Population growth slows

OLYMPIA — Washington state’s population growth has reached its lowest level in two decades, according to new estimates released Monday by the state Office of Financial Management.

The state’s population continues to grow by a scant .9 percent between April 1, 2002, and April 1, 2003. State demographers say the struggling economy will likely dampen population growth for at least the next two years.

On April 1 the state’s population was 6,098,300, according to state estimates based on Census 2000 data.

“We really can’t expect much more until the economy rebounds,” said state demographer Teresa Lowe. “The one thing that really surprises me is that we’re holding up as well as we are.”

The .9 percent growth rate is the lowest since 1983, when population grew only .7 percent. The last time Washington’s population shrank was in 1972.

Washington’s unemployment rate was 7.3 percent in May, the last month for which figures are available, tied with Alaska for second- worst in the nation. The national jobless rate is 6.1 percent, and 8.2 percent in Oregon.

Washington’s net population gain over the past year was 56,600. Of that, 35,800 of the new residents, or 63 percent, were what demographers call “natural increase” the number of births minus deaths. The remaining 37 percent of the growth was from net migration, or the number of people moving into Washington minus the number moving out.

Seattle is still the largest city in the state, followed by Spokane and Tacoma. Growth rates for those big cities stayed mostly flat over the past year.

The number of people living in unincorporated areas decreased 3 percent over the last year. That’s mostly because of the incorporation of the city of Spokane Valley in March. With a population estimated at 82,005, Spokane Valley is now the ninth- largest city in the state, right behind Federal Way and in front of Yakima.

The fastest growing cities over the past year were Snoqualmie, in east King County, which grew 14 percent; Battle Ground, in Clark County, which grew 13 percent; and DuPont, in Pierce County, which grew 12 percent.

The fastest growing county was Franklin, where a $5.7 billion waste vitrification project at the Hanford nuclear reservation is fueling economic growth and an 8.6 percent population growth rate. Clark County, which grew fastest during the 1990s, continues to attract newcomers and had the second-largest population growth, 7.8 percent.

Current Population

The state Office of Financial Management on Monday released new estimates of the population in Washington. Here are the largest cities, with their estimated April 1 population:

1. Seattle 571,900

2. Spokane 197,400

3. Tacoma 196,300

4. Vancouver 150,700

5. Bellevue 116,400

6. Everett 95,470

7. Kent 84,210

8. Federal Way 83,500

9. Spokane Valley 82,005

10. Yakima 79,220

11. Bellingham 69,850

12. Lakewood 58,940

13. Kennewick 57,900

14. Renton 54,900

15. Shoreline 52,730

16. Redmond 46,480

17. Kirkland 45,630

18. Auburn 45,355

19. Olympia 42,860

20. Richland 41,650