Spanaway's main business thoroughfare is Pacific Avenue South, which is a north–south road that coincides with State Route 7 through the Spanaway area.
History
The Hudson's Bay Company, headquartered at Fort Nisqually, had control of this region until 1863. Company maps and journals show the company's subsidiary, the Pugets Sound Agricultural Company, raised cattle, grain, and sheep at "Spanueh Station" on the south and east shores of "Spanueh Lake." Spanueh is the Hudson Bay Company's spelling of the native Lushootseedspadue, which means "dug roots" referring to an area where camas and other edible roots can be found. Lushootseed underwent a loss of nasal consonants in the 1800s, so "Spanueh" simply transcribes an older pronunciation of what is now "Spadue".[6]
The first white settler to take a donation claim by the lake, Henry de la Bushalier, tried to rename the lake after himself. That faded away with his death one year later. In 1890 the area was renamed "Lake Park" as a planned community by the Lake Park Land, Railway and Improvement Company, which bought all the nearby land east of the lake and built a rail line to its "recreation mecca" on the shore of "Spanaway Lake." When Mount Rainier National Park was established in 1899, tourists would take the train to its terminus in Lake Park and from there make the two-day journey to Mount Rainier, making Spanaway the original "gateway" to Mount Rainier. The journey was made by stagecoach, with an overnight stop in Eatonville; the route was in operation as early as 1893.[7]
Although the U.S. Board on Geographic Names recognized the community of "Lake Park" in 1897, it had to very belatedly reverse its decision in 1970 to accept common usage: Spanaway (Spanueh).
In the 21st century, several attempts were made to incorporate Spanaway and neighboring communities into a city.[8]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.144 square miles (23.68km2), of which 8.745 square miles (22.65km2) is land and 0.399 square miles (1.03km2) (4.36%) is water.[1]
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 11,653 estimated households in Spanaway with an average of 2.94 persons per household. The CDP has a median household income of $94,028. Approximately 9.7% of the CDP's population lives at or below the poverty line. Spanaway has an estimated 60.3% employment rate, with 15.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 90.6% holding a high school diploma.[10] There were 12,060 housing units at an average density of 1,379.07 per square mile (532.5/km2).
The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (76.2%), Spanish (9.7%), Indo-European (6.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (7.1%), and Other (1.0%).
The median age in the CDP was 32.5 years.
Spanaway, Washington – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2020 census, there were 35,476 people, 11,644 households, and 8,711 families residing in the CDP.[16] The population density was 4,056.72 inhabitants per square mile (1,566.3/km2). There were 12,011 housing units at an average density of 1,373.47 per square mile (530.3/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 52.26% White, 10.96% African American, 1.49% Native American, 7.59% Asian, 5.22% Pacific Islander, 6.64% from some other races and 15.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 15.73% of the population.[17]
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 27,227 people, 9,472 households, and _ families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,103.15 inhabitants per square mile (1,198.1/km2). There were 10,079 housing units at an average density of 1,148.73 per square mile (443.5/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 63.73% White, 10.75% African American, 1.12% Native American, 6.58% Asian, 3.81% Pacific Islander, 4.48% from some other races and 9.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 10.65% of the population.
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 21,588 people, 7,659 households, and 5,820 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,591.97 inhabitants per square mile (1,000.8/km2). There were 7,963 housing units at an average density of 956.08 per square mile (369.1/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 71.13% White, 9.11% African American, 1.61% Native American, 6.34% Asian, 2.12% Pacific Islander, 2.15% from some other races and 7.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.49% of the population.
There were 7,659 households, out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 30.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $46,210, and the median income for a family was $50,076. Males had a median income of $35,525 versus $26,758 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,928. About 7.8% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
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