Spokane County Map

About Spokane County Map

View above map of Spokane county showing interstate highwaysm other roads, airports, rivers, major cities, county seat and national parks.

Facts about Spokane County

Spokane County, Washington

Located in the eastern portion of the state of Washington, Spokane County forms a diverse scattering of land, time and space: beautiful and historic and dynamic. With a population of around 562,325 as of early 2026 and an annual growth rate of about 0.57 percent, Spokane County is the fourth-most populated county in Washington. The county seat of Spokane, the state’s second largest city, anchors a metropolitan area of great cultural and economic vitality, while the county itself offers a very high quality of life and all the amenities of modern health care, education and leisure activity, all in a setting deeply aware of its rich and diverse past as the homeland of the indigenous tribes of the region and the birthplace of the nation’s pioneer spirit.

Etymology and Historical Foundations

Named for the Spokane Indians, a large and important Salishan speaking people, whom the name captures the idea of the "Children of the Sun" or the "sun people" echoing the clear skies and high levels of sunlight characteristic of this region. The county's land has been inhabited by humans for at least 12,000 to 8,000 years, and these early people shifted from a large game hunting strategy to one that harvested roots, berries, and fish from the Spokan (Spokane) River. European exploration started in 1810 with David Thompson of the North West Company, who established Spokane House. It would remain the first permanent European settlement in what would become the state of Washington until 1826. Later on January 29, 1858 it was established as a county from part of Walla Walla County. Then in 1864 the territory that would become Spokane County was annexed to become part of Stevens County, until it was split out again in 1879. The following year, in 1883, Lincoln County was also taken from Spokane County. The county seat of the area was the subject of a contentious election in 1880, between Cheney and Spokane Falls. The winners, Spokane Falls supporters, moved the county seat unilaterally to their city in 1881 at gunpoint. Eventually, in 1886 the state officially made Spokane the county seat. The various changes and the willingness of the county's pioneers to do whatever it took to promote their respective towns have all combined to establish the present-day communities in the Inland Northwest.

Geography and Climate

Located in Eastern Washington, the geography of Spokane County is a dramatic transition from the arid Channelled Scablands of the Columbia Basin to the west, to the forested foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the east. Spokane County consists of 1,780.984 square miles of land area, with approximately 1,764.224 square miles of that being land and the remaining areas being water features consisting of 0.86 square miles and 0.94 percent of the land area. As one of the 19 counties in Washington with the largest area, Spokane County has elevation levels ranging from the 1538 feet of the Spokane River behind Long Lake Dam to 5887 feet at Mount Spokane which is protected within the 25,965 acres of Mount Spokane State Park and offers many outdoor opportunities and activities for local and visiting residents. The area was shaped by the Missoula Floods many years ago – specifically hundreds of floods that occurred from approximately 12,000 to 15,000 years ago when the local glaciers were larger and had more ice to release. Much of the county's south east lies within a shrub-steppe ecosystem of grass covered hills and valleys. The county lies within two of the main ecoregions of the area – the Columbia Plateau ecoregion which lies to the south west of the county and the Northern Rockies ecoregion which lies to the north west. The county borders Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, and Whitman counties within Washington state and is bordered by Idaho by the counties of Bonner, Kootenai and Benewah. Each of these counties border Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, a globally important area that serves as a breeding ground as well as a wintering ground for hundreds of species of birds and plants – of particular interest to local nature lovers. Spokane County is located in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8 hours (standard time), UTC-7 hours (daylight saving time)) and falls under a semi-arid to humid continental climate with plenty of snowfall each year for activities such as skiing that enable the inhabitants to carry out seasonal activities in harmony with nature.

Demographics and Community Life

As of 2026, Spokane County will have a population of approximately 562,325 and a population density of approximately 319 people per square mile of land. Our population, location, diversity, housing, economy, education and health are summarized in the following information. We derived most of this information from the latest (2024) U.S. Census data which estimates the County's population as 555,947 which is an increase of 3.1% from 2010 and 3.2% from 2020 levels of 539,339. This level of population growth is expected to continue based on current trends of migration and reproduction. Our median age will continue to be around 38.2 years as 19.4% of the population will remain younger than 18 and 13% will remain older than 65 with the County being a relatively young and maturing population with the desire for family friendly amenities and services including elder care. These population numbers also result in the following breakdown of racial composition of the County population (note: some figures add up to only 97% of the total as some respondents do not self-identify by the offered characteristics. With the exception of race and ethnicity all other information in this section is based on the assumption of 100% self-identification by respondents). Racial Composition: * 80.1% white, non-Hispanic * 1.9% Black or African American * 1.3% Native American or Alaska Native * 2.3% Asian * 0.8% Pacific Islander * 6.6% Multi-racial * 6.6% Hispanic, regardless of racial identification Number of households will be around 224,960 people with an average of 2.5 people per household, and a median household income of $86,205 with a median poverty level of 12.5% indicating the need for programs to promote affordable housing and workforce development skills in order to help low-income residents to gain access to better living conditions and job opportunities. For each of these estimates, the corresponding percentile for the distribution of each of these characteristics is also provided, reflecting the relatively high level of formal education in the County with 95.2% of people age 25 and over having some level of formal education (high school diploma) and 34.9% of these same people having earned a bachelor degree from a four year college or university. Based on this latter indicator the foreign-born will comprise only about 5.3% of the County's residents reflecting their strong integration into the general County population while bringing new cultural perspectives and values to the County, although these may not yet be reflected in the numbers provided in the U.S. Census. Health, or lack thereof, and access to services is an additional characteristic that is useful to understand for our county with an estimated 10.0% of County residents under the age of 65 having a disability that severely restricts their ability to function in important ways in their lives; and an estimated 6.3% not having health insurance which is associated with poorer health and with less access to services or those that can help to alleviate disabilities when they do occur.

