County outline
Where Ferry County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 97.6% of Ferry County’s measured area and water for 2.4%. Its combined area converts to 5,846.7 square kilometers or approximately 1,444,742 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 2,203.23 | 5,706.34 | 1,410,067.2 |
| Water | 54.179 | 140.323 | 34,674.6 |
| Total | 2,257.409 | 5,846.662 | 1,444,741.8 |
How Ferry County compares
By original Census land area, Ferry County ranks #9 of 39 in Washington and #255 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.267 times the Washington county-equivalent median of 1,738.8 square miles. It accounts for 3.3% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Washington ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Ferry County
The Census Bureau estimates that 7,517 people lived in Ferry County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,689 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #36 of 39 in Washington. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 7,182, the population has grown by 335 (+4.7%), compared with +3.8% for Washington as a whole.
With 2,203.2 square miles of land, that is 3.4 people per square mile (1.3 per km²), placing Ferry County #2,948 nationally for density and #38 in Washington. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Washington median is 39. Put another way, there are about 188 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 7,199 | 7,292 | 7,440 | 7,495 | 7,547 | 7,517 |
| Change | — | +93 | +148 | +55 | +52 | −30 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Ferry County
1 incorporated place lies at least partly in Ferry County. Together they are home to 1,016 people (13.5%); the other 6,501 (86.5%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.
The largest is Republic city, with 1,016 residents in the county.
Metropolitan area
Ferry County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
9 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Ferry County, and each lies mostly inside the county.
991189912199138991409914199146991509916099166
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Ferry County
Ferry County shares a land border with 3 county equivalents. Each of them has more land than Ferry County. The largest neighbor is Okanogan County (5,266.2 mi²) and the smallest is Lincoln County (2,310.6 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Ferry County forms a block of 12,257.1 mi² of land, of which it holds 18%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Ferry | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okanogan County | 5,266.2 | 2.4× larger | Compare |
| Stevens County | 2,477.1 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Lincoln County | 2,310.6 | about the same | Compare |
How big is Ferry County compared with U.S. states?
Ferry County has more land than 2 of the 50 states. It is about 1.1 times the land area of Delaware (1,948.6 mi²), while Connecticut, the next larger state, has 2.2 times as much land (4,842.5 mi²). Washington’s county land could hold about 30 areas the size of Ferry County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 46.9 miles (75.5 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Ferry County?
Ferry County has more land than 2,967 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Ferry County at #275 nationally by total area, 20 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 2.4%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1.2 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Ferry County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #254 | Tuolumne County, California | 2,220.9 | Compare |
| #255 | Ferry County, Washington | 2,203.2 | This county |
| #256 | Taos County, New Mexico | 2,202.4 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 48.473256, -118.533589. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 5,706,339,540 m²; AWATER: 140,323,408 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Ferry County?
Ferry County, Washington has 2,203.2 square miles (5,706.3 km²) of land and 54.2 square miles of water, for a total area of 2,257.4 square miles. It ranks #255 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Ferry County the largest county in Washington?
No. Ferry County ranks #9 of 39 in Washington by land area. The largest is Okanogan County, with 5,266.2 square miles of land.
What counties border Ferry County?
Ferry County shares a land border with Stevens County, Okanogan County, and Lincoln County.
What is the population of Ferry County?
The Census Bureau estimates Ferry County had 7,517 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,689 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 3.4 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Ferry County?
The county seat of Ferry County is Republic.
Is Ferry County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Ferry County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Ferry County?
9 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Ferry County, and 9 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Ferry County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 2 of the 50 states, including Delaware (1,948.6 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Ferry County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 1,410,067 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 1,444,742 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.