Population and Housing
Main Page
This page
provides links to historic data, official projections, and policy
for population and housing in San Juan County. Follow these links
to go directly to the Census 2000 page
and the Affordable Housing
page.
Note: Some documents that
are available from this page are formatted as .pdf files  , and require the
use of the free Adobe® Reader®. If you do not already
have this installed, you may get it by clicking
this hyperlink.
Population
San Juan
County's population in the year 2000 U.S. Census was 14,047.
Our growth rate from our 1990 population of 10,029 averaged 3.44%
per year, second only to Clark County in Washington State. For
more Census data including statistics and maps by island, go
to the Census 2000 page. Open this
link for a staff report summarizing historic growth rates in the County.
Seasonality
Census data
show that 28.5% of the County's housing units were vacant at
the time of the Census because they were occupied only seasonally,
recreationally or occasionally. The statewide average for this
statistic is 2.5%. Our population grows substantially in the
summer with seasonal residents and summer visitors. The percentage
of housing that is occupied seasonally is lowest in Friday Harbor,
Eastsound and agricultural areas, much higher in rural shoreline
areas, and highest on the islands not served by ferries.
Projections
San Juan
County's population growth is expected to average approximately
2.2% per year over the next 20 years, for a year 2020 population
estimate of 21,753. Open this link for the staff
report providing background for this
projected growth rate. This estimate is near the intermediate
projection for San Juan County made by the Washington State Office
of Financial Management (OFM). OFM bases its estimates on demographic
analysis (births, deaths and migration), past rates of growth,
and statewide and subregional economic projections. A lower rate
of growth in the future is expected in part because of a declining
supply of vacant parcels available for development in rural areas
where most of the County's population lives.
As part of
the Community Development and Planning Department's work program,
we plan to update population and housing projections by island
and for the population centers of Friday Harbor, Eastsound and
Lopez Village based on Census 2000 housing data (with the release
of Summary Tape File 3 detailed counts).
Housing
Affordable
Housing
With home
prices among the highest in the state and wages among the lowest,
San Juan County has little housing affordable to wage earners
and others of low and moderate income. Seasonal residents and
retirees from throughout the U.S. bid-up the cost of the most
desirable properties, leaving many local workers doing the "island
shuffle," moving from one off-season guest house or for-sale
rental to another, then to tents, hauled-out boats or trailers
for the summer. For more information about what "affordable
housing" really means and what the County is doing to make
it available, jump to the Affordable
Housing page.
Population and Housing
Links
U.S.
Census Bureau
 [Note:
this link and those below will take you to another Web site on
the Internet.] Preliminary census 2000 data is available under
the heading redistricting. Later in the year, a variety of census
reports will be published, including information on the affordability
of housing by census tract, county and place.
U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), affordable
housing programs. Fiscal
Year 2003 income limits for affordable housing programs may
also be found within the HUD site.
Washington State University
Center for Real Estate Research.
This site, under Market Data, provides a variety of measures
of housing market performance and housing affordability quarterly
by county for the state of Washington.
Washington
State Office of Community Development.
The Office of Community Development administers the state's housing
funds and housing programs.
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