1 NE 7th S t, PO Box 5000, Coupeville, WA 98239-5000 . 360-679-7303 . FAX 360-240-5565

Office Hours  9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday except Holidays

           

DAVID M. MATTENS, ASSESSOR (CLICK Picture or Logo to e-mail)

ABOUT ISLAND COUNTY:

Island County, Washington has a land area of approximately 210 square miles, about 309 square miles of water, 8 zip codes, and is one of the most densely populated of the 39 counties in the state.   Because the county is composed of islands, the actual land measurements can change as a result of tidal acretion or erosion.

Although it is the next to the smallest county in the state, Island County is ranked 14th in overall population of the 39 counties, accounting for its high population density.

Island County officially consists of nine islands located in the Puget Sound.   Three of the islands, Whidbey, Camano, and Ben Ure, are inhabited.  All three of its incorporated cities, Oak Harbor, Coupeville, and Langley, are located on Whidbey Island.

Roughly 60 % of the county is water and includes all or portions of Deception Pass, the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, Admiralty Bay, Mutiny Bay, Useless Bay, Cultus Bay, Dugualla Bay, Skagit Bay, Posession Sound, Holmes Harbor, Crescent Harbor, Penn Cove, Elger Bay, Livingston Bay, Skagit Bay, Dugualla Bay, Triangle Cove, Saratoga Passage, and Port Susan.

INHABITED ISLANDS:

WHIDBEY ISLAND is the largest island in Island County.  It is approximately 45 miles long and covers approximately 170 square miles or 108,800 acres. 

Whidbey Island has approximately 271.09 miles of shoreline:

24.91 miles owned by the US government,

73.35 miles owned by the state,

8.77 miles owned by the county,

5.93 miles owned by cities or towns, and 

158.13 miles that are privately owned.

Whidbey Island is the largest and longest island in Washington and on the Pacific coast of the lower 48 states. Three islands in the lower 48 states;

Long Island, NY;

Padre Island, TX; and

Isle Royale, MI

are larger.  Both Long Island, NY and Padre Island, TX are longer, while Isle Royale is roughly the same length.

Whidbey Island was named for Joseph Whidbey, a sailing master with the (English) Royal Navy during the Vancouver Expedition.

CAMANO ISLAND is the second largest island in Island County, covering approximately 39.8 square miles or 25,472 acres.  It is part of the Stanwood Camano School District and has two schools on the Island. 

Camano Island has approximately 79.02 miles of shoreline.

Camano Island was named for Jacinto Caamaño Moraleja, a Spanish explorer.  Camano Island was at one time named MacDonough Island after Thomas MacDonough of the Wilke's Expedition.  The body of water between Whidbey Island and Camano Island was named Saratoga Passage after MacDonough's flagship, the Saratoga.

BEN URE ISLAND is the third inhabited island in the county and is divided into seventeen lots.  It is accessible only by boat and only two of the residences are occupied full time.  The Washington State Parks and Recreation Department has been acquiring the lots, and most of the Island is now part of Deception Pass State Park, including the two permanent residences and a cabin that can be rented by the public.

Ben Ure Island was named for a notorious smuggler of Chinese immigrants during the 1880's.

The remaining six islands in Island County are unin-habited. Officially, they include: Baby, Deception, Kalamut, Smith, Minor, and Strawberry Islands.

Smith Island has a navigational light and a weather station operated by NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration).  Another Smith Island in Washington lies at the mouth of the Snohomish River and is part of the river's delta.

Minor Island is next to and sometimes attached to Smith Island during low tide.  It too has a navigational light.

Stawberry Island is approximately 3.8 acres in area, has about 1750 feet of waterfront, lies just north of Ben Ure Island in Deception Pass.  It is part of Deception Pass State Park, and is one of three Strawberry Islands in the state of Washington. 

Both Skagit and Franklin counties have a Strawberry Island, too.

• Skagit County's Strawberry Island is located just west of Cypress Island and is one of the San Juan islands. 
• Franklin County's Strawberry Island is part of the McNary National Wildlife Refuge and lies in the Snake River near Pasco and the Columbia River.

Strawberry Island was originally named Hautboy Isand after a variety of wild strawberries discovered on the island by Charles Wilkes, during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838-1842.  Eventually, it came to be known merely as Strawberry Island.

Deception Island is located northwest of Whidbey Island and is also part of the Deception Pass State Park.  It is the picture shown at the beginning of this section.

Baby Island is a small, sandy island east of Greenbank and slightly north of Rocky Point.  Holmes Harbor abuts the west shore and Saratoga Passage tthe east.  At some low tides, Baby Island appears to be connected to Whidbey Island.

Kalamut Island, located near Oak Harbor, does not appear on any aerial or satellite photos of the area, and is listed as "historical" (no longer exists) by the United States Geological Survey in their Geographic Names Information System (Feature ID 1514645).  Although it's name means "stone" or "rocky ground." it appears to have been a small sandbar that has washed away since its discovery.

During some low tides, both Baby Island and Minor Island connect to Whidbey and Smith Islands, respectively.  It is then possible to walk to them.  During some high tides, they may be completely covered by water.

POPULATION GROWTH:

Island County is the 5th most densely populated county in Washington state.  It ranks 14th of the thirty-nine counties in overall population, but is next to the smallest in land mass.

Although the overall growth rate in Island County has been about average for the state, the population of people 65 and older increased by 41% since the year 2000.  That was the 6th highest increase among the thirty-nine counties in the state.

The increase in the number of residential housing units in Island County since the year 2000 exceeded the state average by about 36%.  Kittitas, Whatcom, Mason and Island Counties experienced around 19% average growth in residential housing units since the year 2000.  Only Franklin, Clark, and Thurston Counties had higher percentage growth in housing units during that time period.

Increase in Housing Units in Island County Compared to the Average for the State of Washington
	2000	2008	Percentage Increase
Total	32,378	38,446	19%
Unincorporated	23,250	27,646	19%
Incorporated	9,128	10,800	18%
Coupeville	814	924	14%
Langley	542	625	15%
Oak Harbor	7,772	9,251	19%
WASINGTON STATE AVERAGE	2,451,081	2,805,340	14%

Other Island County Statistics

Source of Population, Growth, and Housing Statistics:

Population Trends 2008

State of Washington

Office of Financial Management

Forecasting Division

Olympia, WA 98504-3113

September 1, 2008

www.ofm.wa.gov