I will be merging this blog with my Retire to Washington blog. The blog will still post once a month as will retire to Washington but articles from each may appear on the other from time to time. This month I will present a post from the aforementioned blog originally posted late last year.
Although some say Olympia is part of SW Washington it has really become an extension of the greater Seattle-Tacoma Metro area. The counties that comprise the area are Pacific, Lewis, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania counties.
This portion of Washington State offers a wide variety of topography and demographic variance. Everything from the urban jungle to the backwoods to the beach. Below is an outline of the counties and some facts about each.
Clark County
- Median home price $414,000
- Median income $67,300
- Median age 37
- Population 500,000
- Population Density 750/square mile
- Largest city, Vancouver 200,000 (340,000)
- Seat of government, Vancouver
- Highest point, Sturgeon Rock 4,080 ft (Silver Star 4,364 ft)
- Lowest point, Columbia River @25 ft
- 2nd city, Camas 23,000
- 3rd city, Battle Ground, 20,000
- 4th city, Washougal, 15,000
- 5th city, Ridgefield, 8,000
- 6th city, La Center 4,000
- 7th city (township), Yacolt, 1,800
- Notable #1 Oldest county in Washington
- Notable #2 Bounded on south and west by Columbia River
- Notable #3 Third largest seaport in Washington
- Notable #4 Second most densely populated county in Washington
Cowlitz County
- Median home price $321,000
- Median income $55,000
- Median age 40
- Population 112,000
- Population Density 91/square mile
- Largest City, Longview 40,000
- Seat of government, Kelso
- Highest point, Goat Mountain 4,965 ft
- Lowest point, Columbia River @25 ft
- 2nd city, Kelso 13,000
- 3rd city, Woodland, 5,700
- 4th city, Kalama, 3,000
- 5th city, Castle Rock, 2,400
- Notable #1 4th largest seaport in Washington
- Notable #2 Contains a portion of the St Helens NVM
Skamania County
- Median home price $376,000
- Median income $61,540
- Median age 44
- Population 12,500
- Population Density 7/square mile
- Largest City, Stevenson 1,750
- Seat of government, Stevenson
- Highest point, West Slope Mt. Adams , 8,920 ft (Mt Adams 12,245 ft)
- Lowest point, Columbia River @25 ft
- 2nd city, North Bonneville 1,000
- Notable #1 Beacon Rock 2nd largest rock monolith in the world
- Notable #2 Mount St. Helens 8,366 ft
- Notable #3 Bonneville Dam
Lewis County
- Median home price $296,000
- Median income $53,358
- Median age 42
- Population 82,000
- Population Density 33/square mile
- Largest City, Centralia 18,000
- Seat of government, Chehalis
- Highest point, Big Horn, 8,000 ft
- Lowest point, Cowlitz River @55 ft
- 2nd city, Chehalis 7,700
- 3rd city, Napavine 2,000
- 4th city, Winlock 1,500
- 5th city, Morton 1,200
- 6th city, Mossy Rock 900
- 7th city, Toledo 770
- 8th city, Vader 670
- Notable #1 Midway between Portland, OR and Seattle, WA
- Notable #2 Portions of Rainer National Park
Wahkiakum County
- Median home price $458,000
- Median income $47,260
- Median age 52
- Population 4,600
- Population Density 25/square mile
- Largest City (township), Cathlamet 600
- Seat of government, Cathlamet
- Highest point, Huckleberry Ridge , 2,673 ft
- Lowest point, Columbia River @20 ft
- Notable #1 Named for prominent Chinook Indian Chief
- Notable #2 Smallest land area of any non island county in Washington
- Notable #3 2nd lowest county population in Washington
Pacific County
- Median home price $210,259
- Median income $51,450
- Median age 51
- Population 23,000
- Population Density 22/square mile
- Largest City, Raymond 3,000
- Seat of government, South Bend
- Highest point, unnamed peak in Willapa Hills, 3,020 ft
- Lowest point, Pacific Ocean 0 ft
- 2nd city, South Bend 1,700
- 3rd city, Long Beach 1,500
- 4th city, Ilwaco 1,000
- Notable #1 Mouth of the Columbia River
- Notable #2 Long Beach, drive on beach is actually a state highway
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