List of municipalities in Washington
Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it is the 13th-most populous state, with 7,705,281 inhabitants, and ranked 18th by land area, spanning 66,456 square miles (172,120 km2) of land. Washington is divided into 39 counties and contains 281 municipalities that are classified into cities and towns. Approximately 65.4% of the state's population lives in incorporated municipalities.
The most populous municipality in Washington is Seattle with 737,015 residents, and the least populous municipality is Krupp with 49 residents. The state has ten cities with populations greater than 100,000 residents and sixteen with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 residents; the majority of cities have fewer than 5,000 residents. Seattle is also the largest municipality by land area, at 83.83 sq mi (217.1 km2), while Beaux Arts Village is the smallest at 0.08 sq mi (0.21 km2); both are located in King County. The oldest municipality is Steilacoom, which was incorporated in 1854; the most recent municipality to incorporate was Spokane Valley in 2003. Five municipalities have also been disincorporated with their governments dissolved; the most recent was Westlake in 1966.
The state has five categories for its 281 municipalities that vary based on population at the time of incorporation or reorganization. As of 2022, 197 are code cities, 10 are first-class cities, 5 are second-class cities, and 69 are towns; one city remains unclassified. All municipalities have an elected city or town council and an executive—either a mayor or manager—to oversee administration of the government. The municipal government generally provides some emergency services, a court system, road maintenance, planning and permitting, parks and recreation, and some utilities.