1940 Census: Population of Seattle stagnates at 368,000 and that of King County tops 500,000 in 1940.

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In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau determines that King County’s population is 504,980, an increase of 41,463 over 1930 (9 percent), and Seattle’s population is 368,302, an increase of only 2,719 (1 percent) in 10 years. For the first time, during the decade of the Great Depression, more people have moved to areas of King County outside of Seattle than to Seattle. This trend has continued through 1999.

In 1940, the largest of the 39 counties in Washington state were:

King 504,980
Pierce 182,081
Spokane 164,652
Yakima 99,019
Snohomish 88,754
Whatcom 60,355
Grays Harbor 53,166
Clark 49,852
Kitsap 44,387
Lewis 41,393

In 1940, the largest incorporated towns in Washington were:

Seattle 368,302
Tacoma 109,408
Spokane 122.001
Everett 30,224
Bellingham 29,314
Yakima 27,221
Aberdeen 18,846
Vancouver 18,788
Walla Walla 18,109
Bremerton 15,134

In 1940, the largest incorporated towns in King County were:

Seattle 368,302
Renton 4,488
Auburn 4,211
Kent 2,586
Enumclaw 2,627
Kirkland 2,084
Bothell 794
Issaquah 812
Snoqualmie 775
Skykomish 479

In 1940, incorporated and unincorporated town populations in King County (listed alphabetically) were:

(Note: Unincorporated town boundaries were not officially defined so the U.S. Census Bureau attempted to establish boundaries they thought would define the towns.)

Algona (uninc.) 929
Auburn 4,211
Bellevue (uninc.) 975
Bothell 794
Bryn Mawr (uninc.) 1,346
Burien (uninc.) 1,537
Carnation (see Tolt)
Des Moines (uninc.) 965
Duvall 234
Duwamish (uninc.) 807
Earlington (uninc.) 722
Enumclaw 2,627
Foster 530
Issaquah 812
Juanita 917
Kennydale 534
Kent 2,586
Kirkland 2,084
North Bend 646
Pacific 357
Redmond 530
Renton 4,488
Richmond Beach 693
Richmond Highlands 566
Riverton (uninc.) 1,024
Seattle 368,302
Skykomish 479
Snoqualmie 775
Snoqualmie Falls 899
Tolt (Carnation) 460
Tukwila 521
Vashon 672

Sources:
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce, Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940. Population, Vol. I: Number of Inhabitants (Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1942), 1126-1127; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce, Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940. Population, Vol. II: Characteristics of the Population, Part 7: Utah-Wyoming (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1943), 328-330, 362-367, 390-407; US Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce, Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940. Population: Unincorporated Communities United States, by States (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1943), 29-30.

By Greg Lange, January 01, 1900

Downtown Burien, 1940s
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Downtown Seattle, 3rd Avenue and Pike Street, ca. 1940
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Downtown Ballard, 1940s
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Downtown Kent, 1940s
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