A wartime housing project that became a permanent city
The story of Washington Terrace
Washington Terrace is one of Weber County’s most compact cities and one of its most distinctive planned communities. Its street pattern and early homes grew from an enormous World War II housing project built for defense workers, then saved and transformed by the people who lived there.
In 1942 and 1943, the federal government constructed 1,396 homes on the bench south of Ogden to house workers supporting wartime installations and industries. The project created a community at extraordinary speed.
The housing was initially considered temporary. Residents organized to preserve it, obtain local control, and build the civic institutions needed for a lasting community. Washington Terrace incorporated in 1958.
That origin remains visible in the city’s compact blocks and practical residential form. Later homes, schools, parks, churches, businesses, and medical services expanded the city without erasing its wartime foundation.
The city at a glance
- 2020 Census population
- 9,267 incorporated city boundary
- Median age
- 33.3 2020–2024 ACS estimate
- Under age 18
- 25.3% of residents
- Age 65 and older
- 19.4% of residents
- Median household income
- $80,119 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
What shapes the community today
Washington Terrace remains predominantly residential, with schools, parks, a library branch, medical services, and quick connections to Ogden, Riverdale, Weber State University, and U.S. 89. Its scale makes many community institutions unusually close together.
Start exploring
- Washington Terrace City
- Weber County Library Pleasant Valley Branch
- Current Weber County events
- Explore Weber County places
History and local context: official local source. Population and household data: U.S. Census Bureau. Survey values are estimates and carry margins of error.