The state of Washington authorizes OFM to prepare 20-year growth management population projections for all counties in Washington every five years

VANCOUVER – As part of the county’s efforts on the 2025 Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update, Clark County Council will hold a work session and conduct a public hearing to take public testimony and select a 2045 population projection from the range provided by the Washington Office of Financial Management (OFM).

The state of Washington authorizes OFM to prepare 20-year growth management population projections for all counties in Washington every five years. The projections are developed within the framework of expected state growth and include three distinct ranges – low, middle, and high for each county. Clark County’s population for 2045 is forecasted as follows: 

High             791,809

Middle           698,416

Low              576,151

(Source: http://ofm.wa.gov/pop/gma/)

According to state law (RCW 43.62.035), the middle range represents OFM’s most likely estimate of a county’s population. The RCW says in part: “the middle range shall represent the office’s estimate of the most likely population projection for the county.” Within each county, population planning targets for cities, towns, and unincorporated areas are worked out among the affected local jurisdictions as part of the regional, city and county planning process.

Both meetings will be held in a hybrid format. Attendees can join in person in the sixth-floor hearing room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., or virtually via Webex. 

The work session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5 at 9 a.m. The work session is an informational session for the council to be briefed by staff in preparation for the hearing. The public is welcome to attend, however there will be no public comment at that time. That is reserved for the hearing.

The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18 at 6 p.m. The hearing will be live on CVTV channel 23/323 and available later that day for on-demand viewing on CVTV.org.

The  meeting materials can be found at https://clark.wa.gov/community-planning/2025-update-meeting-and-event-information.

Information on how to attend the meeting and provide testimony can be found on the council’s meeting page at https://clark.wa.gov/councilors/clark-county-council-meetings.

To learn more about the 2025 update and to sign up for project updates, please visit the project website at www.clark.wa.gov/2025update. 

Information provided by Clark Co. WA Communications.