Freeland is a census-designated place on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States. At the time of the 2010 census the population was 2,045. The town received its name based on its origins as a socialist commune in the early 1900s—. Literally, in the eyes of its founders, the land of the town was to be free for all people. Some of the first settlers were veterans of a prior experiment in socialism, the nearby Equality Colony.