Welcome to the first edition of the blog for Northeast Washington Trends! The blog captures the most recent updates to the indicators on the Northeast Washington Trends website, and will be sent out on a quarterly basis. Northeast Washington Trends would like to thank the Tri-county Economic Development District, Providence Medical, and other contributors for their support of the project.
Recent Updates
In PEOPLE:
Total Population & Annual Growth Rate
The April 1, 2024 population estimates from Washington state are in. Total population in the three counties was 68,850. All three counties added residents over 2023, with Pend Oreille showing the highest percentage growth, at approximately 0.9%. Overall, recent population growth is significantly slower in the three counties than in Washington at large, but still faster than population growth in the U.S.
The middle point of ages of Tri County residents is very high. The most recent estimate, covering the 5 years 2018-2022, shows slightly over 48 years. This is 10 years higher than the median for Washington state and nearly 10 years higher than for the U.S. median. Stevens County’s median age is the youngest of the three counties. This result holds many implications – for healthcare, public education, and housing.
Nearly all U.S. counties owe the bulk of their population growth to newcomers moving in, versus a “natural” increase of births over deaths. The Tri Counties is no exception. Washington state demographers estimated that slightly over 700 residents in 2024 moved from elsewhere into one of the three counties over the 2023-2024 period. This gain is greater than the overall population gain between the two years. Consequently, the natural increase was negative, that is, more deaths than births were recorded.
In ECONOMIC VITALITY:
Earnings from work, which constitutes this measure, is the largest part of personal income, ahead of federal transfer payments and investment income. It is also the component of personal income that economic development efforts have the greatest opportunity to impact.
Between 2023 and 2022, average annual earnings over all three counties increased by nearly $3,000. This is the largest total and percentage increase on record. Results differed considerably by county, however.
To simplify the graph, click on those elements of the legend you would like to see absent.
Total Civilian Labor Force & Labor Force Participation Rate of Population Ages 16+
The labor force consists of those residents employed and those unemployed but still seeking work. The participation rate is the share of adults (here 16+) who are in the labor force. The two measures give an idea of the capacity of the regional economy to grow.
In 2023, the average number in the labor force in the three counties was 26,630. While higher than recent years, the total is still about 300 lower than pre-pandemic peak in 2019.
The labor force participation rate in the three counties is low, at less than 50%, and is among the lowest in eastern Washington.
Net Jobs Created & Annual Growth Rate
A primary goal of economic development efforts and public policy generally is to foster job growth. This measure is based on a net concept, and consequently captures losses and gains. In the three counties, growth after the first year of the pandemic, 2020, has been solid, with about 1,100 jobs created since 2021. This easily made up for the initial job losses in 2020.
Quite a bit of variation by county exists, however.
To simplify the graph, click on those elements of the legend you would like to see absent.
In EDUCATION:
Public High School On-Time Graduation Rate
A fundamental milestone in young people’s lives is obtaining a high school diploma. It conveys that a student has passed all the necessary coursework and is ready for the next steps of life. Economically, those with a high school diploma earn far more over the course of a lifetime than those without one. For school districts, the graduation rate is part of their scorecard.
This indicator measures the share of a 9th-grade cohort that graduates within 4 years of starting high school.
Among all the public K-12 districts, the recent rates have not budged much from a mid-70%. This is considerably lower than the state average.
Learning generally and training for a well-paying job, in particular, does not stop at high school. Some form of post-secondary education and training is necessary. This measure follows graduating seniors for a year to see whether they have enrolled in a 2- or 4-year school of higher learning, whether public or private, in-state or out-of-state. Enrollment at for-profit schools is not counted in this indicator.
As the graph makes very clear, enrollment in both types of higher education plummeted over the pandemic. The peak reading among all public-school districts in the three counties was reached by the class of 2018, with nearly 42%. For the class of 2022, the post-secondary enrollment rate was about half of that.
In HEALTH:
Share of Deaths by Leading Causes
How we die gives an idea of how we have lived. Causes of death, here by share of all deaths, offer insights into leading conditions and diseases that lead to death. This indicator now tracks the five leading causes.
Important to note is that the relative importance of causes among the residents of the three counties is quite different from the state average. The leading two causes - cancer and heart disease - are considerably higher here than statewide. Stroke is about the same, but Alzheimer’s is a bit lower. In 2021 and 2022, deaths attributed to covid-19 were far higher in the Tri Counties than in Washington.
To simplify the graph, click on those elements of the legend you would like to see absent.
Number of Licensed Physicians, Total and per 1,000 Residents
For a population to enjoy good health generally, access to caregivers must be strong. While there are several caregiver types, such as nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, therapists, physicians are very important. And their numbers are tracked by state, by county, by year.
This measure allows comparison by following the number of licensed physicians (MD or DO) per 1,000 residents.
As the graph makes very clear, the relative presence of physicians in the three counties is weak, compared to the statewide average. In 2023, there was about one physician per 1,000 residents in the Tri Counties, versus 4.4 statewide. Further, the rate per resident hasn’t budged much over the past decade.
list updated 8.27.24
Graduating Interns
In this issue, we say goodbye to four graduating interns. They have accomplished so much over the past year at the institute. Left to right, they are: Laura Velasquez-Neal (mechanical engineering), Jessica Phan (Visual Communications Design), Angelica Cortes (Data Analytics) and Miranda Carmona (Economics). Angelica and Miranda have each received the Frances Houston medal, awarded to 20 graduating seniors for excellence in academics. All four will do well wherever they go.