Updated data for Washington State

I recently updated the cities data sheet on this website to reflect changing demographics and housing costs among other notable data. That data is stored locally at this URL: City Data for Selected Washington Cities or in the column to the right of this article if you are in a browser on PC/Mac. This data was designed to show the various areas in the state and how they compared for climate, population, housing, etc.

Some interesting things have happened over the last several years in Washington State. Washington remains one of if not the strongest economies in the USA. This has led us to rising population and higher housing costs do to strong demand.

Our market like most of the country has cooled a bit, but upward price pressure continues, just not at the feverish pace of a couple years ago. The Puget Sound region has become one of the most expensive large metro area housing markets in the USA.  

One thing that I have noticed is that Washington is no longer a "value" proposition for housing even for people moving from California. It is true that California still has a significantly higher median home price than does Washington. But when looking at pricing for Californian's not living near the coast, Washington is more expensive. 

Housing is important and Washington is very expensive, but other factors play a role in choosing a place to live or retire. When you take housing out of the equation Washington is a third less expensive than California for total cost of living. When factoring in housing we are still more than 25% cheaper.

The median home price in Sacramento CA for example at the end of May this year was $462,000. That is pretty cheap actually compared to Washington's west side cities, look at the chart comparing select cities in Washington to Northern California:

Locally here in Clark County, Bay Area residents can still move here and save a lot of money on housing. But people coming from Sacramento or anywhere in the Central Valley region will find our pricing a bit high compared to their hometowns.

Washington has fallen a bit lower on the "top states to retire" lists lately and I feel like our rapid rise in housing expenses has played a large role in that. Our tax benefits and cheap energy are still huge attractants for business, families, and yes, retirees.

Is it really all wet in Washington State?

Well not really, and if you head east it gets pretty dry actually. Take a look at the following article posted last month in Rod's Real Estate News.

Washington State has a damp reputation for soggy weather. Often the local Chamber of Commerce will chime in about how we get less rain than most cities in the USA east of the Rockies. This is true and for the nation as a whole we really do not get much in the way of precipitation. Those people originating from a state west of the Rockies will find us much wetter than they are. 

But even when we compare our Western Washington cities to Northern California, we are not that much higher on rainfall than they are, particularly within 50 miles of the ocean. The real issue is that we tend to have a lot more cloudy days than most of the western US. We however are no worse off than states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York on the sunshine scale.

Anchorage, AK; Portland, OR; Buffalo, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; and Cleveland, OH round out the top five "gloomiest" cities in America in a climate survey done by Move.org. Seattle and Spokane were 6th and 7th on that list.

So cloud cover is a thing and Washington gets allot of cloudy days. But often coastal areas in California are overlooked in the "gloomy" category despite having a heavy marine layer that tends to make for foggy and cool weather in the summertime. 

But what about actual rainfall? How rainy is it really. Typically rainfall is measured two ways by climatologists. Inches or Millimeters of rain measured in a rain gauge and number of days with measurable precipitation. When measuring actual rainfall volume we are lower than the national average, but when measured by number of days with rain, we are near the top. I created two lists below ranking Washington cities against other notable locales around the country for both rainfall and days of rain.

Here are the same four charts with a list of several cities from each region of the country. Each chart ranks the cities by a different metric starting with annual days of precipitation, then annual rainfall in inches, then the percentage of sunshine, then annual snowfall.

Here we rank near the bottom with 157 days on average with measurable precipitation. It should be noted that we get a lot of days with light drizzle that is just barely enough to register in a rain gauge.

Here we are right in the middle with our paltry 36.9 inches of annual precipitation. It should be noted that in fairness, the Portland International Airport is the official NWS reporting station and it is notably drier than the surrounding area. Our real precipitation is between 40-50 inches depending on location.

Sunny days are hard to find in the winter months and it takes a toll on our annual numbers. But sunshine is in abundance from mid June through mid September. Summertime is sunny almost every day and little to no rain at all.

Snowfall is another category we do well in unless you like snow. Our 6.5 inches a year average is pretty tame even for those who hate the snow. 

When I look at the locations people are moving to I can't help but notice our weather is better than a lot of them overall. South Carolina and Tennessee are popular spots but those places have hot and sticky summers. Tennessee doesn't get quite a much snow as we do but they get three shower a day humidity in the summer. The Carolinas have those pesky hurricanes.

So in closing, yes it is as rainy as they say but not as rainy as you think.

What are the latest best states to retire in polls saying?

Washington State has been falling in the polls for best place to retire across the board. Washington has been creeping its tax burden up over the last decade so that even the advantage of no income tax is being squeezed by increases in other taxes. 

Washington has also not so quietly moved up near the very top on housing expenses which can be a large obstacle for many retirees. 

