2000 Census Information

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• Population
• Age and Gender  
• Race 
• Income 
• House and Households

A report based on the first release of information by the U.S. Census Bureau. See Making Sense of the 2000 Census for more information.

Population

• Washington County population growth:

1950 - 1960      51.8%
1961 - 1970      58.2%  
1971 - 1980      36.9%
1981 - 1990      28.5%
1991 - 2000      37.9%

• Throughout the 1990s, Washington County was one of the fastest growing counties in Minnesota, increasing at a rate of 37.9% between 1990 and 2000.  During that same decade, the State of Minnesota's population grew by 12%, the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area's population grew by 15%, and the United States' population grew by 13.2%.
• Washington County is the fifth largest County in the State of Minnesota, housing 4% of the State's population and 8% of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area's population.
• According to the Metropolitan Council, Washington County's population is expected to continue to grow but at a slightly slower pace.  By the year 2020, the County's population is projected to increase by 87,540, an average increase per decade of about 22%.
• Not all places within the County grew from 1990 - 2000.  Eight of the 32 communities lost population or had no growth.  Six of these places had populations of 2,500 or less.
• Between 1990 and 2000, the population of communities within Washington County ranged from a loss of 26% in Grey Cloud Island Township to a gain of 131% in the City of Woodbury.
• Growth (77% of the County's  total growth)  was concentrated in the County's three largest cities:  Oakdale, Cottage Grove and Woodbury.  The County's population is concentrating in these three cities:  42% of total population in 1990 and 52% in 2000. 

• Nearly 70% of all County communities have less than 2,500 people.

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Age and Gender

In Washington County, as in other counties, the population is getting older.  This is largely due to the baby boomers who were ages 26 to 44 in 1990 and were ages 36 to 54 in 2000.

The largest age group, as a percent of the total population, in Washington County in 2000 was 35 - 44 years.  The age group with the greatest rate of growth was 50 - 54 years.  The only age group to lose population was the 25 - 29 years, attributed to decreases in both sexes.  Males in the age group 65 to 69 years also decreased but the decrease was offset by a greater increase in females.  By age group, the 2000 Census reported the following changes from 1990:

• Between 1990 and 2000, Washington County's population 85 and over grew by 61%.  Longer life expectancies partly contributed to this increase.
• Washington County's median age, in 2000, was 35.1 for both sexes, 35.6 for females and 34.5 for males.  The median age in 1980 was 27.4.  The median age in Minnesota was 35.4 in 2000 and, according to the State Demographer, is expected to be 41.3 by 2025.
• Median age is correlated with size of place:
  
  • 75% (3 of 4) places with 10,000+ people have median ages lower than the County's median age
  • 50% (3 of 6) places with 5,000 - 9,999 people have median ages lower than the County's median age
  • 56% (5 of 9) places with 2,500 - 4,999 people have median ages higher than the County's median age
  • 69% (9 of 13) places with < 2,500 people have median ages higher than the County's median age 
    
• The County's youth is more likely to be in its largest population centers: 52% of the population and 54% of the youth are in the 3 largest places.
• The County's elderly population is less likely to be in its largest population centers: 52% of the population and 43% of the elderly are in the 3 largest places.

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Race

• Two or More Races:  Census 2000 enabled people to select more than one racial group for the first time.
• Some Other Race:  Includes all responses not described by the other Census 2000 racial classifications.
• People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race, but are counted separately and are not included in the race categories.  People reporting this origin has slowly increased as a percent of the total population, from 1.3% in 1990 to 1.9% in 2000.
• Washington County is becoming more racially diverse, doubling its non white population from 3.2% of total population in 1990 to 6.4% of total population in 2000.
• The non white population in 2000 was  smaller in Washington County (6.4%) than in Minnesota (8.8%).
• All other Twin Cities Metropolitan Counties, except for Carver County, were more racially diverse in 2000 than Washington County:

