{"id":1942,"date":"2026-07-28T13:40:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T20:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/?page_id=1942"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T20:40:30","slug":"dec2025_blog","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/dec2025_blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Walla Walla Trends Blog – December 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>

This page will be updated and email alerts sent on a quarterly basis. Don't miss an update - subscribe today<\/a>!<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Recent Updates<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In PEOPLE<\/b>:<\/p>

Total population in the county again grew slowly this year.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

As of\u00a0April 1st\u00a0of this year,\u00a0total\u00a0population in the county was estimated at 63,800. This includes\u00a0about 2,100 inmates at the Penitentiary. The year-over-year\u00a0increase\u00a0was 425,\u00a0or about 0.7%. The\u00a0gain\u00a0was\u00a0stronger than the prior 10-year average of\u00a0307. Over the past\u00a0decade, the county has added inhabitants at a rate about half of Washington state (1.3% annual, simple average), but at the\u00a0same rate as in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>

All the gain can be attributed to in-migration.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

In ECONOMIC VITALITY<\/strong>:<\/p>

Median household income (MHI) in 2024 was statistically the same as 2023.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

Median household income\u00a0comes from a survey fielded by the U.S\u00a0Census, the American Community Survey\u00a0(ACS).\u00a0For\u00a0one-year\u00a0estimates, the\u00a0geographical\u00a0unit of measure consists of both Columbia and Walla Walla\u00a0Counties. For income\u00a0analysis, the median gives a better notion of the \u201cmiddle\u201d of\u00a0the\u00a0distribution\u00a0than the average.\u00a0<\/p>

For 2024, the ACS estimated\u00a0median household income of the two counties to be $72,892. This is a\u00a0mere\u00a0$80\u00a0greater\u00a0than in 2023, certainly\u00a0not enough to be statistically different.\u00a02023 experienced a much larger jump from the prior year, at\u00a0about $7,500.\u00a0<\/p>

MHI of the two counties\u00a0remains\u00a0below\u00a0that of the U.S. and\u00a0now\u00a0represents\u00a089%\u00a0of the national MHI. Local MHI compared to that of the state\u00a0yields\u00a0a much smaller\u00a0ratio.<\/p>

Annual taxable retail sales slid last year but might be reversing the slide this year.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

Sales hit\u00a0$1.53 billion, a much higher number than the pre-pandemic level\u00a0in 2019.\u00a0But\u00a02024\u00a0results\u00a0represented\u00a0a slight drop from the peak of 2022,\u00a0which\u00a0reached\u00a0$1.56 billion. The local\u00a0decline runs counter to the\u00a0modest\u00a0percentage gain of taxable retail sales statewide over the\u00a0same\u00a0period.\u00a0<\/p>

For the first half of this year, however, the relationship has flipped. In quarters one and two, taxable retail sales in the county came in at 4.7% and 10.4%, respectively, much higher than the gains experienced across the state. Will this outperformance characterize the second half of this year? At minimum, the good start sets up the county to show a decent increase over last year.\u00a0<\/p>

Annual taxable retail sales per capita in Walla Walla shows about the same \u201cleakage\u201d as before.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

Residents shopping\u00a0outside of\u00a0their\u00a0home\u201d\u00a0market\u00a0may bring\u00a0individual benefits but\u00a0also\u00a0collective costs. Dollars taken from local\u00a0stores and spent out of county impact the vitality of\u00a0a community\u2019s\u00a0retail\u00a0offering. They also\u00a0dent\u00a0potential\u00a0local government finances which, in this state, rely\u00a0greatly on\u00a0revenues from retail sales taxes.\u00a0Of course, increasingly the largest alternative to local shopping\u00a0is online purchasing. But\u00a0tax\u00a0revenue from these sales\u00a0is now\u00a0captured\u00a0by local governments.\u00a0<\/p>

