{1836} Samuel Parker visited the Spokane Indians. He reported a population of 800.

{1880} “Spokan Falls” unincorporated had a population of 350 white settlers.

{1890} The Population of Spokane Falls had increased to 19,922 people.

{1900} The population in Spokane was 36,848; an 85 percent increase over ten years. There were 300 manufacturing concerns, 108 saloons, 56 churches, 2,500 telephones and 42 miles of railway.

{1910} With a population of around 90,000 the city was growing rapidly.

{1920} The population reached 104,437, a 20% increase over ten years.

{1930} A period of slow growth in Spokane. The population had only increased by about 11,000 in the past ten years. This was at the beginning of the depression.

{1940} There was a population of 122,001 people, an increase of only 6,487 from 1930. However, the 1940’s was destined to be a major industrial growth period for Spokane.

{1950} The city exceeded the growth of the previous decade. The population had increased by nearly 40,000 people in ten years to reach a total of 161,721. The construction of new single family homes was up 20 percent.

{1960} Spokane's  population reached 181,608, an increase of almost 20,000 people in ten years.

{1970} Spokane's population decreased after 1960, but there was substantial tourist activity with construction of Riverfront Park and The World's Fair.

{1980-current} Spokane’s population is now over 200,000. It is estimated that in recent years Spokane's population has been growing at an annual rate of less than one percent.