\n| Waldron Island<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Two names on the old version of this list were not real settlements. “Camp Orkila”
\nis a YMCA summer camp on Orcas Island, not a residential community, and “Islandale”
\ndoes not appear in USGS or Census gazetteer records for the county. Both are dropped here.
\n“Orcas” on the old list is Orcas Village, the island’s ferry-landing hamlet,
\nlisted above under its full name. Shaw Island refers both to the island and its lone general
\nstore and ferry-dock cluster near Blind Bay; there is no separate village name.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n\n- 98250 — Friday Harbor (also covers Roche Harbor, on San Juan Island’s northwest
\nshore)<\/li>\n - 98245 — Eastsound (also covers West Sound, both on Orcas Island)<\/li>\n
- 98280 — Orcas Village, the island’s ferry-landing community<\/li>\n
- 98243 — Deer Harbor, on Orcas Island’s west side<\/li>\n
- 98279 — Olga, on Orcas Island’s east side<\/li>\n
- 98261 — Lopez Village and the rest of Lopez Island<\/li>\n
- 98286 — Shaw Island<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Waldron Island has no ZIP code or ferry service of its own; residents collect mail at Orcas
\nVillage or by boat, since the county-owned dock is the island’s only public landing and it
\nhas no scheduled ferry route.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nSan Juan County occupies the San Juan Islands archipelago in the Salish Sea, between mainland
\nWashington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Of its 621 square miles, only 174 square miles
\n(450 km2) are land; the remaining 447 square miles (1,160 km2) are water — the highest water
\nshare of any Washington county and the reason it has the state’s smallest land area overall.
\nThe county spans roughly 175 named islands and reefs at low tide, though fewer than 20 are
\ninhabited. San Juan Island, at 55 square miles, is the second-largest and most populous; Orcas
\nIsland, at 57 square miles, is the largest by area and holds the county’s highest point,
\nMount Constitution, at 2,409 feet. Lopez Island covers about 30 square miles and Shaw Island about
\n8 square miles.<\/p>\n Whatcom County lies to the north and east across Rosario Strait, Skagit County to the southeast,
\nIsland County to the south across the strait, and Jefferson and Clallam counties to the southwest
\nacross the Strait of Juan de Fuca. British Columbia’s Gulf Islands sit just across the
\ninternational boundary to the west. Whatcom County<\/a>, Skagit County<\/a>, Island County<\/a>, Jefferson County<\/a> and Clallam County<\/a> are its nearest
\nneighbors, reached only by boat, floatplane or ferry.<\/p>\nDemographics<\/h2>\nSan Juan County had a population of 17,788 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts it
\nnear 18,577 residents. San Juan Island, with 8,632 people, and Orcas Island, with about 6,000, are
\nthe two largest islands by population; Friday Harbor is the largest single community, with 2,613
\nresidents. Median household income runs about $84,800 (2024, American Community Survey), above
\nWashington’s statewide figure of $94,605 for 2023 — the county trails the state median
\ndespite its high property values, a pattern common in retirement- and tourism-heavy coastal
\ncounties. Population density works out to roughly 102 people per square mile of land, low for
\nwestern Washington, and swells considerably each summer with seasonal residents and visitors.<\/p>\n Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\nTourism, construction and professional services drive the county’s economy; construction
\nemploys the most workers, about 1,130 people, followed by retail trade at 863 and professional,
\nscientific and technical services at 824. Whale watching, sailing charters and sport fishing bring
\nvisitors to Friday Harbor’s harbor front year-round, and the University of Washington’s
\nFriday Harbor Laboratories, a marine research station on San Juan Island, has operated since 1904.
