Washington Economy

Where can I find the current rate of inflation?

The two most common indexes of inflation are the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the U.S. Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumption (IPD). Values of these indexes are published by the Office of the Forecast Council in the quarterly economic and revenue forecast publication, which contain the following tables:

• Table A4.1 Selected Inflation Indicators (Price Deflator, U.S. CPI, Seattle CPI)
• Table A4.2 Chain-weighted price indices

Additional information concerning inflation is available on the OFM website. A comprehensive discussion of the Consumer Price Index is available at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website.

How much do people in Washington earn? What is the average wage? What is the median household income?

The average wage for Washington workers in 2022, was $83,665. The trend in average wage for Washington compared with that of the U.S. overall is shown in Washington Trends in a chart.

Information about other income items for all states is available at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis website.

The estimated median money income for Washington households in 2021 was $84,155. A historical series of median household income by county can be found on OFM’s website.

Poverty

How many Washington residents live in poverty?

In 2022, approximately 10% of the state population lived below the poverty level.

Additional information about the population in poverty is in Washington trends.

State Government

How many state employees are there?

In fiscal year 2023, there were 125,892 FTEs on an annual basis, with the largest number of people employed in transportation, higher education institutions, correctional facilities, and state social service and health agencies. The number of state employees is typically measured in terms of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff years; one person working 40 hours a week for a full year would be counted as one FTE staff year. (Two people working half-time also count as one FTE.) Although the state provides funding for compensation for local school teachers, this support is in the form of grants so K-12 teachers are not considered state employees in FTE statistics.

How many more employees are there now vs. 20 years ago?

There were approximately 25,959 more FTE state employees in 2020 than in 2000. Population growth has generally been a major driver of growth in state government employment. The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) state employees has generally tracked closely with growth in the state's total population.

State Government FTEs Compared to Population are plotted in a chart in Washington Trends.

Health Care

How many Washington residents are not covered by health insurance?

According to OFM Health Care Research Center’s most recent analysis, Washington’s uninsured rate for 2022 is at a new record low of 4.7% and it is about half a percentage lower than the previous year’s rate. The chief factor for the decline in the uninsured rate from 2021 to 2022 was the growth in Medicaid enrollment as a result of the continuous coverage requirement under the federal Public Health Emergency declaration for the COVID19 pandemic. For more information, see Washington Data & Research Health Care page.

Population

How many people live in Washington?

As of April 1, 2024, 8,035,700 persons resided in Washington. OFM develops official April 1 population estimates for the state, counties, and cities and towns each year.

Additional population information is available in the Population section of this website.

Where can I find the population of a city or town in Washington?

OFM develops population estimates for incorporated cities and towns in Washington each year. These estimates are released on June 30 on the OFM website. The most up-to-data estimates are always available on the Official April 1 Population Estimates page. City and town populations are also published in Population Trends, which is updated annually in September.

Census 2020

Where can I get information about Washington from Census 2020?

Decennial census information for Washington is available at the OFM Census 2020 website and through the U.S. Census Bureau website.

How do I determine the Census geographies for my location?

To find census geography for any location in the country, enter the street address in the Census Geocoder. You can use those geographies to find Census data at data.census.gov.

E-mail: OFM.Forecasting@ofm.wa.gov