Jefferson County is a county in Washington, United States, on the Olympic Peninsula between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood Canal. It had a population of 32,977 at the 2020 census and covers 2,183 square miles (5,650 km2) centred near 47°50′N 123°35′W.
Port Townsend is the county seat, and its postal code is 98368. The county has one incorporated city, six census-designated places, and dozens of unincorporated communities; it observes Pacific time and carries FIPS code 53031.
Towns & Villages in Jefferson County
Jefferson County has only one incorporated city — Port Townsend, the county seat — alongside six census-designated places (CDPs) and a long list of smaller unincorporated communities scattered along Hood Canal, Discovery Bay, and the remote Pacific coast strip west of Olympic National Park. “CDP” below marks a place the Census Bureau tabulates separately though it has no city government; “Unincorp.” marks a place with no formal boundary or municipal government at all.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Townsend | City · seat | — | 98368 |
| Port Hadlock-Irondale | CDP | — | 98339 |
| Port Ludlow | CDP | — | 98365 |
| Quilcene | CDP | — | 98376 |
| Brinnon | CDP | — | 98320 |
| Marrowstone | CDP | — | 98358 |
| Queets | CDP (partial) | — | — |
| Chimacum | Unincorp. | — | 98325 |
| Coyle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Discovery Bay | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gardiner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Glen Cove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Irondale | Unincorp. | — | 98339 |
| Nordland | Unincorp. | — | 98358 |
| East Quilcene | Unincorp. | — | 98376 |
| Leland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maynard | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mats Mats | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Port Hadlock | Unincorp. | — | 98339 |
| Port Discovery | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fort Flagler | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Beaver Valley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bees Mill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bridgehaven | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Camp Discovery | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dabob | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Discovery Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Duckabush | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Eaglemount | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fairmont | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Four Corners | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Seal Rock | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Smith Place | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Swansonville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tukey | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Uncas | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Woodmans | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Adelma Beach | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lackawanna Beach | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Clearwater | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hoh | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kalaloch | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oil City | Unincorp. | — | — |
Port Hadlock, Irondale, and East Quilcene are older place names still in local use even though the Census Bureau now tabulates the built-up cores of the first two together as the single Port Hadlock-Irondale CDP. Hoh, Kalaloch, Queets, and Oil City sit far to the west on the isolated Pacific-coast strip of the county, reachable only via U.S. Route 101 through neighboring Grays Harbor County — not by any road that stays inside Jefferson County the whole way.
ZIP Codes
- 98368 — Port Townsend
- 98365 — Port Ludlow
- 98339 — Port Hadlock (also serves Irondale)
- 98376 — Quilcene (also serves East Quilcene)
- 98325 — Chimacum
- 98320 — Brinnon
- 98358 — Nordland (also serves Marrowstone)
Most of the smaller unincorporated places in the county — including the remote west-side coastal spots — use a ZIP code from a neighboring town rather than one of their own.
Geography
Jefferson County is split by the Olympic Mountains into three distinct sections. The eastern section, on Puget Sound and Hood Canal, holds nearly all the population, including Port Townsend, Chimacum, and Port Ludlow. The central section is almost entirely mountainous and uninhabited, taken up by Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest. The western section is a thin, sparsely settled strip of Pacific coastline containing the Hoh, Queets, and Kalaloch areas, plus the Hoh and Quinault portions of Olympic National Park’s rainforest valleys. No road runs entirely within the county from east to west; travelers use U.S. 101 through Grays Harbor and Clallam counties instead. Hood Canal, Discovery Bay, and Quilcene Bay are the main saltwater features on the county’s eastern side.
Jefferson County borders Clallam County to the northwest, Island County to the northeast across Admiralty Inlet (linked by Washington State Ferries between Port Townsend and Coupeville), Kitsap County to the southeast across Hood Canal (linked by the Hood Canal Bridge), Mason County to the south, and Grays Harbor County to the southwest.
Demographics
Jefferson County had 32,977 residents at the 2020 census. Port Townsend and the Port Hadlock-Irondale CDP are the two largest population centers in the county. Washington’s statewide median household income is $94,605; county-level income figures for Jefferson County are not verified here. Spread across 1,804 square miles of land, the county’s overall density is low, with population concentrated on the eastern shoreline.
Economy & Local Life
Tourism, retirement living, and the marine trades anchor the local economy. Port Townsend’s Victorian-era downtown, its wooden-boat building trade, and the Northwest Maritime Center draw visitors and support the annual Wooden Boat Festival. Fort Worden State Park, a former U.S. Army coastal-defense post on the edge of Port Townsend, is a major recreation and events venue. Timber and shellfish aquaculture, particularly oyster and geoduck farming around Discovery Bay and Quilcene Bay, remain active industries elsewhere in the county.
History
Jefferson County was created on December 22, 1852, by the government of Oregon Territory, originally covering a much larger stretch of the northern Olympic Peninsula before Clallam County was split off in 1854. It is named for Thomas Jefferson. Port Townsend, platted in the 1850s, was expected to become a major West Coast port and grew a substantial Victorian commercial district in the 1880s in anticipation of a railroad terminus that never arrived; the economic bust that followed left much of that architecture intact, which today underpins the city’s National Historic Landmark district and tourism economy.
Getting There
U.S. Route 101 runs through the western half of the county on its way around the Olympic Peninsula, and State Route 20 connects Port Townsend to the Hood Canal Bridge and on to Sequim and Port Angeles. Washington State Ferries links Port Townsend directly to Whidbey Island in Island County.
- Port Angeles — 32 miles northwest via SR 20 and US 101
- Bremerton — 40 miles southeast via the Hood Canal Bridge and SR 3
- Sequim — 24 miles northwest via SR 20 and US 101
- Olympia — 70 miles south via US 101
The nearest commercial airport is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, reached via the Hood Canal Bridge and the Bainbridge or Edmonds ferry, or via Sea-Tac’s regional connections.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Jefferson County, Washington?
It occupies the central Olympic Peninsula between the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Hood Canal, and the Pacific coast, west of Puget Sound.
What is the population of Jefferson County?
32,977 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Jefferson County?
2,183 square miles (5,650 km2) total, of which 1,804 square miles are land and 379 square miles are water.
What is the county seat of Jefferson County?
Port Townsend is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city.
How many towns are in Jefferson County?
One incorporated city, six census-designated places, and dozens of unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Jefferson County?
98368 (Port Townsend), 98365 (Port Ludlow), 98339 (Port Hadlock), 98376 (Quilcene), 98325 (Chimacum), 98320 (Brinnon), and 98358 (Nordland).
Why is there no road across Jefferson County from east to west?
The Olympic Mountains and Olympic National Park fill the county’s center, so travelers between the eastern shoreline and the western coastal communities use U.S. 101 through Clallam and Grays Harbor counties instead.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Washington.