Future Cities
Published by Steve Campion. Category: Counties & TownsSome of their names appear on a map now and then, but more often they’re the spaces on a map between cities. You could walk every street and not find a city hall … yet.
We’re speaking of CDPs — census-designated places. Many of them are vibrant unincorporated communities with residents and businesses associating under a commonly accepted name. In other cases, they are statistical conveniences invented by the US Census to clump clusters of people who coincidentally live in close proximity. Either way, there is no organized formality to a CDP. They’re people living near each other.
Below we list the 20 largest CDPs in Washington State today. There’s no guarantee city-hood movements will take hold in any of them, but if you’re looking for potential towns, this list might give you some good bets. A similar list a few decades ago would have included such current cities as Covington, Federal Way, Lakewood, Sammamish, and University Place. And like those former CDPs, those in the current crop have substantial population bases. The South Hill community near Puyallup, for instance, would instantly become the 20th largest city in the state if incorporated tomorrow. It won’t incorporate tomorrow, but maybe in ten years. Or twenty. We’ll just have to wait and see.
MOST POPULOUS UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITIES IN WASHINGTON
Rank | Census Designated Place |
County | Population (2010) |
1. | South Hill | Pierce | 52,431 |
2. | Parkland | Pierce | 35,803 |
3. | East Hill-Meridian | King | 29,878 |
4. | Spanaway | Pierce | 27,227 |
5. | Graham | Pierce | 23,491 |
6. | Inglewood-Finn Hill | King | 22,707 |
7. | Cottage Lake | King | 22,494 |
8. | Seattle Hill-Silver Firs | King | 20,891 |
9. | Eastmont | Snohomish | 20,101 |
10. | Salmon Creek | Clark | 19,686 |
11. | Orchards | Clark | 19,556 |
12. | Hazel Dell | Clark | 19,435 |
13. | Silverdale | Kitsap | 19,204 |
14. | Cascade-Fairwood | King | 19,102 |
15. | Union Hill-Novelty Hill | King | 18,805 |
16. | Frederickson | Pierce | 18,719 |
17. | Five Corners | Clark | 18,159 |
18. | Bothell West | Snohomish | 16.607 |
19. | North Lynnwood | Snohomish | 16,574 |
20. | Mill Creek East | Snohomish | 15,709 |
Source: US Census
PHOTO © Steve Campion