Renton

History

Long a cultural center for the Duwamish, European settlers arrived in the area of present-day Renton as early as 1853. First among them were Henry Tobin and his wife Diana. The town of Renton was accessed via the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad, the first railroad to be built to Seattle, and was in the vicinity of several coal mines that attracted entrepreneurs like Erasmus M. Smithers, who is credited with the founding and establishment of the town in 1875. Smithers named Renton in honor of Captain William Renton, a local lumber and shipping merchant who invested heavily in the coal trade. Smithers discovered coal there and brought in Charles D. Shattuck as the coal mine operator. Renton was incorporated as a city on September 6, 1901, The culmination of these actions reduced the threat of annual flooding. The population sharply increased during World War II when Boeing built their Renton Factory to produce the B-29 Superfortress. Renton grew from a population of 4,488 in 1940 to 16,039 in 1950. The game company Wizards of the Coast also is headquartered in Renton. Providence Health System has centralized its administrative offices in Renton, along with Group Health Cooperative. Owing to its location at the confluence of three major freeways (I-5, I-405, and SR 167), Renton's economic development team has lured a number of specialty retailers that draw consumers from around the region, including IKEA. Some retail establishments were unwanted though, and the city successfully defended zoning restrictions on pornographic theaters before the U.S. Supreme Court in Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. The Renton Public Library was built directly over the Cedar River and opened in 1966. It stretches across the river, next to Liberty Park, and was the main branch of the…

Geography

Renton is located on the southeast shore of Lake Washington at the mouth of the Cedar River. The city is bordered to the north by Newcastle. Along the east side of Renton is the urban growth boundary established by King County, as such there is no incorporated city directly east of Renton. The southern border is shared with Kent, while the western border consists of the city of Tukwila and the unincorporated community of West Hill. The geographical characteristics of Renton's eastern border are varied and include (from north to south) the south flank of Cougar Mountain descending southward merging with the community of May Valley. The terrain then elevates south of May Valley to the communities of the East Renton Plateau before descending to the north bank of the Cedar River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water, to incorporate as cities or annex into neighboring cities. As of 2012 these three PAAs are not part of the City of Renton, and not included in its demographics or statistics. Renton is one of the cities in the Puget Sound region with an independent street grid system. Roads names beginning with sectional divisions (N 32nd Street) generally follow a latitudinal direction, while roads names ending in a sectional direction (Duvall Ave NE) generally follow a longitudinal direction. Many of the avenues in the city are named in honor of other cities in Washington. ; Downtown Renton : In 2015, ESRI estimated that in Downtown Renton the total population was 3,019 and the average household income was $50,809. ; North Renton : In 2015, ESRI estimated that in North Renton the total population was 8,211 and the average household income was $79,387. |date=August 2010 }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  61,095
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  48,134
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  44,303
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  44,191
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  38,717
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  34,576
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  31,278
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  30,181

Largest nearby schools

• Issaquah High School
  High · ISSAQUAH · 2,412 students · 22.8:1 ratio
• Kent-Meridian High School
  High · Kent · 2,128 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Kentridge High School
  High · Kent · 2,034 students · 23.1:1 ratio
• Mount Rainier High School
  High · Des Moines · 1,873 students · 24.3:1 ratio
• Hazen Senior High School
  High · Renton · 1,871 students · 24:1 ratio
• Kentwood High School
  High · Covington · 1,733 students · 21.9:1 ratio
• Newport Senior High School
  High · Bellevue · 1,726 students · 19.8:1 ratio
• Auburn Mountainview High School
  High · Auburn · 1,581 students · 21.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.64 — 2026-10-15
  5 km SW of Wilderness Rim, Washington
• M 2.65 — 2026-10-14
  5 km WSW of Wilderness Rim, Washington
• M 4.15 — 2026-09-29
  6 km WNW of Wauna, Washington
• M 2.51 — 2026-08-09
  11 km SSW of River Road, Washington
• M 3.8 — 2026-07-02
  2 km E of Oak Harbor, Washington
• M 2.5 — 2026-06-26
  11 km E of Carnation, Washington