Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it is the 13th-most populous state, with inhabitants, and ranked 18th by land area, spanning 66,456 sqmi of land. Washington is divided into 39 counties and contains 281 municipalities that are classified into cities and towns. Approximately 65.4% of the state's population lives in incorporated municipalities. The largest municipality by population in Washington is Seattle with 737,015 residents, and the smallest municipality by population is Krupp with 49 residents. The state has ten cities with populations greater than 100,000 residents and sixteen with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 residents; the majority of cities have fewer than 5,000 residents. Seattle is also the largest municipality by land area, at 83.84 mi2, while Beaux Arts Village is the smallest at 0.08 mi2; both are located in King County. The oldest municipality is Steilacoom, which was incorporated in 1854; the most recent municipality to incorporate was Spokane Valley in 2003. The state has five classifications for its 281 municipalities: 197 are code cities, 10 are first-class cities, 5 are second-class cities, 69 are towns, and 1 is an unclassified city. All municipalities have an elected city or town council and an executive—either a mayor or manager—to oversee administration of the government. The municipal government generally provides policing, fire protection, emergency services, a court system, road maintenance, planning and permitting, parks and recreation, and some utilities.

Classification of municipalities

Legally, a city in Washington can be described primarily by its class. There are five classes of municipalities in Washington: first-class city, second-class city, town, unclassified city, and code city. A city in Washington can be described by its form of government. Cities and towns are specifically authorized three forms of government: commission, mayor–council, council–manager. The last city to use the three-member commission form of government was Shelton; it adopted a council–manager structure in 2017. Most cities in Washington have the mayor–council form of government, which calls for an elected mayor and an elected city council. Cities with a council–manager system have an elected council and appointed city manager. In addition, if the population of code cities is over 10,000, they may incorporate as charter code cities. They may then "set out any plan of government deemed 'suitable for the good government of the city'" (RCW 35A.08.050), which need not be a commission, mayor–council, or council–manager form. No charter code city has opted for a different type of government.

List of municipalities