Washington (state) day look like night. The United States Census Bureau estimates Washington's population was 7,288,000 on July 1, 2016, an 8.4% increase since the 2010 Census. In 2015, the state ranked 13th overall in population, and was the third most populous, after California and Texas, west of the Mississippi River. Washington has the largest Pacific Northwest population, followed by Oregon, then Idaho. The Washington state Office of Financial Management pegged the state population at 7,310,300 as of April 1, 2017. As of the 2010 Census, the population of Washington was 6,724,540. The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metropolitan Area population was 3,439,809 in the 2010
Seaboard Air Line Railroad direct passage to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. The system's premier train, however, was the "Atlanta Special", running in daily service between Atlanta and Washington, using the Atlantic Coast Line's tracks from Weldon to Richmond, and the tracks of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac from Richmond to Washington. Between 1898 and 1900, Seaboard affiliate Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina completed the laying of track from Norlina to Richmond, thereby providing an all-Seaboard route from Atlanta to Richmond. As important as the route to the major railroad hub of Atlanta was, access to Florida resorts and markets would be even more important