Ridgefield remains in the top 10 fastest growing cities in Washington as Clark County experienced faster population growth than the state as a whole.
Late last month, the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) released its 2022 population estimates for cities and counties in the state. Among the data, Ridgefield’s population was estimated to be 13,640 people, an increase of 1,730 residents from 2021, or about 14.5%.
That rate puts Ridgefield at sixth place for fastest growing city by population percentage in Washington in 2022. Ridgefield had a greater number of residents move into the city in 2022 compared to the five cities growing proportionally faster than it, putting it ninth of all cities in numeric growth, according to OFM.
Ridgefield’s estimated 2022 growth was slightly less than the roughly 15.4% growth it experienced between 2020 and 2021. The city has been the fastest growing city in the state a number of times in recent years.
Other North Clark County cities saw more modest levels of growth. La Center had the second fastest growth among those cities, with about a 6.4% increase in population from 2021 to 2022, putting it at 3,825 residents. The growth was slightly more than the roughly 5.3% increase from 2020 to 2021. It was the 13th fastest growing city in the state in 2022 based on percentage of population.
In OFM’s latest data, Battle Ground’s population was estimated at 21,780, about a 2.9% increase from 2021 and slightly more than the roughly 2% increase between 2020 and 2021. The city tied with Tukwila as the 25th fastest growing city this year in the state by number of residents.
Woodland’s population is estimated to have increased to 6,575 residents, about half a percentage point more than in 2021. The town of Yacolt wasn’t estimated to have any growth from 2021 to 2022, keeping its population at 1,670.
Clark County as a whole was the sixth fastest growing county in the state by percentage, and fifth fastest growing by number of residents, OFM data estimated. The county’s population in 2022 was estimated at 520,900, up about 7,800 from 2021 or about a 1.5% increase. That’s more than the state average of 1.3%.
Vancouver ranked among the top 10 fastest growing cities by population, increasing by 3,200 in estimates to 197,600 residents. Unincorporated parts of the county increased by 1,450 residents to 237,650.
The state as a whole rose to roughly 7.9 million residents in 2022. In a release announcing the data, OFM stated Washington saw a rebound of population growth from 2021, with migration into the state remaining the largest factor for the increase in residents.
