Document 46: Factors in Recent Growth of Population
Population Trends: Towns and Cities of Washington State: April 1, 1940 to February 1, 1945 (Seattle: Washington State Census Board, 1946) and Calvin Schmid and Stanton Schmid, Growth of Cities and Towns: State of Washington
(Olympia: Washington State Planning and Community Affairs Agency, 1971), 3-4, 58-63.
The relatively high rate of population growth during and following World War II is in dramatic contrast to the retarded growth during the preceding decade.
Between 1940 and 1950, the State of Washington grew by 37.0 per cent, compared to the national average of 14.5 per cent. In the following decade, 1950-1960, the State grew by 19.9 per cent, compared to the national average of 18.5 The population increase in the two decades combined was 64.3 per cent for the State of Washington as compared to 35.7 per cent for the nation.
The pronounced growth of population in the State of Washington since 1940 can be attributed to the following factors:
1. Expansion of military bases on the West Coast and the wartime (World War II, Korean War, and War in Vietnam) assignment to West Coast manufacturers of large contracts for ships, airplanes, . . . and various types of equipment, which brought a huge influx of workers from other parts of the nation.
2. Backlog of demand for housing and consumer goods caused by deferment of construction and production for civilian use during World War II, along with needs created by population and economic expansion in the region, as well as in other parts of the nation.
3. Sharp rise in birth rates, both in the nation and in this area.
4. Continued decline in mortality.
5. Shift of manufacturing from wartime to peacetime production including the recent spectacular growth in the aerospace industry in the Puget Sound area. . . . [From 1961 to 1964], the State of Washington . . . experienced an economic boom comparable to the one that occurred during the first few years of the 1940s. The focal point of this activity has been the aerospace industry in King and Snohomish Counties. . . . With the aerospace industry in the vanguard, virtually all manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries evidenced pronounced upward trends.
| Population of Cities and Towns, State of Washington, 1940 to 1970 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CITY |
1940 |
1945 |
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
% Change from 1945 to 1970 |
Aberdeen |
18,846 |
19,500 |
19,653 |
18,741 |
18,489 |
-5.18% |
Auburn |
4,211 |
5,900 |
6,497 |
11,933 |
21,653 |
+267.00% |
Bellevue |
5,013 |
6,000 |
7,908 |
12,809 |
61,196 |
+919.33% |
Bellingham |
29,314 |
31,750 |
34,112 |
34,688 |
39,375 |
+24.02% |
Bremerton |
15,134 |
35,000 |
27,698 |
26,681 |
35,307 |
+0.88% |
Everett |
30,224 |
34,000 |
33,849 |
40,304 |
53,622 |
+57.71% |
Kennewick |
1,918 |
6,500 |
10,106 |
14,244 |
15,101 |
+132.32% |
Kent |
2,586 |
3,000 |
3,278 |
9,017 |
17,711 |
+490.37% |
Longview |
12,385 |
15,150 |
20,339 |
23,349 |
29,733 |
+96.26% |
Oak Harbor |
376 |
820 |
1,193 |
3,942 |
9,167 |
+1,079.21% |
Olympia |
13,254 |
15,500 |
15,819 |
18,273 |
23,296 |
+50.30% |
Renton |
4,488 |
9,000 |
16,039 |
18,453 |
25,878 |
+187.53% |
Richland |
247 |
14,500 |
18,950 |
23,548 |
26,143 |
+80.30% |
Seattle |
368,302 |
450,000 |
467,591 |
557,087 |
530,831 |
+17.96% |
Spokane |
122,001 |
144,000 |
161,721 |
181,608 |
170,516 |
+18.41% |
Tacoma |
109,408 |
139,000 |
143,673 |
147,979 |
154,407 |
+11.08% |
Vancouver |
18,788 |
39,500 |
41,664 |
32,464 |
40,542 |
+2.64% |
Walla Walla |
18,109 |
24,500 |
24,102 |
24,536 |
23,619 |
-3.60% |
Yakima |
27,221 |
33,400 |
38,486 |
43,284 |
45,588 |
+36.49% |
| Washington state total: |
1,736,191 |
2,225,364 |
2,378,963 |
2,853,214 |
3,413,244 |
+53.38% |