Port Angeles was the only North Olympic Peninsula city to lose population from 2013 to 2014, dropping 30 people, or 0.16 percent, according to population estimates released this week by the state Office of Financial Management.
The Clallam County seat’s population went from 19,120 last year to 19,090 in 2014, according to state estimates.
Port Townsend led growth among North Olympic Peninsula cities, growing 1.41 percent, or 130 people, from 2013 to 2014, bringing the city’s population from 9,225 to 9,355.
Sequim and Forks followed Port Townsend, with their respective populations modestly growing 0.80 percent and 0.56 percent over the last year.
Sequim’s population grew from 6,855 last year to 6,910 this year, an increase of 55, while Forks grew from 3,545 to 3,565, or 20 people, in the same time period.
Jefferson County grew by 425 people, or 1.4 percent, from 2013 to 2014, the seventh-highest percentage increase in the state.
The increase brought the county’s population from 30,275 people to 30,700 in a year’s time, according to the state estimates.
The six counties that grew more than Jefferson County from 2013 to 2014 are, in descending order: Franklin, King, Benton, Clark, Thurston and Snohomish.
Clallam County ranked 33 across the state in growth, according to state figures, with a population growth of 0.21 percent, or 150 people, from 2013 to this year.
This brought the county’s total population from 72,350 in 2013 to 72,500 in 2014.
For the fourth year in a row, more people died in Clallam and Jefferson counties than were born, according to the state data.
Between 2013 and 2014 in Clallam County, 914 people died while 650 people were born.
In the same time period in Jefferson County, 318 people died while 188 people were born.
The state’s total population grew by almost 100,000 last year to nearly 7 million.
The 85,800 increase in 2013 was the largest one-year gain since 2008, according to the Office of Financial Management, bringing the total to 6,968,200.
People migrating into the state accounted for 57 percent of the increase, with births (minus deaths) accounting for the other 43 percent, according to the state office.
The top 10 cities for population growth were Seattle, Bothell, Vancouver, Bellevue, Pasco, Redmond, Renton, Auburn, Kennewick and Snohomish.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Information form the Associated Press was included in this report.