\nRoche Harbor, once a 19th-century lime-quarrying company town, now runs as a marina resort with a
\npublic dock and airstrip. Agriculture persists on a small scale, with Lopez Island known for its
\nfarms, orchards and a Saturday farmers market each summer. The county’s biggest annual event
\nis the San Juan Island Community Fair each August, running since 1934 at the county fairgrounds
\noutside Friday Harbor.<\/p>\n History<\/h2>\nWashington’s territorial legislature created San Juan County on October 31, 1873, carving
\nit out of Whatcom County. The islands take their name from the San Juan Islands, themselves named
\nfor Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, viceroy of New Spain, by Spanish
\nexplorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791. Friday Harbor incorporated as a town on February 10, 1909,
\nand remains the only incorporated place in the county.<\/p>\n The county’s best-known historical episode is the Pig War of 1859, a boundary dispute
\nbetween American and British settlers on San Juan Island that began when an American farmer shot
\na British-owned pig rooting in his garden. Troops from both nations occupied opposite ends of the
\nisland for over a decade without further bloodshed until international arbitration in 1872 awarded
\nthe islands to the United States. San Juan Island National Historical Park, established in 1966,
\npreserves the American and English Camp sites.<\/p>\n Getting There<\/h2>\nNo interstate or state highway crosses San Juan County directly; access is by Washington State
\nFerries from Anacortes, in Skagit County, which stop at Lopez, Shaw, Orcas and San Juan islands.
\nBecause the ferry routes are the only road connection, the state designates them part of the
\nhighway system even though the islands themselves carry no numbered state routes.<\/p>\n \n- Anacortes — about 20 miles east by ferry from Friday Harbor<\/li>\n
- Bellingham — about 35 miles northeast, across Rosario Strait<\/li>\n
- Sidney, British Columbia — about 20 miles northwest across the Strait of Juan de Fuca<\/li>\n
- Seattle — about 80 miles south<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Bellingham International Airport, on the mainland in Whatcom County, is the nearest major
\ncommercial airport with scheduled flights. Friday Harbor Airport, on San Juan Island, and Orcas
\nIsland Airport, near Eastsound, handle general aviation and Kenmore Air’s floatplane
\nservice from Seattle. San Juan County has no Amtrak service; the closest station is in
\nBellingham.<\/p>\n Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\nWhere is San Juan County located?<\/strong>
\nIt occupies the San Juan Islands in Washington’s Salish Sea, about 80 miles north of
\nSeattle, bordered by Whatcom, Skagit, Island, Jefferson and Clallam counties.<\/p>\nWhat is the population of San Juan County?<\/strong>
\n17,788 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 18,577 by 2024.<\/p>\nHow big is San Juan County?<\/strong>
\n621 square miles (1,610 km2) in total, but only 174 square miles (450 km2) are land — the
\nrest is water.<\/p>\nWhat is the county seat of San Juan County?<\/strong>
\nFriday Harbor, incorporated in 1909, is the county seat and the only incorporated city in the
\ncounty.<\/p>\nHow many towns are in San Juan County?<\/strong>
\nJust one incorporated city, Friday Harbor. The rest of the county’s population lives in
\nunincorporated communities such as Eastsound, Roche Harbor, Deer Harbor, Olga, Orcas Village,
\nWest Sound, Lopez Village, Shaw Island and Waldron Island.<\/p>\nWhat ZIP codes does San Juan County use?<\/strong>
\n98250 for Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor, 98245 for Eastsound and West Sound, 98280 for Orcas
\nVillage, 98243 for Deer Harbor, 98279 for Olga, 98261 for Lopez Island and 98286 for Shaw
\nIsland.<\/p>\nHow do you get to San Juan County?<\/strong>
\nBy Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, or by floatplane or small aircraft to Friday Harbor
\nor Orcas Island — there is no bridge or highway connection to the mainland.<\/p>\nMore counties in this state: Towns
\nand villages in Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Juan County is a county in Washington, United States, about 80 miles north of Seattle in the Salish Sea. It had a population of 17,788 at the 2020 census, an estimated 18,577 by 2024, and covers 621 square miles (1,610 km2) centred near 48\u00b034\u2032N 122\u00b058\u2032W — 72 percent of that area is water. Friday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in San Juan County, Washington","_seopress_titles_desc":"Friday Harbor plus 9 island communities in San Juan County, Washington \u2014 population, ZIP codes, ferries and Pig War history, island by island.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-8655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-washington","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8655"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9439,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8655\/revisions\/9439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |