Washington, Utah

Washington is a city in south central Washington County, Utah, United States and is a part of the St. George Metropolitan Area. The area is also known as Utah's Dixie because the Mormon pioneers who settled the St. George area came to the area to raise cotton, which was milled at the cotton mill in Washington. The population was 27,993 as of 2020. Washington is a fast-growing suburb of St. George, and is the second largest city in Washington County.

The city was named after U.S. President George Washington. The city administration has encouraged the use of the name "Washington City" in recent years.

History

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sent a group of 28 families to the area to attempt to grow cotton. The "cotton mission" was led by former Mississippi cotton plantation owner Robert Dockery Covington, along with some of the early settlers from the southeastern United States. The area was nicknamed Utah's Dixie; Dixie was a nickname for the southeastern states.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.5 square miles (85.2 km2), of which 32.5 square miles (85.1 km2) is land and 0.07 square mile (0.1 km2) (0.10%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Washington had a population of 27,993. The median age was 36.5 years. 28.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.9 males age 18 and over.

There were 9,437 households in Washington, of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 65.8% were married-couple households, 11.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 18.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 24,044 || 85.9%

| Black or African American || 128 || 0.5%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 261 || 0.9%

| Asian || 298 || 1.1%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 259 || 0.9%

| Some other race || 1,077 || 3.8%

| Two or more races || 1,926 || 6.9%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 2,700 || 9.6%

2000 census

As of the 2000 census Mayor Kress Staheli was elected in 2021 and has been mayor since January 2022.

Education

High schools

Pine View High School, a majority of Washington residents attend schools within the Pine View cone site; residents in old town Washington, the Buena Vista and Green Springs neighborhoods, and the northern section of Washington Fields have attended Pine View-which is just across the city boundary in neighboring St. George-since it opened in 1983
Crimson Cliffs High School, its coverage zone extends into St. George
St George Academy in Washington City College Prep Charter High School which serves St George and surrounding communities

Notable people

Tyler James Robinson, alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk
Von Lester Taylor, one of the two perpetrators in the 1990 Tiede cabin murders