For retirees that expect to have a high income and enough money to afford a house in Washington State, it remains one of the best places. The scenery, outdoor opportunities, robust cities, and excellent health care makes Washington highly desirable. Other than sun worshippers, it is hard to beat the Evergreen State. 

It is also a state that is continuing to create good paying jobs that attract families from all over the country. This means your grand kids may end up here. 

Washington State Surprisingly Affordable?

What? Washington is the 4th most expensive state for housing in the country! How on earth can we be considered "affordable?" According to a detailed report in USA Today, Washington is the 5th most affordable state in the USA. There is a large caveat to that declaration, "Median Income." The USA Today study was based on median income. Washington has one of the highest median incomes in the USA at $91,360, in fact just $200 ANNUALLY less than California. The not so Golden State ranked 49th on the list. Why was California ranked so poorly, well because EVERYTHING in that state is more expensive.

Washington scored well because it was based on discretionary income after the basic expenses of housing, food, utilities, taxes, healthcare, and gasoline. Take a look at the report here. Our rival and neighbor Oregon ranked poorly at number 46 due largely to its much lower median income and its brutal median income tax which was ranked dead last as the highest in the land.

So the caveat is that on this site we look at retirees which most often are not making the same levels of income they made while working. If we eliminate median income as a driver, the US News & World Report study dated 2022 had Washington at number 45 slightly worse than Oregon but better than California which ranked in at 49th on that list too. Washington was ranked as the #2 best state to live in that year, behind only Utah and well ahead of Oregon at 23 and California at 33. So what it lacked in affordability it made up for in other areas.

Here is a top and bottom chart from the USA Today study.

Vancouver Health Care in Abundance

Vancouver WA offers expansive network of health care options. Retirees looking to be close to health care facilities will be pleased. Vancouver has two major hospitals: Peacehealth SW Washington Medical Center is the largest hospital in SW Washington with 450 beds and a massive campus filled with a variety of special treatment centers. Legacy Salmon Creek is located at the merger of I-5 and I-205 and offers a wide array of services. Legacy systems is negotiating with OHSU to form a new expanded health are alliance. 

Each of these two hospitals have a large "cottage industry" of medical support offices nearby. Kaiser Permanente does not have a hospital in Vancouver but does have a wide range of medical offices conveniently located around the city. There has been talk in recent years of Kaiser building a hospital in the Vancouver area to support their growing numbers in the region. 

The Vancouver Clinic is a large regional network of clinics all across the city, Clark County and now even Multnomah county offering a wide range of medical services and accepting most insurance.

The Veterans Administration operates a campus at Fort Vancouver which includes a small hospital and most VA services locally. There is a major VA hospital nearby in Portland. 

The Vancouver area offers retirees a wide variety of health care options that combined with Washington's favorable taxation for retirees makes the area highly desirable.

Is Washington Losing its Retiree Advantage?

Over the last few years Washington State has been trying to push sweeping tax changes through the legislature including an attempt at creating a capital gains tax at the local state level. That is currently being challenged in court. Washington State remains free of an income tax and that is a substantial draw to the state for retirees. 

Washington continues to be one of the most expensive real estate markets in the US and that can act as a deterrent for retirees moving here from other areas. However Washington has a very strong and growing economy and that is creating good paying jobs that tend to lure families to the state. Many retirees want to stay close to their families, particularly grand children. This continues to form an anchor for many retirees as younger people are flocking to the state in great numbers.

Washington's moderate center left politics were always a draw for both liberals and somewhat conservative people but during the last few years the state government has made a strong California-like move to the left. For some this may be a good thing and could be a draw, but for others it is a negative. 

States with moderate politics tend to be the most desirable because they welcome a variety of viewpoints and tend not to chase away people. California chases away people as does states opposite California like Mississippi. Washington has enjoyed political moderation for decades. but as I mentioned above, the state now seems to be following California. This despite the horrific problems we see happening in that state these days.

So I believe the merits of Washington State still outweigh the negatives, but trends are moving towards a less desirable stopping point for retirees. This will be a disadvantage to states that have lots of retirees such as Arizona and Florida. In those two states the voting population is older and tend to have legislatures more in tune with the needs of the senior population.

Washington State is one of the few states that is getting younger. Currently we rank 43rd of 51 (DC is included) for residents over the age of 65. A decade ago we were ranked in the middle of the pack. The current median age is 38. That compares to the "oldest" state, Maine with a median age of 45 and the "youngest" state, Utah with a median age of 31. States with the most people over age 65 are Maine with 21.8% followed by Florida with 21.3%. West of the Rockies, the leader is Hawaii with 19.6%. Wow Oregon is ahead of Arizona by a smidgen with 18.6%! 

So that's the trend and things can and do change. I am guessing that Oregon has received a great many retirees from neighboring California because Oregon is definitely not as retiree friendly as Washington State. That's another post.   

Happy Holidays!

 I'll be back in 2024!