As of the census of 2000, there were 199,630 people, 81,512 households, and 47,276 families residing in the city of Spokane. The population density was 1,307.7/km² (3,387.0/mi²). There were 87,941 housing units at an average density of 587.8/km² (1,522.6/mi²).

The most recent ethnic percentages are as follows:

86.4% White

2.10% African American

1.8% Native American

2.2% Asian

0.2% Pacific Islander

0.9% from other races

3.0% Hispanic

3.4% two or more

There were 81,512 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,273, and the median income for a family was $41,316. Males had a median income of $31,676 versus $24,833 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,451. 15.9% of the population and 11.1% of families were below the poverty line. 19.3% of those over the age of 18 and 9.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Since February 2005 the population has seen a rapid increase, which attributed to the decrease in the average cost of living and and increase in the job market. Spokane was #49 on the Men's Journal 2005 "50 Best Places to Live" list[2], #5 on the Forbes Magazine 2005 "Safest Places to Live" list[3], and #35 on the Inc. Magazine 2005 "Top US Cities for Doing Business" list.[4]

Information provided by Wikipedia .