Asotin County, Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Asotin County, Washington | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Washington |
|
 Washington's location in the USA |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | October 27, 1883 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Asotin |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,659 km² (641 mi²) 1,646 km² (635 mi²) 14 km² (5 mi²), 0.83% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
20,551 93/km² |
| Website: www.co.asotin.wa.us | |
Asotin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Lewiston-ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of both Nez Perce County, Idaho and Asotin County. As of 2000, the population was 20,551. The county seat is at Asotin, and its largest city is Clarkston.
"Asotin" derives from a Nez Perce word meaning "Eel Creek".
Asotin County was created out of Garfield County on October 27, 1883.[1]
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[edit] Politics
Generally, Asotin County is considered a staunchly Republican area, although it has been known to vote for Democrats, especially on the state level. Currently the county is represented at the county level by two Democrats and one Republican.
In the 2004 Presidential election gave slightly over 60 percent of the vote to Republican George W. Bush. It was one of 11 of Washington's 39 counties where Bush received a lower percentage of the vote in 2004 than in 2000. Conversely, even though nearly 60 percent of voters selected the Democratic Governor Gary Locke in 2000, in 2004 the Democratic gubernatorial nominee Christine Gregoire received only 41 percent of the vote.
In 2004, 27% of presidential votes were cast from incorporated Clarkston, while 61% was from unincorporated suburbs of Clarkston (34% from Clarkston Heights, 12% from West Clarkston, 9% from South Clarkston, and 6% from Swallows Nest). An additional 6% was cast from the incorporated city of Asotin, with rural areas around Asotin accounting for 4% of the vote and areas around the unincorporated community of Anatone making up 2% of the vote.
By and large, the most competitive areas are Clarkston and its suburbs. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry won two precincts in 2004, one each in Clarkston and West Clarkston. Bush received 54 percent of the vote in West Clarkston, 55 in Clarkston, and 57 percent in South Clarkston. However, he received larger victories of 64 percent in Clarkston Heights and 67 percent in Swallows Nest. Areas around both Asotin and Anatone delivered 2-to-1 victories, with the lone exception of one of the two incorporated Asotin precincts.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,659 km² (641 mi²). 1,646 km² (635 mi²) of it is land and 14 km² (5 mi²) of it (0.83%) is water. It is part of the Palouse, a wide and rolling prairie-like region of the middle Columbia basin.
[edit] Geographic features
[edit] Major highways
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Whitman County, Washington north
- Nez Perce County, Idaho east
- Wallowa County, Oregon south
- Garfield County, Washington northwest
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 20,551 people, 8,364 households, and 5,654 families residing in the county. The population density was 12/km² (32/mi²). There were 9,111 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (14/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.62% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 1.27% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 8,364 households out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.40% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,524, and the median income for a family was $40,592. Males had a median income of $35,810 versus $22,218 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,748. About 11.60% of families and 15.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.70% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Census-recognized communities
- Asotin (1,095)
- Clarkston (7,337)
- Clarkston Heights-Vineland (6,117)
- West Clarkston-Highland (4,707)
