The local economy of Washington and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.9%
+0.3 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Asotin County 2.9%, highest Ferry County 6.8%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,998
+2.7%vs a year ago
3,558,558 jobs at 240,584 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
38,911
+20.7%this year vs last year
Most in King County 11,408, Pierce County 5,339.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-2,328
-0.4 per 1,000residents
198,812 moved in and 201,140 moved out. Most newcomers came from California.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Washington gas price
$5.46
+$0.96vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Asotin County $5.07, highest San Juan County $6.19. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Washington, October 10, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
202K
+0.1%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
3.06M
+2.6%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (16.3%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$251.8B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$82,397
Highest sector: Information $245,097.
Per employee per year
Share of Washington's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 235,593 | $30,179 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 133,712 | $143,742 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 121,384 | $95,318 |
| Software Publishers | 98,089 | $286,039 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | 72,423 | $112,567 |
| Grocery Stores | 65,500 | $37,340 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 62,280 | $90,953 |
| Offices of Physicians | 61,358 | $104,849 |
| Employment Services | 57,440 | $57,201 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 56,883 | $37,129 |
| Individual and Family Services | 54,051 | $42,600 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 53,995 | $131,659 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $157,638 a year in 33,894 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Washington, up 3.4% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Software Developers. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$157,638
+3.4%vs 2024
Middle half: $129,000 to $184,434.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
33,894
+6.6%vs 2024
76,948 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$165,000
Software Developers, 16,802 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$145,000
+0.9%vs 2024
5,413 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Washington, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 16,802 | $165,000 |
| Data Scientists | 3,058 | $150,987 |
| Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians | 2,936 | $150,000 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 1,211 | $210,604 |
| Computer and Information Research Scientists | 707 | $176,571 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 671 | $116,888 |
| Operations Research Analysts | 665 | $131,800 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 554 | $113,797 |
| Accountants and Auditors | 383 | $101,899 |
| Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 356 | $142,800 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Services LLC AMZN | 7,476 | 23 |
| Microsoft Corporation MSFT | 6,115 | 37 |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. META | 1,448 | 21 |
| Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc. AMZN | 1,420 | 3 |
| Amazon Web Services Inc AMZN | 1,054 | 15 |
| Google LLC GOOG | 1,022 | 14 |
| Amazon Data Services, Inc. AMZN | 419 | 3 |
| Apple Inc. AAPL | 388 | 4 |
| Salesforce, Inc. CRM | 358 | 16 |
| Expedia, Inc. EXPE | 299 | 1 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 13,977 | $153,000 | $129,000 to $180,900 |
| Bellevue | 7,695 | $157,400 | $129,000 to $189,047 |
| Redmond | 7,343 | $167,745 | $147,000 to $189,042 |
| Kirkland | 892 | $167,000 | $141,000 to $190,486 |
| Bothell | 773 | $146,354 | $117,750 to $176,114 |
| Issaquah | 378 | $145,140 | $126,251 to $168,100 |
| Lynnwood | 232 | $138,000 | $118,500 to $180,635 |
| Vancouver | 158 | $129,906 | $104,390 to $171,497 |
| Everett | 154 | $126,326 | $99,139 to $148,430 |
| Sammamish | 138 | $178,965 | $138,568 to $210,158 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Washington added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Washington has had 223 declared disasters and emergencies since 1956, 168 of them since 2000, most often Fire. Flood insurance has paid $368.2 million on 16,074 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 2007 ($52.7 million).
Declared disasters
168
33 major disasters. Most often Fire (155 since 1956).
Since 2000, all types; 223 since 1956
Flood claims paid
$110.1M
2,585 claims. Biggest year 2007 ($52.7M).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
29,619
Average premium $958 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
47
Chelan County, latest Aug 3, 2026.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Washington, 1956 to today
Claims paid in Washington by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1956
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 39.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis County | 2,102 | $82.7M | 1,983 |
| 2 | King County | 3,384 | $66.6M | 8,626 |
| 3 | Whatcom County | 1,211 | $53.1M | 2,122 |
| 4 | Snohomish County | 1,961 | $37.1M | 2,545 |
| 5 | Pierce County | 1,106 | $26.0M | 3,083 |
| 6 | Skagit County | 1,294 | $22.7M | 4,377 |
| 7 | Cowlitz County | 684 | $14.9M | 1,457 |
| 8 | Grays Harbor County | 921 | $14.0M | 2,655 |
| 9 | Thurston County | 387 | $6.51M | 900 |
| 10 | Mason County | 305 | $6.40M | 476 |
| 11 | Kitsap County | 229 | $4.18M | 900 |
| 12 | Pacific County | 216 | $4.14M | 936 |
| 13 | Island County | 279 | $4.11M | 990 |
| 14 | Kittitas County | 255 | $3.36M | 667 |
| 15 | Chelan County | 183 | $2.98M | 724 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Washington, from official public data.
