Spokane County is governed by a partisan Board of County Commissioners, one from each of three districts. They run in a partisan primary election within their own district, then compete countywide in the general election. Other elected officials include the Sheriff, Auditor (who is also responsible for elections), Assessor, Treasurer, and Prosecutor, which are also partisan offices. Spokane County has an appointed Medical Examiner.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,781 square miles , of which, 1,764 square miles of it is land and 17 square miles of it is water. It is part of the Palouse, a wide and rolling prairie-like region of the middle Columbia basin. The lowest point in the county is the Spokane River behind Long Lake Dam (boundary of Stevens County) at 469 meters above sea level. (There is virtually no change in elevation between the dam and the mouth of the Little Spokane River inside Riverside State Park.)
The highest point in the county is Mount Spokane at 1,793 meters .
As of the census of 2000, there were 417,939 people, 163,611 households, and 106,019 families residing in the county. The population density was 237 people per square mile. There were 175,005 housing units at an average density of 99 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 88.62% White, 2.00% Black or African American, 1.40% Native American, 1.88% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 0.82% from other races, and 2.76% from two or more races. 2.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22.0% were of German, 10.7% Irish, 9.9% English, 7.6% United States or American and 6.4% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 163,611 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.90% were married couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.20% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,308, and the median income for a family was $46,463. Males had a median income of $35,097 versus $25,526 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,233. About 8.30% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.20% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.
Geographic Features in Spokane County
Spokane River
Little Spokane River
Medical Lake
Clear Lake
West Medical Lake
Liberty Lake, Washington
Newman Lake
Silver Lake
Mount Spokane
Dishman Hills Natural Conservation Area
Riverside State Park
Major Highways in Spokane County
Interstate 90
United States Highway 2
United States Highway 195
United States Highway 395
State Highway 27
State Highway 904 (Michael Anderson Memorial Highway)
State Highway 902
State Highway 291
State Highway 290
State Highway 206
Towns and Cities in Spokane County
Airway Heights
Cheney
Deer Park
Fairfield
Latah
Liberty Lake
Medical Lake
Millwood
Reardan
Rockford
Spangle
Spokane
Spokane Valley
Waverly
Adjacent Counties
Pend Oreille County, Washington - north
Bonner County, Idaho - northeast
Kootenai County, Idaho - east
Benewah County, Idaho - southeast
Whitman County, Washington - south
Lincoln County, Washington - west
Stevens County, Washington - northwest