This indicator\u00a0attempts\u00a0to measure retail \u201cleakage\u201d by tracking per capita spending in the county compared to\u00a0adjacent\u00a0retail markets, in this case, Benton and Franklin Counties.\u00a0If all counties experienced the same rate of local shopping, then one might conclude the \u201cleakage\u201d is minimal.\u00a0The higher per capita\u00a0retail sales, the less leakage there appears to be.\u00a0For Walla Walla, the per capita figure excludes the Penitentiary population.\u00a0<\/p>

2024\u00a0represented\u00a0a continuation of the trend over the past several years. Per capita spending\u00a0at\u00a0\u201cretail trade\u201d businesses\u00a0amounted to $11,973 for Walla Walla. This was\u00a0considerably below\u00a0the\u00a0spend\u00a0in Benton County, at $13,560.\u00a0Yet, retail spending leakage\u00a0here seems less than Franklin County, where per capita expenditures were $10,301\u00a0last year.

<\/p>

The size of the County\u2019s labor force and its participation rate in the labor force continue to decline.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

The size of the labor force represents\u00a0an important measure of\u00a0the economic potential of a local economy.\u00a0It consists of residents who have a job\u00a0plus\u00a0those who are seeking one\u00a0(the active unemployed).\u00a0The participation rate in the labor force\u00a0represents\u00a0the\u00a0willingness of a given part of the population, here anyone 16 years or older, to engage in work for pay.\u00a0It is expressed as\u00a0the labor force\u00a0divided\u00a0the\u00a0size of\u00a0this population.\u00a0<\/p>

2024 continued the trend started during the pandemic. The county\u2019s labor force numbered 29,327,\u00a0about 1,200 fewer than in 2019. The participation rate in 2024 was 58%, down from the\u00a02019 recent\u00a0peak of 64%.\u00a0<\/p>

With a shrinking labor force, can the County\u00a0maintain, let alone grow, its economy?\u00a0Perhaps\u00a0with\u00a0the help of workers from nearby Tri Cities.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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In\u00a0ECONOMIC VITALITY<\/strong> cont:<\/p>

Net jobs created by County firms and organizations slipped in 2024.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

A central goal of all economic development is to foster job creation.\u00a0Without strong job creation, it is unlikely that\u00a0aggregate personal income will grow, influencing a variety of outcomes:\u00a0retail spending,\u00a0local government revenues, philanthropy, not to mention the self-esteem that usually\u00a0accompanies\u00a0paid work. This indicator tracks\u00a0net\u00a0job creation by measuring the average number on the payroll of county\u00a0employing entities\u00a0from\u00a0one year to the next.\u00a0<\/p>

By this measure, 2024 was a challenging year. Only\u00a0a\u00a0net\u00a059 jobs were\u00a0added\u00a0by county employers. It\u00a0represents\u00a0a drop\u00a0of 221\u00a0from the prior year\u00a0and a much larger drop from the recent peak\u00a0in 2022, when 681 new net jobs were created.\u00a0As the graph shows, the rate of job creation has also slumped statewide but not at the rate seen in Walla Walla County.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

And this year? So far,\u00a0data for\u00a0only\u00a0the first quarter\u00a0have\u00a0been released. The numbers\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0augur well: a drop of 182 from\u00a0the Q1\u00a0of 2024.\u00a0

<\/p>

Accommodation retail sales hit all-time peak in 2024 in the county.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

Measuring tourism, or visitor spending more generally, is\u00a0a difficult task\u00a0since very few visitors\u00a0are subject\u00a0to\u00a0spending surveys. Accommodation sales\u00a0represent\u00a0a relatively \u201cclean\u201d measure of visitor spending. In contrast to other areas of visitor spending such\u00a0as at\u00a0eating and drinking establishments, residents\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0dilute the results. Visitors seldom stay overnight at a hotel, B&B or\u00a0campground. One can then view the trend of accommodation sales as \u201cdirectional\u201d for total visitor spending.\u00a0<\/p>

