Welcome to the first issue of a quarterly blog featuring Whitman County Trends! The site was launched to inform the residents about many aspects of life of Whitman County, via data. The Trends is generously supported by the Port of Whitman. We hope you enjoy the blog which may take you to the website. As always, EWU and Port appreciate feedback.
Recent Updates
In PEOPLE:
The County population grew last year but still lies below pre-pandemic level.
On April 1 of this year, the Washington Office of Financial Management estimated the county’s population to be 49,450. That represented a 700 person increase from April 1 of 2024. Or, a 1.4% year-over-year increase, above the state’s growth rate.
Yet, Whitman County’s population still sits below the peak reached in 2019, when it was slightly higher than 50,000. The student population at Washington State University likely explains all the decline and slow recovery.
Whitman County remains a very young place.
Whitman County remains a young place. The obvious population segment that is outsized here consists of 18–34-year-olds. In 2024, this group amounted to 41% of the population. The share of this group across the state? About 18%.
While the older adult (65+) segment is growing, its share is still quite small, relatively speaking. In 2024, the county share of older adults was a bit less than 13%. Contrast this to the state average share of people 65+ last year: about 18%.
To simplify the graph, click in the legend those components you would like to hide.
In ECONOMIC VITALITY:
The measure of taxable retail sales gives a good reading of local consumer spending as well as of construction activities. (These are taxed in Washington state.)
For the most recent quarter with data (Q1 of this year), these sales amounted to $229 million in Whitman County. This represented a slight increase, at 1.5%, over the same quarter a year prior. This result handily beat the state’s year-over-year growth rate. Local taxable sales were still below the peak reached in the first quarter of 2023. Last year, the county’s growth in taxable retail sales lay well below the rate statewide. Does the most recent quarter augur a reversal of this standing?
The County’s quarterly residential building permitted units are hitting historical lows.
Residential construction often serves as a lynchpin of a local economy, as it sends out strong ripple effects into labor and materials markets. And, of course, it supplies an increasingly scarce good the U.S.: housing, whether single- or multi-family.
Thanks to the U.S. Census, quarterly permitted units are available quite quickly. The number of units in the recently ended quarter (Q2) was 9. As one can easily see from the graph, low numbers have characterized this activity in Whitman County since the 3rd quarter of 2023. This is likely a reaction to the burst of permitted units in 2021 through the first half of 2023.
In EDUCATION:
Public high school, on-time graduation rates continue to outperform the state.
Graduating from high school is not only a point of pride for students and their families. The rate is also an important component of the report card given to a school district. This indicator presents the average over all school districts in the county. It is calculated as the share of 9th graders four years prior who receive a diploma in a given school year.
For school year 2023-24, the on-time rate among county high school students was nearly 94% and represents the second-highest year on record. As the graph shows, the county’s students have routinely shown graduation rates 10 to 12 percentage points above the state average.
In EDUCATION cont:
This measure, from the state of Washington’s Education Research & Data Center, tracks the presence of graduating high schoolers in a non-profit higher educational institution shortly after graduation. It counts county students whether they are enrolled in-state or out-of-state. The graph segments the population into students at 2- and 4-year institutions.
For the class of ’23, about two thirds of county high school graduates were enrolled according to the definition above. Most (52%) were attending a four-year school; 14% were in a 2-year school. The county overall rate was and has been far above the state average. However, post-pandemic graduating classes show considerably lower college-going rates than pre-pandemic graduates. Peak college-going was reached by the class of ’09, when more than three quarters of county graduating seniors were in a higher ed institution within a year of graduation.
In HOUSING:
The County’s recent median house resale price is now higher than Tri Cities.
With high mortgage rates and lofty prices, housing is very much a current topic in polite discussions among adults. Housing prices matter to a household, since a house typically represents the largest purchase over one’s lifetime. Housing prices also matter to employers as they recruit staff to their facilities. And housing prices matter to the construction industry, who at least in theory, are motivated to build if prices are “right.”
This measure, from the University of Washington Real Estate Research Center, uses the median price and considers only resale, not new, homes. For the most recent quarter, Q2 of this year, the median in the county was $452,000. Near the start of the pandemic, Q2 of 2020, the median price in the county was $297,000. In other words, the median has risen by $155,000 in five years! While still considerably below the state median, Whitman County’s values are higher than those of the Tri Cities and at a par with the Spokane County market.
In PUBLIC SAFETY:
Whitman County’s property crime rate remains muted.
At a minimum, an environment of high rates of theft puts residents and visitors on edge. This indicator tracks the number and rate of crimes that constitute property crimes: larceny, burglary and motor vehicle theft.
2024 was a relatively quiet year for this type of crime, with a total of 284. This was in range of years since 2019. The peak year has been 2016, and most of the immediately preceding years to 2016 were much higher than recent years. Compared to both the U.S. and Washington averages, property crime is very low in Whitman County.
The County’s violent crimes remain relatively low.
While property crime is burdensome, violent crime is abhorrent. This measure tracks the four components of violent crime: aggravated assault, rape, robbery and murder.
While 2023 represented peak, the most recent year did not return to the very low levels that characterized the county during the pandemic. A total of 58 were registered in the county in 2024, with aggravated assault and rape by far the more predominant types. Generally, however, the violent crime rate in Whitman County is far below the rate for the state.
In TOURISM, ARTS, & RECREATION:
Local accommodation industry sales gained in 2024 but just barely.
Visitor spending is difficult to gauge, since there are no turnstiles at the county line with a questionnaire to fill out before leaving. Unlike restaurant sales, however, spending at hotels, motels, B&Bs and VRBO units represents, by and large, spending of visitors. As such, this measure can serve as a barometer of the direction of visitor spending in Whitman County.
The results for 2024 represent the highest on spending on record, but only slightly higher than 2023. The year over year increase was 1.9%. Yet, spending in the last three years is much higher than pre-pandemic levels. With only a couple exceptions, the year-over-year growth rates for sales by county accommodation businesses have been remarkably similar to the growth rate throughout the state.
updated 09.11.26
New Intern Features
Mason Moore
Hometown:
Wenatchee, Washington
Major:
Information Systems & Business Analytics, Finance
Expected Graduation Date:
Fall 2025
Post-graduations plans:
Attend graduate school and get a good job!
After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:
I really enjoy the process of troubleshooting and working through the puzzles that come with data analysis, no two indicators are ever the same, and that keeps things interesting and engaging. I’ve also really appreciated the opportunity to work with such a thoughtful and collaborative team. The people I get to work with make the experience even more rewarding.
Matthew Sandell
Hometown:
Bremerton, WA
Major:
Double-majoring in Economics and Data Analytics
Expected Graduation Date:
Winter 2025
Post-graduation plans:
Get a job involved with economic development and/or public policy, either local or international.
After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:
There are so many different puzzles to solve. My favorite part of the Trends project is rebuilding or creating new datasets. Often, we have to make judgement calls on what data is important and how to present that data. Fundamentally, we're here to tell a story, and I love finding the most efficient way to achieve that through thoughtful and creative data organization.