48,399 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.2% since 2020)
2,159 square miles of land · 22 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
19 active community water systems list Whitman County in the area they serve, reporting 64,679 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| PULLMAN WATER DEPARTMENT CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5369880 | 31,315 served |
| WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY groundwater · state · WA5393200 | 21,506 served |
| COLFAX WATER DEPARTMENT CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5314000 | 3,507 served |
| PALOUSE WATER DEPT CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5365800 | 1,298 served |
| TEKOA CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5387300 | 1,076 served |
| ROSALIA TOWN OF groundwater · local government · WA5374250 | 831 served |
| ST JOHN TOWN OF groundwater · local government · WA5375300 | 800 served |
| GARFIELD WATER DEPARTMENT groundwater · local government · WA5327200 | 694 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 27 people were held in Whitman County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 85 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 33.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
13 school districts have their office in Whitman County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $47.4 million — $43.2 million to run schools, about $15,771 per student, plus $1.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $13.9 million local (mostly property tax), $33.8 million state, $4.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $74.7 million.
Spent $10.1 million — $9.1 million to run schools, about $16,274 per student, plus $120,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $754,000 federal. Long-term debt: $16.3 million.
Spent $7.2 million — $4.5 million to run schools, about $23,500 per student, plus $2.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $434,000 local (mostly property tax), $6.3 million state, $781,000 federal.
Spent $4.9 million — $4.6 million to run schools, about $26,341 per student, plus $287,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $715,000 local (mostly property tax), $3.4 million state, $651,000 federal.
Spent $7.1 million — $3.7 million to run schools, about $22,530 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1 million local (mostly property tax), $5.7 million state, $387,000 federal.
Spent $4.5 million — $3.7 million to run schools, about $24,653 per student, plus $341,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $324,000 federal. Long-term debt: $5.2 million.
Spent $5.8 million — $3.9 million to run schools, about $26,493 per student, plus $1.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $956,000 local (mostly property tax), $4.3 million state, $234,000 federal.
Spent $4.7 million — $4.2 million to run schools, about $28,327 per student, plus $399,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.3 million local (mostly property tax), $3.3 million state, $103,000 federal.
And 5 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Whitman County about $14.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
349 bridges in Whitman County: 182 in good condition, 154 fair, and 13 poor (3.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 195 over S FK PALOUSE RIVER · built 1923 | 9,381 vehicles a day |
| US 195 over SPRING FLAT CREEK · built 1920 | 9,093 vehicles a day |
| US 195 over BN RY & OLD SR 195 · built 1975 | 4,838 vehicles a day |
| SR 26 SPUR over PALOUSE RIVER · built 1938 | 3,246 vehicles a day |
| SR 26 over PALOUSE RIVER · built 1937 | 3,094 vehicles a day |
| SR 26 over WILLOW CREEK · built 1967 | 1,655 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $130.9 million of work in Whitman County in fiscal 2025, about $2,729 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Washington are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Whitman County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Whitman County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Washington: the state government and every county in Washington.
Nearby counties: Garfield County (33 mi) · Latah County, ID (38 mi) · Columbia County (46 mi) · Adams County (47 mi) · Benewah County, ID (48 mi) · Spokane County (50 mi).