In 2024, spending at accommodation establishments hit a record $38\u00a0million. That is up from $29\u00a0million in pre-pandemic 2019, or cumulatively 31%.\u00a0Until 2022, the year-over-year growth rates\u00a0of accommodation sales\u00a0here were\u00a0equal to or higher than the state average.\u00a0For 2022 and 2023, however, increases here were below the state rates. Last year\u00a0the county returned\u00a0to\u00a0outperforming the state average.\u00a0<\/p>

For 2025, spending at county accommodation establishments has continued to climb. The first quarter notched an 11%\u00a0jump, while the (much larger) second quarter brought a 3%\u00a0increase.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

In EDUCATION:<\/strong><\/p>

The county\u2019s public high school graduation rate matched the state rate most recently.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

Without an educated workforce, a regional economy\u00a0typically\u00a0has little chance of growing.\u00a0(For economies tilted toward extractive industries,\u00a0this may not be true.)\u00a0A high school diploma is the first step\u00a0in\u00a0acquiring\u00a0credentials, for both the student and the employer community, of a well-trained\u00a0worker\/workforce.\u00a0And\u00a0public-school\u00a0districts receive their own scorecard\u00a0for success in getting their students\u00a0to this important milestone.\u00a0<\/p>

For\u00a0school\u00a0year\u00a02023-2024,\u00a0the county average, high school graduation rate from public schools was\u00a083%. This\u00a0represents\u00a0the share of a 9th\u00a0grade cohort who\u00a0walks\u00a0across the graduation stage four years later.\u00a0The latest results\u00a0are\u00a0the 3rd\u00a0best showing over the past 15 years, but there is little upward trend discernible over\u00a0these years\u00a0<\/p>

For the past two years, the county average has\u00a0stayed below the state average. In most years prior, the county average has been higher than the state average.\u00a0<\/p>

In HEALTH<\/strong>:<\/p>

The number of residents with a disability continues to fall in the county, bucking national trend.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

The American Community Survey of the U.S. Census tracks disability\u00a0(self-described) by several categories:\u00a0\u00a0vision, hearing, cognition, ambulation,\u00a0self-care\u00a0and\u00a0independent living.\u00a0These conditions\u00a0often lead\u00a0people to leave work and for those of retirement age, impair their retirement.\u00a0<\/p>

The estimated number for the metro area in 2024 was\u00a07,455, implying a\u00a0rate\u00a012.6% in the general population.\u00a0This marks a steep decline from the peak\u00a0observed\u00a0in 2022, when the estimate for the metro (two county) area was slightly higher than 10,000\u00a0and a rate of 17%. For the first time in this series, the local rate is now below the state and national rates.\u00a0

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In HOUSING<\/strong>:

<\/p>

The county\u2019s months\u2019 supply of homes generally shows a market largely in balance.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

The price of any market, and certainly\u00a0in\u00a0the market\u00a0for single-family homes,\u00a0depends on the forces of demand and supply. This indicator takes up the latter. The measure employed is the total supply of homes by\u00a0three price categories\u00a0by months,\u00a0assuming that\u00a0current sales rate prevails in the future.\u00a0A\u00a0market in equilibrium, where demand and supply are in balance, is often seen\u00a0with supply\u00a0at\u00a06 months.\u00a0<\/p>

For the most recent quarter, ending this July,\u00a0the price category with the highest supply\u00a0in the county consisted of\u00a0those homes listed\u00a0for $0.5 million and up, at 8.2 months.\u00a0Since the\u00a0pandemic generally,\u00a0this\u00a0price category has shown a higher\u00a0months\u2019\u00a0supply than the other\u00a0two\u00a0categories, with a\u00a0couple of exceptions. The supply of the\u00a0price category $250,000-$499,999\u00a0has been much smaller\u00a0and\u00a0quite close to the supply of the price category $249,000 or less.\u00a0For Q2 of this year,\u00a0months\u2019 supply\u00a0levels were 3.0 and 3.2, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>

list updated 12.2.26<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1942","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1942"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1943,"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1942\/revisions\/1943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}