Population density and land area criteria used for rural area assistance and other programs
In 1999, RCW 82.14.370 was revised to include a rural county definition based on population density. In this legislation, "rural county" was defined as"… a county with a population density less than 100 persons per square mile." Subsequent legislation expanded the definition to include"... a county smaller than two hundred twenty-five square miles." Several statutes now use this definition for tax and other assistance programs.
In 2024, Engrossed Substitute House bill 1835 defined frontier one and frontier two designations within the rural county definition for RCW’s 43.160.020, 43.330.010, 82.02.010. A ‘frontier one’ is a county with a population density of 21 persons per square or fewer, a ‘frontier two’ county is a county with a population density of more than 21 persons per square mile but fewer than 50 people per square mile.
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Counties with a population density less than 100 persons per square mile or counties smaller than 225 square miles as of April 1, 2025, by Frontier designation |
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|---|---|---|
| Rural: Frontier one | Rural: Frontier two | Rural |
| Adams (11.19) | Asotin (35.77) | Franklin (83.16) |
| Columbia (4.55) | Chelan (28.38) | Island* (425.47) |
| Ferry (3.34) | Clallam (45.23) | Mason (70.66) |
| Garfield (3.34) | Douglas (24.98) | San Juan * (106.66) |
| Jefferson (18.75) | Grant (39.65) | Skagit (77.79) |
| Klickitat (12.61) | Grays Harbor (40.89) | Walla Walla (50.23) |
| Lincoln (4.87) | Kittitas (21.31) | Yakima (61.63) |
| Okanogan (8.24) | Lewis (35.6) | |
| Pend Oreille (9.96) | Pacific (25.65) | |
| Skamania (7.33) | Whitman (22.9) | |
| Stevens (19.3) | ||
| Wahkiakum (17.31) | ||
*included due to a landarea under 225 square miles.
