Clallam County, Washington

Clallam County is a in the  of. As of today, the population is 64,525. The county seat is at, which is also the county's largest city. "Clallam" derives from a word meaning "the strong people."

Clallam County was formed on,.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 6,916 (2,670 ). 4,505 km² (1,739 sq mi) of it is land and 2,411 km² (931 sq mi) of it (34.86%) is water.

Located in Clallam County is, the westernmost point in both Washington and the continental , with a of 124 degrees, 43 minutes and 59 seconds. Also, near Cape Alava is, the westernmost town in the continental United States (See for more information).

Adjacent counties

 * - southeast
 * - north, across the

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 64,525 people, 27,164 households, and 18,064 families residing in the county. The was 14/km² (37/sq mi). There were 30,683 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (18/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 89.12%, 0.84% or , 5.12% , 1.13% , 0.16% , 1.18% from , and 2.44% from two or more races. 3.41% of the population were or  of any race. 17.2% were of, 13.1% , 9.3% , 8.3% or American and 6.0%  ancestry according to Census 2000. 5% spoke and 3.2%  as their first language.

There were 27,164 households out of which 25.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.90% were living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.00% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 22.80% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 21.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 98.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,449, and the median income for a family was $44,381. Males had a median income of $35,452 versus $24,628 for females. The for the county was $19,517. About 8.90% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the, including 17.10% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Modern Clallam County generally has a slight lean toward the, although it is generally regarded as a competitive area. Republican defeated   here in the  by about five percentage points. However, Democratic Senator received a narrow victory, winning by a larger margin than Kerry statewide.

Democratic candidates are generally most successful in the county seat and largest city, Port Angeles which casts a significant number of votes. The city of and its general vicinity (excepting newer developments such as, which are quite Republican) is generally considered a battleground area, the city having voted for George W. Bush by only 7 votes out of 2,834 votes cast. However, George W. Bush received a victory of over 2-to-1 in the town of, where anti-environmentalism has been a major issue since the  incidents. Areas around Forks are similarly Republican, with the exception of Native American areas.

The tribe areas around Neah Bay are some of the most Democratic areas in the state. Otherwise, with the exception of a few locations (such as and  near Sequim), unincorporated Clallam County has a strong Republican lean.