The largest county in Washington

There are two right answers. By land area it is Okanogan County; by population it is King County. Which one you want depends on what you meant by largest.

Largest by land area

Okanogan County

5,266 sq mi

7.9% of Washington's land

Largest by population

King County

2,344,939 people

29.3% of Washington's population

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. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

By land area

The ten largest counties of Washington by land area. Land area excludes inland and coastal water.
RankNameLand areaPopulation
1Okanogan County5,266 sq mi45,230
2Yakima County4,295 sq mi259,185
3Chelan County2,921 sq mi81,941
4Grant County2,680 sq mi105,727
5Stevens County2,477 sq mi49,668
6Lewis County2,403 sq mi88,062
7Lincoln County2,311 sq mi11,982
8Kittitas County2,297 sq mi48,803
9Ferry County2,203 sq mi7,517
10Whitman County2,159 sq mi48,512

By population

The ten most populous counties of Washington, from the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates.
RankNamePopulationDensity
1King County2,344,9391,108 per sq mi
2Pierce County946,288567 per sq mi
3Snohomish County870,656417 per sq mi
4Spokane County558,344316 per sq mi
5Clark County532,119847 per sq mi
6Thurston County304,261421 per sq mi
7Kitsap County283,374717 per sq mi
8Yakima County259,18560.4 per sq mi
9Whatcom County236,392112 per sq mi
10Benton County221,722130 per sq mi

And the smallest

Smallest by land area

San Juan County

173.9 sq mi

Least populous

Garfield County

2,416 people

More on Washington

Rebuilt from source data 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.