Census Data Show Kirkland's Population Up 8.3 Percent

Kirkland’s population grew 8.3 percent from 2000 to 2010, just released U.S. Census Bureau data show, from 45,054 to 48,787.

The bureau on Wednesday released data from last year’s census on Washington state, its counties and cities, showing the total population at 6,724,540, up 14.1 percent from 5,894,212 in 2000.

The data on race show Kirkland remains overwhelmingly white, at 38,692 of the total city population of 48,787 in 2010. Asians numbered 5,490, Hispanics 3,084, blacks 855, Native Americans 202, Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders 134 and those listing two or more races 2,178. Another 1,236 listed their race as other than those just mentioned.

The numbers are important to states, counties and cities because they help determine how more than $400 billion in federal funding is distributed, for things such as schools, roads, public works projects, job training, low-income education support and how U.S. House of Representative seats are apportioned.

Eric Shields, Kirkland planning director, said the new census data every 10 years establish a baseline that is estimated and updated yearly by cites and the state to determine how shared funding is apportioned.

“Whatever state-shared revenue the city would get is based on population,” he said. “So the data matter in the way state funding is allocated.”

The numbers also help determine if city and county growth projections are accurate, which help determine things like zoning density limits.

“I’m a city planner, and cities and counties plan to minimize sprawl using these growth targets,” Shields explained.

The City of Kirkland’s population will jump dramatically on June 1, when the annexation of Finn Hill, north Juanita and Kingsgate takes effect and adds more than 30,000 residents.

The six most-populous Washington cities remained unchanged. They are, respectively, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue and Everett.

At the county level, King County is still home to the most people: 1,931,249 in 2010, up from 1,737,034 in 2000. That change represents an 11.2 percent change in population.