Airway Heights, Washington

Airway Heights is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, just west of Spokane. The population was 6,114 at the 2010 census. The city's name was taken from its close proximity to the runways at Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport.[5][6]

Airway Heights, Washington
City
Location of Airway Heights, Washington
Coordinates: 47°38′37″N 117°35′11″W
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountySpokane
Government
 • MayorKevin Richey
Area
 • Total6.01 sq mi (15.57 km2)
 • Land6.01 sq mi (15.57 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
2,398 ft (731 m)
Population
 • Total6,114
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
9,485
 • Density1,577.94/sq mi (609.27/km2)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP code
99001
Area code509
FIPS code53-00905
GNIS feature ID1511953[4]
Websitecawh.org

History

Airway Heights was officially incorporated on June 28, 1955.

Growth in the City was spurred by the opening of the Airway Heights Corrections Center by the Washington State Department of Corrections in 1992 and the opening of the Northern Quest Resort & Casino by the Kalispel Indian Tribe in 2000. More recently, with the addition of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, several new apartment buildings and housing developments, the expansion of the Northern Quest Casino, and the opening of the Spokane Tribe Casino, Airway Heights is continuing to grow. Also, the Spokane County Raceway Park is located in Airway Heights, and features major automobile events, including drag racing, stock car racing, and occasional monster truck shows.

Geography

Airway Heights is located at 47°38′37″N 117°35′11″W (47.643648, -117.586491).[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.63 square miles (14.58 km2), all of it land.[8]

The community lies in the northeastern corner of the flat Columbia Plateau. While the plateau tends to be flat, the terrain locally is quite rugged as it is part of the Channeled Scablands. The "heights" in the city's name references its location at a higher elevation than the city center of Spokane. Traveling into Airway Heights along Highway 2, the main road into the city, from Downtown Spokane, one will climb over 500 feet.

Highway 2 is the main east-west thoroughfare in the city. It connects Airway Heights with Fairchild to the west and Spokane to the east. Interstate 90 runs just a few miles south of the city.

Climate
Climate data for Airway Heights, Washington (Spokane Int'l), 1981–2010 normals
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 62
(17)		 63
(17)		 74
(23)		 90
(32)		 97
(36)		 105
(41)		 108
(42)		 108
(42)		 98
(37)		 87
(31)		 70
(21)		 60
(16)		 108
(42)
Average high °F (°C) 34.4
(1.3)		 39.6
(4.2)		 48.9
(9.4)		 57.2
(14.0)		 66.4
(19.1)		 73.8
(23.2)		 83
(28.3)		 83
(28.3)		 72.9
(22.7)		 58.0
(14.4)		 41.6
(5.3)		 32.2
(0.1)		 57.6
(14.2)
Daily mean °F (°C) 29.55
(−1.36)		 33
(1)		 40.25
(4.58)		 47
(8)		 55.1
(12.8)		 62.1
(16.7)		 69.65
(20.92)		 69.4
(20.8)		 60.3
(15.7)		 47.6
(8.7)		 35.7
(2.1)		 27.35
(−2.58)		 48.08
(8.95)
Average low °F (°C) 24.7
(−4.1)		 26.4
(−3.1)		 31.6
(−0.2)		 36.8
(2.7)		 43.8
(6.6)		 50.4
(10.2)		 56.3
(13.5)		 55.8
(13.2)		 47.4
(8.6)		 37.2
(2.9)		 29.8
(−1.2)		 22.5
(−5.3)		 38.6
(3.7)
Record low °F (°C) −30
(−34)		 −24
(−31)		 −10
(−23)		 14
(−10)		 24
(−4)		 33
(1)		 37
(3)		 35
(2)		 22
(−6)		 7
(−14)		 −21
(−29)		 −25
(−32)		 −30
(−34)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.79
(45)		 1.33
(34)		 1.61
(41)		 1.28
(33)		 1.62
(41)		 1.25
(32)		 0.64
(16)		 0.59
(15)		 0.67
(17)		 1.18
(30)		 2.30
(58)		 2.29
(58)		 16.55
(420)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 12.0
(30)		 7.2
(18)		 3.7
(9.4)		 1.0
(2.5)		 0.1
(0.25)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.1
(0.25)		 7.2
(18)		 14.9
(38)		 46.2
(117)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 13.4 10.4 11.6 10.1 10.2 7.9 5.0 3.8 5.1 7.8 13.7 13.2 112.2
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 8.9 5.1 4.1 1.1 0.3 0 0 0 0 0.2 4.7 9.8 34.2
Average relative humidity (%) 62.0 81.5 75.0 66.5 60.5 58.0 50.5 45.5 49.0 57.0 68.0 81.5 80.5
Percent possible sunshine 28 41 55 61 65 67 80 78 72 55 29 23 55
Source: NOAA (extremes 1881–present, percent sunshine through 2009)[9][10]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1960708—
19707445.1%
19801,730132.5%
19901,97113.9%
20004,500128.3%
20106,11435.9%
Est. 20199,485[3]55.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
2018 Estimate[12]

