Whitman County, Washington

A county in Washington, ranked 24 of 39 by population.

CountyFIPS 53075

Within Washington
Whitman County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Colfax, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
48,512
+696 (+1.5%) since 2020
Land area
2,159
square miles. A further 0.9% of the total area is water
Population density
22.5
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Colfax
Seat of county government.
Established
1871
154 years ago
Largest city
Pullman city
Population 33,756.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Whitman County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Whitman County, Washington from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 786 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Whitman County ranks

Position among the 39 counties of Washington, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn WashingtonNationally
Population48,51224th of 391,031st of 3,144
Land area2,159 sq mi10th of 39259th of 3,144
Population density22.5 per sq mi26th of 392,143rd of 3,144
Median household income$55,40639th of 392,442nd of 3,143

Full data for Whitman County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population48,512Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202047,816Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?47,971Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area2,159 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area18.6 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area2,178 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?22.5 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$55,406American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$359,600American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age26.4American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households18,721American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units22,091American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+93
402 births, 309 deaths
Net migration
+550
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 10 areas bordering Whitman County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Adams CountyWashington49 mi21,488
Garfield CountyWashington46 mi2,416
Latah CountyIdaho40 mi41,842
Spokane CountyWashington37 mi558,344
Columbia CountyWashington21 mi4,141
Franklin CountyWashington15 mi102,612
Asotin CountyWashington12 mi22,545
Benewah CountyIdaho9.1 mi10,508
Nez Perce CountyIdaho8.0 mi42,905
Lincoln CountyWashington6.5 mi11,982

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 39 counties of Washington

Open the interactive Washington county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.