This is one of a series of looks at Snohomish and Island county communities based on data from the U.S. Census of 2010.
Gold Bar started as a prospecting camp around 1889, named by a miner who found traces of gold on a Skykomish River gravel bar. It was a construction camp for the Great Northern Railway, then a timber-mill and railroad town, officially incorporating in 1910. But until the late 20th century, the population was in the mere hundreds.
Today it’s a recreational destination and bedroom community of 2,075. This year Gold Bar officials considered asking voters to disincorporate because, they said, the cost of defending against lawsuits related to serial public records requests was draining the small city’s treasury. Instead, voters in November will consider taxing themselves to cover those costs.
Gold Bar population vs. Snohomish County and Washington
| Gold Bar | County | Washington | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population, 2010 | 2,075 | 713,335 | 6,724,540 |
| Population change, 2000 to 2010 | 3.0% | 17.7% | 14.1% |
| Population, 2000 | 2,014 | 606,024 | 5,894,121 |
| Persons under 5 years | 6.2% | 6.6% | 6.5% |
| Persons under 18 years | 26.4% | 24.4% | 23.5% |
| Persons 65 years and over | 7.0% | 10.3% | 12.3% |
| Female persons | 47.2% | 50.0% | 50.2% |
| White persons | 85.1% | 78.4% | 77.3% |
| Black persons | 0.6% | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native persons | 0.7% | 1.4% | 1.5% |
| Asian persons | 1.0% | 8.9% | 7.2% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.6% |
| Persons reporting two or more races | 4.9% | 4.6% | 4.7% |
| Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin | 10.1% | 9.0% | 11.2% |
| White persons not Hispanic | 83.2% | 74.3% | 72.5% |
More about the city of Gold Bar
At Wikipedia.org: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Bar,_Washington
City of Gold Bar official website: www.cityofgoldbar.us
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