TheProvisional Legislature of Oregon created the county asTwality District on July 5, 1843. Twality was one of the original four districts of theProvisional Government of Oregon inOregon Country along withClackamas, Champooick (laterMarion), andYamhill counties. Columbia, later known asHillsboro, was selected as the county seat in 1850. Washington County lost significant portions of its original area whenColumbia andMultnomah counties were created in 1854. The county area was increased by 160 acres (65 ha) in 2014 when a section of Multnomah County was attached to Washington.[5] The area was returned to Washington County to allow for property development.[6]
The construction ofCanyon Road toBeaverton helped Portland to consolidate its position as the primary port of Oregon, and defeat the rival efforts of settlements such asOregon City andMilwaukie.
In November 2004, the County and the City ofBeaverton agreed to a plan where the city would annex both unincorporated residential neighborhoods as well as high-value areas of land. This would result withCedar Hills,Garden Home,Raleigh Hills,West Slope being incorporated by 2010, and the communities ofAloha,Bethany, andCedar Mill at some point after that.
Those plans have since been put on hold after Beaverton attempted to annexNike, 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.[7]
Most of the county is in theTualatin Valley, formed by theTualatin Mountains to the east and north, theChehalem Mountains to the south, and the Northern Oregon Coast Range to the west and north. TheTualatin River, located almost entirely within the county, flows through theTualatin Plains. The northern and western portions of the county are forested, while the remainder of the county includes urban areas, agricultural lands, and floodplains.[10]
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.
Washington County, Oregon – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2010 census, there were 529,710 people, 200,934 households, and 134,323 families residing in the county.[25] 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).[26] 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.[25] In terms of ancestry, 20.8% wereGerman, 12.4% wereEnglish, 12.1% wereIrish, and 3.2% wereAmerican.[27]
Of the 200,934 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.[25]
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 thepoverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.[28]
As of the2000 census, there were 445,342 people, 169,162 households, and 114,015 families in the county. Thepopulation density was 615 people per square mile (237 people/km2). There were 178,913 housing units at an average density of 247 units per square mile (95/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 82.19%White, 1.15%Black orAfrican American, 0.65%Native American, 6.68%Asian, 0.30%Pacific Islander, 5.86% fromother races, and 3.17% from two or more races. 11.17% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 17.2% were ofGerman, 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.
The county population contained 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. Theper capita income for the county was $24,969. About 4.90% of families and 7.40% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 5.30% of those age 65 or over.
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.[29]
Like all of theYankee-influenced Willamette Valley and Oregon Coast, Washington County was in its pre-Depression history strongly Republican. After Oregon achieved statehood in 1859, Washington County voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every presidential election from 1860 to 1928, except in the 1912 presidential election when the county supported Progressive Party candidate and former Republican presidentTheodore Roosevelt.[30] In 1932,Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first-ever Democrat to win the Washington County vote, and he repeated this success in 1936 and 1940. Between 1944 and 1988, Washington County was never won by a Democrat except inLyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory in 1964. As recently as 1976, Washington County was the second-most Republican county in the state behindMalheur County in southeast Oregon.[31]Gerald Ford's 17,529-vote margin of victory in the county was decisive in narrowly carrying Oregon during that year's presidential election; it was almost 10 times Ford's statewide margin of 1,713 votes.
Since the 1990s, the increasing drift of the Republican Party nationally towards the South and evangelicalism, along with urbanization, has resulted in Washington County shifting towards the Democratic Party. No Republican presidential candidate has carried Washington County sinceGeorge H. W. Bush did so in 1988. In 2004,John Kerry became the first Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote since LBJ. The county swung hard toBarack Obama in 2008, who carried it with almost 60 percent of the vote and a 22-point margin overJohn McCain, the strongest showing for a Democrat in the county since Roosevelt. Obama won the county almost as easily in 2012, and since then,Hillary Clinton,Joe Biden, andKamala Harris all prevailed the county by over twenty percentage points. The last Republican to win a statewide election in Washington County wasGordon H. Smith inthe 2002 Senate contest. Inthe 2008 Senatorial election, DemocratJeff Merkley won 48.8 percent of the county's vote (111,367) while Republican incumbent Smith won 46.5 percent (106,114),[32] but no subsequent Republican Senate candidate has won 40 percent of the county's votes. In the 2020 presidential election, Biden hit 65.5% of the county's vote, the highest ever for a Democratic presidential nominee.
United States presidential election results for Washington County, Oregon[33]
Washington County is centered on a fertile plain that attracted farmers before the firstwagon trains. In 1997, orchards covered 8,403 acres (34.01 km2) of the county's lands and 1,163 acres (4.71 km2) were devoted to vineyards.[citation needed] Agriculture is still a major industry in Washington County, as are lumber, manufacturing, and food processing.
^Proehl, Risa S. (March 2009)."2008 Oregon Population Report"(PDF).Population Research Center. Portland State University. p. 7. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on March 3, 2016. RetrievedMay 5, 2009.
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^"Incorporation dates".The Hillsboro Argus. October 19, 1976. pp. Communities, p. 21.
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