OLYMPIA [by Annika Hauer] — Cowlitz County may fall under rural designation again under a proposed bill that changes the population thresholds.
Since 1999, Washington has designated a county as “rural” if it has a population density of 100 people or less per square mile.
In 2025, Cowlitz County surpassed that threshold, removing its rural designation.
Just under 30 of Washington’s 39 counties are designated ”rural,’ allowing those counties to be eligible for certain economic grants and redevelopment grants.
In these counties, the distance between homes and grocery stores, hospitals, and other houses causes a need for additional infrastructure funding, Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, the main sponsor of the bill, said.
Counties smaller than 225 square miles — San Juan County and Island County — are rural as well, despite having more than 100 people per square mile.
Wilson’s bill would make counties with no city greater than 45,000 persons rural, even if the person per square mile exceeds 100. A prior version of this bill would have made 75,000 the city cap.
Cowlitz County is the only county whose status would change, with Longview’s population at roughly 38,000, even though the county has a population density that exceeds 100 residents per square mile.
“We need to preserve and protect that status so that [counties are] eligible for these economic funds.” Wilson said.
Walla Walla County is one of the closest counties that could need the changed designation in the coming decades, with a density of about 47 people per square mile and Walla Walla, a city of roughly 33,000.
Sen. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, originally helped sponsor the bill. He represents the 24th district, encompassing Jefferson, Clallam, and most of Grays Harbor County in the Olympic peninsula.
When it came to a vote on the Senate floor, however, he voted ‘nay.’ He was the only senator to do so, and his media spokesperson, Aaron Wasser, said it was because the bill did not benefit counties Chapman represents to the extent he originally believed it would.
Having passed the Senate floor 48 to 1, the bill now has hearings in House committees before it can receive a House floor vote and perhaps move onto the governor.
Rep. Cindy Ryu, D-Shoreline, who said she grew up in a rural county, said in a public hearing on the bill Feb. 24 that future work should look into rural designations across the state.
“This bill is taking care of one county, but definitely we need to look at overall how we are having counties or rural areas be eligible for public facilities funding,” she said.
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Author: Washington State Journal
