Washington’s population surpasses 8 million milestone

SEATTLE — The State of Washington has officially surpassed 8 million people for its population.

According to the Washington State Standard, the Office of Financial Management estimated 84,550 people moved to Washington over the past year — pushing the state to 8,035,700 in total population. In comparison, Washington had a population of 5.3 million in 1993.

California has the largest population (38.9 million), with Texas ranking No. 2 as the only other state with more than 30 million people. Florida is the third-largest in population (23 million). Of those three states, only California has had a negative growth rate. The population dropped 0.19% year-over-year and 1.55% since 2020. In that time span, Texas and Florida have grown by 6% and 6.4%, respectively.

Washington’s population only grew 0.36%, ranking 25th in the nation in population growth. South Carolina had the largest year-over-year population growth, followed by Florida, Texas, Idaho and North Carolina.

Washington is still expanding as a state, but not as quickly as it was in the previous decade. 98,200 people moved to Washington on average per year from 2010 to 2020, approximately 16% more than the migration seen last year into the evergreen state.

Migration was responsible for slightly more than 80% of the population jump while natural change — local births minus local deaths — accounted for just under 20% of the population growth.

In total, Washington is the 13th most populous state, slotting between Arizona and Virginia, according to 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data.

King, Clark, Snohomish, Pierce and Spokane Counties were responsible for more than 68% of the population growth, according to the Office of Financial Management. Asotin, Skamania, Ferry, Columbia, Garfield and Wahkiakum Counties grew the least, according to Washington State Standard, with each adding fewer than 100 people.

Seattle’s population grew by 18,500 people, the most of any city in Washington. Its current population is 797,700.

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