The Asian population also soared, up 49% to almost 476,000. The non-Hispanic white population dropped from 79% to 73%, state demographer Yi Zhao says. It was more than 86% white 20 years ago. Almost three in 10 residents and almost four in 10 children are minorities.
Growth in King County — the state's most populous and home to Seattle, the largest city — slowed to 11.2%, compared with almost 30% in the 1990s. The county has 1.9 million people.
Seattle gained 8% to 608,660, compared with 9% the previous decade. The region was hit hard, first by the dot-com bust, then the nationwide recession.
