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County in Washington, United States

King County is located in the U. S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the state's most populous city. Originally named after US representative, senator, and then vice president elect William R. King in 1852, the county government amended its designation in 1986 to honor Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent activist and leader during the civil rights movement. The change was approved by the state government in 2005. It is one of three Washington counties that are included in the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan statistical area along with Snohomish County to the north and Pierce County to the south. About two thirds of King County's population lives in Seattle's suburbs, which largely developed in the late 20th century and early 21st century as bedroom communities before becoming job centers for the technology industry.

When Europeans arrived in the region that would become King County, it was inhabited by several Coast Salish groups. Villages around the site that would become Seattle were primarily populated by the Duwamish people. The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe occupied the area that would become eastern King County. The Green River and White River were home for the Muckleshoot tribal groups. In the first winter after the Denny Party landed at Alki Point, the settlement at the point consisted of a few dozen settlers and over a thousand Native Americans. The local tribes provided the settlers with construction labor, domestic service, and help with subsistence activities. On December 22, 1852, the Oregon Territory legislature formed King County out of territory from within Thurston County. The county was named after Alabamian William R. King, who had just been elected Vice President of the United States under President Franklin Pierce. Seattle was made the county seat on January 11, 1853. The area became part of the Washington Territory when it was created later that year. King County originally extended to the Olympic Peninsula. According to historian Bill Speidel, when peninsular prohibitionists threatened to shut down Seattle's saloons, Doc Maynard engineered a peninsular independence movement; King County lost what is now Kitsap County but preserved its entertainment industry. Coal was discovered in 1853 by M. Bigelow along the Black River, and in subsequent decades several companies formed to mine coal around Lake Washington and deliver it to Seattle. The Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad started servicing the Renton coal fields in 1877, and the Newcastle fields in 1878. By 1880, King County produced 22% of the coal mined on the West Coast, most of that coal being found within the Renton Formation's Muldoon coal seam.

On February 24, 1986, the King County Council approved a motion to rename the county to honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (no relation to William R. King), preserving the name "King County" while changing its namesake. The motion stated, among other reasons for the change, that "William Rufus DeVane King was a slaveowner" who "earned income and maintained his lifestyle by oppressing and exploiting other human beings," while Martin Luther King's "contributions are well documented and celebrated by millions throughout this nation and the world, and embody the attributes for which the citizens of King County can be proud, and claim as their own." Because only the state can charter counties, the change was not made official until April 19, 2005, when Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law Senate Bill 5332, which provided that "King county is renamed in honor of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr." effective July 24, 2005. The County Council voted on February 27, 2006, to adopt the proposal sponsored by Councilmember Larry Gossett to change the county's logo from an imperial crown to an image of Martin Luther King Jr. On March 12, 2007, the new logo was unveiled. The new logo design was developed by the Gable Design Group and the specific image was selected by a committee consisting of King County Executive Ron Sims, Council Chair Larry Gossett, Prosecutor Norm Maleng, Sheriff Sue Rahr, District Court Judge Corrina Harn, and Superior Court Judge Michael Trickey. The same logo is used in the flag. Martin Luther King Jr. had visited King County once, for three days in November 1961.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2307 square miles (5,975 km2), of which 2116 square miles (5,480 km2) is land and 191 square miles (495 km2) (8.3%) is water. King County has nearly twice the land area of the state of Rhode Island. The highest point in the county is Mount Daniel at 7959 feet (2426 m) above sea level. King County borders Snohomish County to the north, Kitsap County to the west, Kittitas County to the east, and Pierce County to the south. It also shares a small border with Chelan County to the northeast. King County includes Vashon Island and Maury Island in Puget Sound. The county has 760 lakes and of streams and rivers.

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,931,249 people, 789,232 households, and 461,510 families residing in the county. The population density was There were 851,261 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the county was 68.7% White (64.8% Non Hispanic White), 6.2% African American, 14.6% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 0.8% Native American, 3.9% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.9% of the population. Of the 789,232 households, 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.5% were non families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age was 37.1 years.

King County is home two federally recognized tribes, the Muckleshoot tribe and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe tribe, and other unrecognized groups. The Muckleshoot Indian Reservation is located southeast of Auburn and is home to a resident population of 3,606 as of the 2000 census. The Snoqualmie tribe's casino property was federally recognized as their reservation in 2006, however few tribe members live near the reservation.

In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in King County was the Archdiocese of Seattle, with 278,340 Catholics worshipping at 71 parishes, followed by 95,218 non denominational adherents with 159 congregations, 56,985 LDS Mormons with 110 congregations, 25,937 AoG Pentecostals with 63 congregations, 25,789 ELCA Lutherans with 68 congregations, 24,909 PC USA Presbyterians with 54 congregations, 18,185 Mahayana Buddhists with 39 congregations, 18,161 UMC Methodists with 50 congregations, 14,971 TEC Episcopalians with 35 congregations, and 12,531 ABCUSA Baptists with 42 congregations. Altogether, 37.6% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, King County had 944 religious organizations, the 8th most out of all US counties.

Most of King County is served by the King County Library System, with the exception of Seattle, Hunts Point, and Yarrow Point. The city of Seattle is served by the Seattle Public Library system, which has 27 branches compared to King County's 49 locations.