Economy and Employment Landscape

The Spokane County Economy in 2026 report examines the economic state of Spokane County in 2026, finding that the economy has adjusted to national trends with an estimated unemployment rate of 5.1 percent as of December 2025 — slightly higher than the 5.3 percent rate recorded in the state. Spokane County’s total nonfarm employment reached 266,100 jobs with health care being the dominant industry of growth. However, national economists are forecasting local employment growth to stagnate in part due to slower-growing regional population and single industry dominance in the logging industry. Emerging industries such as aerospace and energy could mitigate stagnating employment growth. The average annual wage as of the first quarter 2025 was $63,200 with the median household income reaching $78,582. Retail sales in Spokane County exceeded $10.9 billion in 2022 affirming the county’s position as a service and retail center for the region. The county has 14,426 employer establishments and 36,818 nonemployer businesses in 2023 affirm the economy is made up of a mix of small and large businesses that annually pay out more than $12.6 billion in employment wages and allow for great opportunities for entrepreneurship and business development. A surge of 7.1 percent in employment between 2022 and 2023 in Spokane County indicates the need for diverse investments. The county’s labor force participation rate among the working age population of 25-64 reached 76.7 percent, ensuring that the benefits of a strong economy are being realized for its residents.

Government and Political Dynamics

Partisan Board of County Commissioners Our five member, partisan Board of County Commissioners consists of Democrats and Republicans. The Board is committed to protecting public safety, maintaining a high level of services, controlling taxes, and assuring affordable housing. Spokane County’s 2026 Budget is balanced. The Board of County Commissioners consists of Democrats Chris Jordan, District 1, and Amber Waldref, District 2 and Republicans Josh Kerns, District 3, Mary Kuney, District 4 and Al French, District 5. Each district was redrawn to ensure fairness and reflect the demographics of the community they represent. Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels was elected sheriff in 2022 and continues the practice of community policing in a county that votes Republican but has voting margins narrowing in recent elections. The Board oversees the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, or SRTC, which was established by the Board in 1962. The SRTC planning effort encompasses all modes of transportation and the budget is used to fund highway improvement projects and transit operations. Although Republican presidential candidates have carried Spokane County since 1948, both the City of Spokane and Cheney vote solidly Democratic and provide a dialogue continues to occur in a county concerned with practical solutions to pressing issues that include affordable housing and environmental issues.

Education and Intellectual Pursuits

Spokane County residents of all ages benefit from a wide range of excellent educational options that grow the skillset of local people from the youngest age through advanced degrees. High school graduation rates remain at 95.2% and bachelor’s degree attainment is 34.9% giving citizens opportunities to develop professionally and personally through life-long learning. Community colleges such as Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College have locations in the county that offer programs in career and technical education, health sciences and information technology as well as associate degrees and other postsecondary certificates to a wide range of audiences. Four year universities in the county—Gonzaga University with its long tradition of excellent undergraduate teaching and high-quality graduate programs and Whitworth University named as the top value in the Northwest in the 2026 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges guide—as well as Eastern Washington University with its strong relationships with local business and non-profit organizations, offer a variety of undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare graduates for successful careers both domestically and internationally. Additionally, the recent selection of Spokane Colleges as a site in a national student voices initiative in workforce education is an example of non-profit providers of continuing education developing and delivering programs of instruction which are in direct responses to workforce needs and which help working families in Spokane County improve their economic stability and reach improved levels of socio-economic status. Work by public educational institutions in Spokane County continues despite increases in state debates over educational funding, and the institutions remain important resources for learning for citizens of the area in order for them to compete in an increasingly complex and dynamic world.

Transportation and Infrastructure

Transportation in Spokane County connects the people and communities of all 562,325 residents who call the County home. Travel and transportation of commodities in the County occur on Interstate 90, U.S. Routes 2, 195 and 395, and on the North Spokane Corridor. Spokane Transit Authority (STA), which was created in 1981 as a public corporation, provides municipal transit services within a 248 square-mile service area with a population of 471,000 as of 2023. STA has fixed-route buses and vanpools and ADA paratransit. It is funded with a sales tax of 0.7 percent as well as planning revisions for 2026 include redesigns to Route 20 as well as service in east Hillyard. The two airports that serve the county are Spokane International (GEG) and Felts Field. BNSF Railway and Union Pacific handle freight within the County providing additional links to the rest of the nation. In Horizon 2050 planning documents the region’s 3.6 million people have a transportation program for the period ending 2050 with a value of $16.1 billion. $4.6 billion will be for preserving the existing system while an additional $7.4 billion will be used to fund the operation of local transportation facilities and services along with region-wide improvements such as completing the North Spokane Corridor with an estimated cost of $632.5 million to be completed in 2026. Active transportation is also playing a larger role with STA projects scheduled in 2026 such as improving the Pacific Avenue greenway, and making improvements and connecting trails such as the Fish Lake Trail and Centennial Trail to more neighborhoods for healthier lifestyles and a reduced need for people to drive.

Communities and Cultural Fabric

The communities of Spokane County form a balance of cities and towns. Urban cities like Spokane (2026 estimated population 231,311), Spokane Valley and Cheney are paired with small towns such as Airway Heights and Liberty Lake. Unincorporated communities like Chattaroy, Colbert and Newman Lake provide country living, while census-designated places like Fairwood and Mead are residential neighborhoods with easy access to nature. Ghost towns like Buckeye and Freeman tell the stories of Spokane Countys past, while contemporary events, parks and programs remind us of the present and our vision for the future. All these give us a people-first philosophy to living in Spokane County and a sense that our communities play important roles in our regional story of people building a strong and sustainable future.