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 6,114 people in 1,547 households, including 1,035 families, in the city. The population density was 1,086.0 inhabitants per square mile (419.3/km2). There were 1,727 housing units at an average density of 306.7 per square mile (118.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.5% White, 7.2% African American, 3.7% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 1.8% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.3%.[2]

Of the 1,547 households 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.1% were non-families. 25.1% of households were one person and 5.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.01.

The median age was 34.6 years. 17.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 40.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 5.6% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 67.7% male and 32.3% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 4,500 people in 958 households, including 656 families, in the city. The population density was 923.0 people per square mile (356.0/km2). There were 1,095 housing units at an average density of 224.6 per square mile (86.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 69.51% White, 10.47% African American, 3.20% Native American, 1.84% Asian, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 1.56% from other races, and 3.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.93% of the population.

Of the 958 households 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 25.3% of households were one person and 6.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.

The age distribution was 16.9% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 46.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 4.5% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 263.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 325.0 males.

The median household income was $29,829 and the median family income was $31,344. Males had a median income of $26,117 versus $22,031 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,069. About 14.8% of families and 22.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.0% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The majority of the city is within the Cheney School District (No. 360).[13] The northeastern portion is in the Great Northern School District (No. 312), grades K–6.

Healthcare

The closest hospital to the city is Deaconess Medical Center, located in Downtown Spokane. Healthcare services located in the city itself include the Airway Heights Dental Center, West Plains Chiropractor, and APEX Physical Therapy.[14]

Transportation

Public transportation is managed by the Spokane Transit Authority. Bus route 61, which serves Airway Heights, begins at the transit authority's main hub in Downtown Spokane, and extends to Fairchild Air Force Base.[15]

Notable local businesses

Spokane County Raceway is one of the largest racetracks in the Inland Northwest. They have oval track racing, drag racing, and road course racing.

Controversies

In July 2015 Mayor Patrick Rushing was asked to resign by the city council because he called President Barack Obama a "monkey man" and First Lady Michelle Obama a "gorilla" on his Facebook page. Rushing initially refused, stating he was not a racist.[16] This follows an earlier incident in 2015 in which Rushing resigned his position as a school bus driver after he was charged with a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of an accident.[17]

In August 2015 Rushing submitted his resignation. He stated that "I find it difficult to continue due to my declining health issues." He was succeeded by then-Deputy Mayor Kevin Richey.[18]

gollark: And if I used the secret non-GDPR-compliant datasets I have all on all users here people might get annoyed.
gollark: The AI one is most tractable, but I don't have... any hardware budget, really, and the privacy implications are problematic.
gollark: Random-walk through universe-space, going decreasing distances each step if near a consistent solution.
gollark: - AI models of all users- enumerating all possible universes given different "past reminders" until one which is self-consistent is found- that, but it uses some sort of iterative approximation instead
gollark: Oh, or would only work in a few weirdly specific cases.

References
  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. Philips, James W. (1997). Washington State Place Names (8th ed.). University of Washington Press. p. 5. ISBN 0-295-95498-1.
  6. Sullivan, Julie (March 16, 1989). "Architect builds historical interest with trivia". Spokane Chronicle. pp. S9. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  7. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  8. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  9. "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  10. "Average Percent Sunshine through 2009". National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  11. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  12. "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  13. "Boundary Map" (PDF). Cheney Public Schools. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  14. "City of Airway Heights : Healthcare". cawh.org. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  15. "City of Airway Heights : Transportation". cawh.org. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  16. "Mayor in Washington Refuses to Resign over Alleged Racist Post about Obamas". Q13Fox News. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  17. "Airway Heights Mayor Says Bus Incident Tied to Politics". The Spokesman Review. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  18. "Embattled Airway Heights Mayor Patrick Rushing resigns". The Spokesman Review. August 18, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
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