Official public data lists 16,227 facilities in Washington with records since 2010, 16,183 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Intalco Aluminum Corp Ferndale in Ferndale ($5,250,000). 133 large facilities reported 24.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, up 11.6% from 2022.
Facilities with records
16,227
16,183 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$5.25M
Intalco Aluminum Corp Ferndale, Ferndale.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
24.4M t
+11.6%vs 2022
133 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
4.54M t
Centralia Steam Plant, Centralia.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Intalco Aluminum Corp Ferndale Ferndale | $5,250,000 | 8 |
| Chevron Ferndale Storage Terminal Ferndale | $4,000,000 | 0 |
| Crown Cork and Seal CO INC Olympia Olympia | $2,056,220 | 18 |
| General Metals of Tacoma Tacoma | $1,550,000 | 7 |
| Schnitzer Steel Burbank | $1,550,000 | 0 |
| Cosmo Specialty Fibers INC Cosmopolis | $1,385,777 | 57 |
| Electron Hydro Puyallup | $1,025,000 | 0 |
| Treoil Industries Ferndale | $900,000 | 0 |
| Port Townsend Paper Mill Port Townsend | $826,250 | 64 |
| American Seafoods Company LLC - F/V American Triumph (Uscg No. 646737) Not Applicable | $759,000 | 4 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Centralia Steam Plant Centralia | 4,536,949 |
| BP Cherry Point Refinery Blaine | 2,179,352 |
| Shell Opus Puget Sound Refinery Anacortes | 1,900,999 |
| Grays Harbor Energy Center Elma | 1,397,812 |
| Tesoro Marathon Anacortes Refinery Anacortes | 1,202,267 |
| Chehalis Power LP Generation Facility Chehalis | 914,726 |
| Phillips 66 Refinery Ferndale | 902,436 |
| Puget Sound Energy Goldendale Gener Goldendale | 826,172 |
| Mint Farm Generation LLC Longview | 798,750 |
| Tenaska Cogeneration Plant Ferndale | 715,257 |
Large facilities in Washington, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Washington, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcoa Corporation AA | 2 | $5.25M | 8,533 |
| BP p.l.c. BP | 2 | $522K | 2.18M |
| Phillips 66 PSX | 2 | $61K | 902K |
| Smurfit Westrock Plc SW | 2 | $53K | 301K |
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation MPC | 3 | $41K | 1.20M |
| The Boeing Company BA | 23 | $11K | 99K |
| FedEx Corporation FDX | 17 | $9,000 | - |
| Nucor Corporation NUE | 3 | $2,000 | 82K |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Washington, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Washington is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Washington, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Washington was 4.9% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.6% a year earlier. 3,846,217 people were employed out of a labor force of 4,043,691. Among its counties, Asotin County had the lowest rate (2.9%) and Ferry County the highest (6.8%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Washington was $1,998 in Q1 2026, up 2.7% from a year earlier, across 3,558,558 jobs at 240,584 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 2,246 new homes in Washington in August 2026 (1,406 single-family and 689 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 26,817, up 20.7% from the same months last year, and 38,911 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in King County (11,408), Pierce County (5,339), Clark County (3,437) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 198,812 people moved to Washington and 201,140 moved away, a net loss of 2,328 (-0.4 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from California, Oregon, Texas, and most people who left went to California, Oregon, Texas.
Regular gasoline in Washington averaged $5.46 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $0.96 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $7.31. Among its counties, Asotin County had the lowest regular price ($5.07) and San Juan County the highest ($6.19). In the weekly survey, Washington averaged $5.42 in the week of October 5, 2026.
Health Care and Social Assistance (499,464 employees), Retail Trade (340,694 employees), Accommodation and Food Services (306,631 employees) were the largest sectors in Washington in 2023. In all, 202,177 business locations employed 3,056,235 people at an average pay of $82,397 a year.
$157,638 a year was the median pay offered in 33,894 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Washington in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 3.4% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $129,000 to $184,434. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
Amazon.com Services LLC (7,476), Microsoft Corporation (6,115), Meta Platforms, Inc. (1,448), Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc. (1,420), Amazon Web Services Inc (1,054) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Washington in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Software Developers (16,802 filings, median $165,000), Data Scientists (3,058 filings, median $150,987), Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians (2,936 filings, median $150,000) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Washington in fiscal year 2025.
$178,965 was the median offered pay in Sammamish, the highest among the Washington cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (138 filings).
$145,000 a year was the median pay offered in 5,413 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Washington in fiscal year 2025.
223 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Washington since 1956, 168 of them since 2000 (33 major disasters). The most common type is Fire (155 declarations).
Chelan County, with 47 declarations since 2000, followed by Okanogan County (38) and Yakima County (28). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$368.2 million on 16,074 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 2007, with $52.7 million paid on 1,062 claims. Lewis County received the most ($82.7 million).
$958 a year in 2025, across 29,619 flood insurance policies in Washington. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.