.50% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 34.70% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 10.50% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $53,157, and the median income for a family is $66,035. Males have a median income of $45,802 versus $34,321 for females. The per capita income for the county is $29,521. 8.40% of the population and 5.30% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.40% are under the age of 18 and 7.40% are 65 or older.
Cities and Towns