Covington, Washington

Covington, Washington
—  City  —
Motto: "Unmatched Quality of Life"
Coordinates: 47°21′57″N 122°6′1″W / 47.36583°N 122.10028°W / 47.36583; -122.10028Coordinates: 47°21′57″N 122°6′1″W / 47.36583°N 122.10028°W / 47.36583; -122.10028
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	King
Founded	August 31, 1997
Government
– Mayor	Margaret Harto
Area
– City	5.8 sq mi (15.0 km2)
– Land	5.8 sq mi (14.9 km2)
– Water	0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	381 ft (116 m)
Population (2010)
– City	17,575
– Density	2,389.8/sq mi (922.3/km2)
– Metro	3,344,813
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
– Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	98042
Area code(s)	253
FIPS code	53-15290[1]
GNIS feature ID	1510895[2]
Website	http://www.ci.covington.wa.us/

Covington is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,575 at the time of the 2010 census. Prior to the 2010 census, Covington was counted as part of Covington-Sawyer-Wilderness CDP.

History

The area presently known as Covington was originally known as Jenkins Prairie. In the 1880s, the Northern Pacific Railroad commissioned a surveyor by the name of Covington to develop a railroad line between Auburn and Kanaskat. A stop along the route was named for him and eventually the area surrounding the depot would be called Covington.^[3]

Several logging companies set up in the area in the late 19th century, and services soon followed. A school district was established in 1937.^[3] Over the years the area grew as an unincorporated area of Kent.

Covington was officially incorporated as a city^[4] on August 31, 1997.

Government

The city is governed by a council-manager government consisting of a seven-person city council. Members are elected at-large, i.e., each is elected by all citizens of the city, not by districts.

Fire protection to most of the city is provided by the Kent Fire Department, while Maple Valley Fire and Life Safety provides fire protection to the remainder of the city.

Public schools in the city are part of the Kent School District.

Police

Covington contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office for police services. Deputies assigned to Covington wear Covington uniforms and drive patrol cars marked with the city logo. There are currently 10 patrol officers, one motorcycle officer, one detective, and one chief assigned full time to the city.^[5]

Economy

With its rapid population growth since the city's incorporation, much of the city's income depends on the retail industry. The city's retail core is located along the SR-516 corridor. In 2006, new Covington downtown businesses included a new Wal-Mart, Kohls, Carl's Jr (taking over the former Dairy Queen building), and an Applebees. 2008 brought the newly opened Red Robin, Cutter's Point, Costco, and Home Depot in the new shopping center next to Jenkins Creek Elementary School. Fast growth is expected to continue in the area due to the continued widening and modifications done on State Route 18, a major thoroughfare connecting south King County with Interstate 90. In 2009 there are many more big businesses expected to open, including a UPS Store and Bank of America branch within the Covington Esplande (Home Depot) lot. The company who created the Covington Esplande (Home Depot) center is also interested in creating some new retail space where the woods currently are across from Costco.

Geography and Climate

Covington is located at 47°21′57″N 122°6′1″W / 47.36583°N 122.10028°W / 47.36583; -122.10028 (47.365780, -122.100213).^[6] The city is surrounded by Kent to the west, Auburn to the southwest, and Maple Valley to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.8 square miles (15.0 km²), of which, 5.8 square miles (14.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.69%) is water.

Covington features a climate nearly identical to Seattle's, but with more extremes throughout the day and the year. Summer days average a couple degrees hotter than Seattle because it's location away from the Puget Sound. Also, winter nights will be a couple degrees cooler that Seattle's. Everything else is nearly identical(sunshine, precipitation, snowfall, etc).

Transportation

The city's principal arterial is State Route 516, known locally as Southeast 272nd Street, which runs through the city on its west-east route from Des Moines to Maple Valley. The only freeway that passes through the city is State Route 18, which passes through the west side of the city on a northeast-southwest route and, with its connection to Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie, is a major route used by vehicles traveling between south King County and Eastern Washington.

Covington is unique among cities in the area in that it features several roundabouts for traffic control.

Public transportation is provided by King County Metro.

Regional Fire Authority

A Regional fire authority involving Covington, Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Ravensdale, Kent, and part of unincorporated King, and Pierce County has been an idea brought up for several decades. In 2010 Kent Covington, and an area of unincorporated King County merged.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
2000	13,783		—
2010	17,575		27.5%

As of the 2000 census,^[1] there were 13,783 people, 4,398 households, and 3,689 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,389.8 people per square mile (922.3/km²). There were 4,473 housing units at an average density of 775.5 per square mile (299.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.88% White, 2.44% African American, 1.02% Native American, 3.12% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 1.80% from other races, and 3.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.48% of the population.

There were 4,398 households, 52.2% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.1% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.1% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,711, and the median income for a family was $65,173. Males had a median income of $48,134 versus $34,576 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,230. About 2.1% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ ^{a b} A History of Covington, Washington
4. ^ City-data.com. "Covington City Data". http://www.city-data.com/city/Covington-Washington.html. Retrieved 2008-10-21. 
5. ^ King County Sheriff - Covington
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 

External links

• City of Covington