Okanogan County, Washington

Okanogan County is a county in Washington, United States, along the international border with British Columbia, Canada. It had a population of 42,104 at the 2020 census and covers 5,266.2 square miles (13,639 km2), centred near 48°33′N 119°45′W — the largest county by land area in the state.

Okanogan is the county seat, its postal code is 98840. The county has 11 incorporated cities and towns and dozens of unincorporated communities, and runs on Pacific time. Its FIPS code is 53047.

Towns & Villages in Okanogan County

Okanogan County’s settlements range from the Columbia River valley cities in the south to high alpine hamlets in the Methow Valley and the sagebrush country toward the Canadian line. Incorporated cities and towns are labeled below; everything else is an unincorporated community or Census Designated Place (CDP).

Coulee Dam sits partly in Okanogan County and partly in neighboring Grant and Douglas counties, split by the Columbia River. Ruby, once the county’s first seat before the honor moved to Okanogan, is now a ghost town in the Loomis area and is listed here for historical completeness rather than as a going concern.

ZIP Codes

• 98841 — Omak (also serves North Omak)
• 98840 — Okanogan
• 98812 — Brewster
• 98844 — Oroville (also serves Chesaw, Molson, Nighthawk)
• 98846 — Pateros
• 98855 — Tonasket (also serves Havillah, Wauconda area farms)
• 98856 — Twisp
• 98862 — Winthrop
• 98819 — Conconully
• 98849 — Riverside
• 99116 — Coulee Dam
• 99155 — Nespelem (also serves Nespelem Community)
• 98814 — Carlton
• 98859 — Wauconda
• 98829 — Malott
• 99124 — Elmer City
• 98827 — Loomis
• 98833 — Mazama
• 98834 — Methow

Most of the small unincorporated communities scattered through the county’s back valleys — places like Aeneas, Bodie, Cherokee and Old Toroda — have no ZIP of their own and are served by mail routes out of the nearest town above.

Geography

Okanogan County spans the transition from the North Cascades’ glaciated peaks in the west to the rolling, semi-arid Okanogan Highlands toward the Canadian line. The Okanogan River flows south through the middle of the county to meet the Columbia River near Brewster and Monse; the Methow River drains the western valleys through Winthrop, Twisp and Carlton before it too joins the Columbia. State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, closes each winter over Washington Pass, cutting the Methow Valley off from the west side of the state for months at a time.

Okanogan County borders Ferry County to the east, Lincoln County to the southeast, Grant County and Douglas County to the south, Chelan County to the southwest, and Skagit County and Whatcom County to the west, with the Canadian province of British Columbia along its entire northern edge.

Demographics

The county had a population of 42,104 at the 2020 census, spread across 5,266.2 square miles for a density of roughly 8 people per square mile — one of the more sparsely populated counties in western Washington. Omak is the largest city, followed by the seat, Okanogan; together their metro area holds about a fifth of the county’s residents. Household income here runs well below the Washington median of $94,605, reflecting an economy still centered on agriculture, timber and seasonal tourism rather than the Puget Sound’s tech and services base. The Colville Indian Reservation covers a large share of the county’s eastern and southern territory, and a substantial share of residents are enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Economy & Local Life

Tree-fruit orchards — apples above all, along with pears and cherries — line the Okanogan and Columbia river valleys around Omak, Okanogan, Brewster and Tonasket, and packing houses are among the county’s largest private employers. Cattle ranching and dryland wheat cover the highlands toward Oroville and Wauconda. In the Methow Valley, recreation and tourism dominate: Nordic skiing on one of the largest groomed cross-country trail networks in the country draws winter visitors to Winthrop and Mazama, and the Sun Mountain area is a summer hiking and cycling destination. The Colville Tribes’ government and enterprises are a major employer around Nespelem and Omak. The Omak Stampede, held every August and famous for its rodeo and the contested “Suicide Race” down a bluff into the Okanogan River, is the county’s best-known annual event.

History

Okanogan County was created on February 2, 1888, out of Stevens County, and originally covered a much larger area before Ferry and Chelan counties were split off. Its name comes from the Okanagan language term for the area around the Okanogan River. Ruby, a silver-mining boomtown, was the first county seat before the mines played out; the seat later moved to Okanogan, on the river across from Omak. The Grand Coulee Dam, built 1933–1942 on the Columbia River along the county’s southern edge, brought hydropower and reservoir tourism to the Coulee Dam and Elmer City area and remains one of the largest concrete structures in North America. Wildfire has repeatedly reshaped the county in recent decades, including the 2014 Carlton Complex fire, the largest single wildfire in Washington history at the time, which burned across the Methow Valley.

Getting There

U.S. Route 97 runs north–south through the county along the Okanogan River, connecting Omak, Okanogan, Tonasket and Oroville; State Route 20 crosses the Cascades from the west and continues east from Twisp and Winthrop toward Republic. State Route 153 follows the Methow River between Twisp and Pateros.

• Wenatchee — about 90 miles south via US-97
• Chelan — about 65 miles south via US-97
• Spokane — about 180 miles east via SR-20 and US-2
• Oroville / the Canadian border — about 35 miles north of Omak via US-97

The nearest commercial airport is Pangborn Memorial Airport in Wenatchee (Chelan County), about 90 miles south; Spokane International Airport, roughly 180 miles east, offers a wider range of flights.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Okanogan County?
It is in north-central Washington, United States, on the Canadian border, between the North Cascades and the Columbia River.

What is the population of Okanogan County?
It had a population of 42,104 at the 2020 census.

How big is Okanogan County?
It covers 5,266.2 square miles (13,639 km2), the largest of any county in Washington by land area.

What is the county seat of Okanogan County?
Okanogan is the county seat; its postal code is 98840. Omak, just across the river, is the county’s largest city.

How many towns are in Okanogan County?
The county has 11 incorporated cities and towns, plus numerous unincorporated communities and CDPs, listed in the table above.

What ZIP codes are in Okanogan County?
Nineteen ZIP codes cover the county, from 98812 (Brewster) to 99155 (Nespelem); see the ZIP Codes section above.

What is the Omak Stampede?
It is the county’s signature annual event, a rodeo held every August in Omak, known for its “Suicide Race” down a steep bluff into the Okanogan River.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Washington.