Washington State Counties
Cities




About this site
 

Why did we create the Washington Community Indicators website?

The Internet has revolutionized how we find information. It has also raised expectations about how quickly we find that information. When the mayor wants to know why applications for building permits are down, her city planner needs the most recent population estimates, not numbers that are five years old. When an agency staff person is writing a proposal to fund a job-training program, he needs today’s unemployment rates, not those from last year.

If you don’t know where to look, finding the latest measures of population, unemployment and other statistics can be a daunting task. That’s why we developed the Washington Community Indicators website – to provide a one-stop source of up-to-date information on states, counties, and cities. Whether you work for a non-profit group, private firm or public agency, this site is for you.

Here, you'll find text summaries that highlight major trends in each indicator. You'll also find information displayed with graphs and maps. Users who want to analyze the indicators further can download data in Excel spreadsheets.

What indicators are available for Washington and its counties and cities?

For Washington and its counties, the website includes 31 indicators in seven general categories:

  • Population
  • Poverty & Income
  • Employment
  • Housing/Rent Burden
  • Education
  • Health
  • Crime

For Washington and its cities, the website includes 25 indicators in the same seven general categories.

 

What sources did we use?

Data presented at Washington Community Indicators come from a wide range of public sources. At the federal level, these sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, to name just a few. Some of our indicators – such as high school graduation rate and infant death – come from state sources.

Specific sources for each indicator are listed at the bottom of each indicator page. Most are online sources so we provide a clickable link for you to follow. The rest are from printed reports. For these, we give the title, date, and agency name.

How much confidence do we have in the indicators?

Occasionally, people write us to say that certain numbers on Washington Community Indicators look wrong. While we have made every effort to use the most reliable sources, it is inevitable that some estimates presented here will contain significant errors. If you have questions about the reliability of the data, go straight to the original source by clicking on the agency link presented on every page. Or, click on "Have questions or comments" and tell us what looks wrong. We appreciate your feedback.

 


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