The Walla Walla Trends project seeks to improve local, public decision making by providing relevant data in an easily navigable website. The data provided on this website is offered as neutral information.
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In ECONOMIC VITALITY:
The metro area Regional Price Parity Index shows Walla Walla to be in the middle.
No Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated for the Walla Walla metro area, or for that matter, anywhere in the state outside of the Seattle metro area. The U.S. Department of Commerce, however, has issued a relative measure of estimated costs of living for all metro areas in the U.S., including the two counties (Columbia and Walla Walla). The annual Regional Price Parity (RPP) Index draws prices from two sources: local housing (from the American Community Survey), and the prices of the closest available metro area with its own CPI, (in this case, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro), for all other goods and services.
The results are tabulated for each metro area, then expressed as a ratio of the average of all metro areas. Values less than 100 indicate a metro area is less expensive than the national average; values greater than 100, more expensive.
For the most recent year with data (2023), the index value for the two counties was 98.0 For years, the RPP for Walla Walla metro has hovered around 100. For most years, the values here are slightly below those of the Tri Cities and for all years, well below the RPP for the Seattle metro area.
The concentration of employment in the top 5 sectors remains high here.
Ideally, a local economy enjoys a mix of sectors that is diversified, much like model investment portfolios. This is also known as “not putting your eggs in one basket.” Yet, a small economy, such as Walla Walla’s doesn’t have the ability to diversify as much as a larger one, such as Seattle or Spokane.
This indicator measures concentration by headcount and considers the total share of the workforce accounting for by the five largest sectors in Walla Walla County. Companion indicator 1.3.5 shows these to be (in descending order): government, manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture and retail. As of 2023, the total share of overall employment claimed by these five sectors was 70%. This concentration level has barely budged in 20 years.
Note the much lower concentration in the Tri Cities, currently at 51%, for that economy’s top 5 sectors.
Quarterly residential building permitted units still significantly lag the state rate.
The construction industry, whether residential or commercial, is one of the key drivers of a local economy. Residential construction also delivers a product that most communities desperately need – housing, whether single- or multi-family. This indicator tracks the level permits issued quarterly as well as a population-based rate.
Apart from six quarters over the past 10 years, the quarterly number of permitted units for the county has typically rested at 45 or fewer. The gap between the Washington average and the Walla Walla rate of permitted units per 1,000 residents has been large. Despite an increase in the middle of last year, the most recent two quarters of local permitted units have reverted to the long-term trend, vis-à-vis the state
In EDUCATION:
The share of public K-12 teachers with advanced degrees is high and stable in the county.
The quality of teaching is one of the key determinants of student success. Simply put, teachers make a difference. This indicator attempts to proxy quality by the possession of a post-baccalaureate degree. It should capture subject knowledge expertise but may not pedagogical skills.
Among all the public schools in Walla Walla County, about 72% of the instructional staff possessed an advanced degree in 2024. This share is up slightly from two decades ago. For most of these years, Walla Walla teachers collectively sported a higher share than the state average.
Graduating from high school marks an important milestone in a student’s life. The rate at which students graduate is also a key indicator of the school district’s efforts. This indicator tracks the success of a cohort in receiving a diploma after 4 or 5 years of high school. The latter rate is usually slightly higher than the “on-time,” or four-year rate.
For the most recent cohort, who were 9th graders in the fall of 2019 and graduated either in 2023 or 2024, the extended graduation rate for all public districts in the county was nearly 90%. This share is up a few percentage points from a decade ago. For nearly every year tracked, the county share has been higher than the Washington average.
In EDUCATION cont:
Students completing at least one dual credit course is not as prevalent here as statewide.
Dual credit courses offer, with the appropriate grade, college credit. As such, the number of students taking dual credit courses in high school offer a window into student plans for post-secondary education. The number also reflects the ability of a school district to offer programs such as Advanced Placement (AP), Running Start or Tech Prep.