           7%  Anoka        12%    Suburban Hennepin       36%  St. Paul 
           6%  Carver       37%    Minneapolis                     8%  Scott
         10%  Dakota       10%    Suburban Ramsey           6%  Washington

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Income

• Per capita income is the average income computed for every person in a particular group.  The Census Bureau derives per capita income by dividing the total income of a particular group by the total population in that group (excluding patients or inmates in institutional quarters.)
• Per capita income in 1999 was estimated as $32,547 for Washington County and as $30,742 for Minnesota.
• In Washington County, per capita income increased 46% between 1990 and 1999 compared to a 53.6% increase in per capita income for Minnesota during the same time frame.
• Median household income is the amount which divides the income distribution into two equal groups, half having incomes above the median, half having incomes below the median.  Median household income is a basic economic indicator and a common measure of economic well being in a community.  A higher median household income reflects that ability of people to meet their basic needs.  The median income per household is collected by the Bureau of Census every ten years and estimated between censuses.  Median household income is not adjusted for inflation.
• Median household income, in Washington County increased from $46,993 in 1990 to an estimate of $61,994 in 1997, a 32% increase.  Minnesota median household income was $30,909 in 1990 and was estimated as $41,591 in 1997, a 35% increase.
• Washington County had the fourth highest median household income in Minnesota in 1997.
• Washington County continues to have a low poverty rate.  The U.S. Bureau of Census estimated that 4% of Washington County's population in 1997 was below the poverty level and that 5.2% of the County's children were below the poverty level in the same year. 

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Housing and Households

Definitions:

Household:
All the persons who occupy a housing unit.  People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.

Family Household (family):
A householder and one or more people living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption.  All people in a household are regarded as a member of his or her family.  Not all households contain families since a household may comprise a group of unrelated people or one person living alone.

Married Couple Family:
A family in which the householder and his or her spouse are enumerated as members of the same household.

Female Head of Household:
A family with a female householder and no spouse or householder present.

Non-Family Households:
A household comprised of a group of unrelated persons.

Householder Living Alone:
A non-family householder who lives alone.

Average Household Size:
A measure obtained by dividing the number of people in households by the total number of households (or householders).

Average Family Size:
A measure obtained by dividing the number of people in families by the total number of families (or family householders).

Household Composition in 2000:

• The total number of households increased between 1990 and 2000 by 45% in Washington County and by 15% in the State of Minnesota. 
• During this decade, the number of households in each category increased.  However, the percentage of households in each category did not substantially change.  Minnesota Planning projects that the number of married couples with children will decline significantly after 2005 and that the number of all other household types will grow between 2005 and 2020.  Most of the changes in household composition are due to baby boomers aging and becoming empty nesters.
• In Washington County, the most common type of household in 1990 (68.5%) and 2000 (64.8%) was a married couple family.  In Minnesota in 2000, married couple families were 53.7% of the population.
• Households with children accounted for about 43% percent of all households in 2000, a decrease of 8% from 1990.  The State of Minnesota experienced a 4% decrease during the same decade.
• Although married couple families increased by 37.5% between 1990 and 2000, as a percent of the number of family households, they decreased from 84% in 1990 to 82% in 2000.  The State of Minnesota experienced a 4% decrease during the same decade. 
• In Washington County, single parent families with children comprised 18% of all family households in 2000, a 10% increase from 1990.  The State of Minnesota experienced an increase of 17%, with single parent families with children comprising 24% of all family households during the same time frame.
• In Washington County: 
  
  • Total number of families increased by 39%.
  • Female headed families with kids increased by 38% between 1990 and 2000.
  • The numbers of families with a householder 65 and up increased by 22%. 
  • Householders living alone increased slightly from 16.1% in 1990 to 18.7% in 2000. 
  • Non family households increased by 720%.
  • One person households increased by 69%.
  • Owner occupied households accounted for 85.7% of total housing units.  In Minnesota, they accounted for 74.6%.

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