[3] Covington was founded in 1900 at a Northern Pacific Railway stop and grew into a suburban bedroom community in the late 20th century.

Richard Covington, a surveyor for the Northern Pacific, worked out of Fort Vancouver establishing the line from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Auburn.

[5] In 1900, during the building of the Palmer Cutoff, the Northern Pacific built several facilities in Covington.

[5] By 1908, the settlement was also home to the Covington Lumber Company, which had set up a mill capable of cutting 85,000 board feet of timber a day.

NP's operations at Covington continued until the Great Depression; the facilities were then removed in 1941.

[citation needed] Dairies replaced lumber as the predominant industry in the Covington area by the 1920s; several irrigation canals were dug from local creeks to provide water during dry periods.

[5] The vote to incorporate Covington as a city passed on November 6, 1996, the same day a similar measure created neighboring Maple Valley.

[7] Covington was officially incorporated as a city on August 31, 1997, and had approximately 12,200 residents at the time.

[8] The city is surrounded by Kent to the west, Auburn to the southwest, and Maple Valley to the east.

The city's retail core, which largely developed in the 2000s, is located along the State Route 516 corridor.

MultiCare opened a four-story hospital serving the city in 2018 with 58 beds, emergency rooms, and a family birth center.

[16] The city also offers basketball, baseball, football and soccer youth leagues from pre-k through 8th grade, recreation classes, and special events.

Covington contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office for police services.

[18] Covington is part of the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (RFA), along with the cities of Kent, and SeaTac and portions of unincorporated King County.

The city's first fire station opened in 2009; it is a 17,385-square foot building located on Southeast 256th Street.