As the accompanying graph clearly shows, the count of students in this category has hardly grown over the past dozen years. Even more telling, the share of students in Walla Walla County public high schools completing at least one dual credit course lies far below the state average. In school year 2023-2024, the share was 47%, versus the state average of 68%.
In HEALTH:
The shares of deaths by leading causes generally show lower values than statewide.
How we die, collectively, reflects how we have lived. Public health professionals track deaths by leading causes to understand population health.
For the most recently available year, 2023, cancer (18%) claimed the largest share of deaths in the county. The same applied to the state average, but its share, at 21%, was higher. Heart disease occupied second place locally, at 15%, and was also less than its counterpart state share, 19%. However, Alzheimer’s share here, at 8%, was considerably higher than the state average, 5%.
Rounding out 4th and 5th places in the county for 2023 were stroke (4.4%) and covid-19 (2%). These shares are not too different than those in the state.
Over the past decade, the local shares claimed by all four top conditions have declined. In other words, other conditions or events now claim more lives than before.
To simplify the graph, in the legend click on those elements you would like to hide.
A pillar of physical and mental health is exercise of many different sorts. This indicator, from the Centers for Disease Control, provides estimates of residents who do not engage in exercise. It counts those adults who do not exercise at least 150 minutes per week.
As the graph reveals, the trend is in the right direction. As of 2022 (the most recent data), the estimated share was 14%. This is considerably less than in 2012, when it stood at 26%. For the past two years, the Walla Walla rate has been lower than the state rate.
In HOUSING:
The housing affordability index for all homebuyers remains low but the trend may be reversing.
Housing prices certainly matter. But so do incomes. This indicator, from the University of Washington Real Estate Research Center, puts the two together in a ratio. In the numerator is income, specifically for this indicator, 25% of median household income.
In the denominator is the mortgage costs of a median priced home, embodying the current fixed 30-year mortgage rate as well as closing costs. A value greater than 100 implies affordability; a value less than 100, “unaffordable.” A value of 100: the household has just enough income to afford the currently median priced home, assuming that it spends no more than 25% of its income on housing.
While the decline in affordability in the county over the past decade has been dramatic, the last two quarters show a reversal. Still, the most recent value, at 79, signals continued lack of affordability for a Walla Walla resident. The last time this value signaled affordability was the 3rd quarter of 2021.
Housing prices certainly matter. But so do incomes. This indicator, from the University of Washington Real Estate Research Center, puts the two together in a ratio. It attempts to estimate the implied housing burden for young or generally new, buyers of a home.
In the numerator is income, specifically for this indicator, 25% below the 70th quintile of the area median household income. In the denominator is the mortgage costs of the 85th quintile of a median priced home, assuming the current 30-year mortgage rate as well as closing costs. A value greater than 100 implies affordability; a value less than 100, “unaffordable.” A value of 100: the household has just enough income to afford the currently median priced home.
Housing affordability for first-time home buyers has typically been lower than for the “all-buyer”. Consequently, the decline in affordability for this buyer class has not been as severe as for the “all-buyer,” because the index was lower at the start of the period. There was a time when the Walla Walla market was affordable for this buyer: as the graph shows, the last time the index was above 100 was in the second quarter of 2018. Yet, affordability’s decline has reversed itself over the past two quarters. Start of a trend?
list updated 5.14.26
New Intern Features
Cameron Burns
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Major: Computer Science
Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2027
Post-graduation plans: Start a career designing computer systems.
After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:
My favorite part of work is how the data we use reflects real people and communities. It's satisfying knowing the work we do goes to people who use it to make a difference.
Malina Weigel
Hometown: Okanogan, WA
Major: Economics Major w/ a minor in business administration
Expected Graduation Date: June 2026
Post-graduation plans: I’m hoping to go to graduate school for Economics or Data Science!
After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:
In the time I’ve been working here my favorite thing is definitely being challenged to learn new topics I haven’t had experience with before.