Washington County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 39 counties in Washington, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 49.5. 7counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Washington Snapshot
39 Counties Scored
49.5 Mean Score
48.3 Median Score
68.2 Yakima County Most Distressed
37.6 San Juan County Least Distressed
1 Most distressed fifth6 Second-most distressed fifth23 Middle fifth9 Second-least distressed fifth
Quintile Distribution Washington County Map
Loading interactive map…
Least distressed fifth Second-least distressed fifth Middle fifth Second-most distressed fifth Most distressed fifth
All 39 Washington counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Washington's 39 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Washington Counties
39 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 565 | Yakima County | 68.2 | Most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 2 | 950 | Grays Harbor County | 61.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 3 | 952 | Adams County | 61.0 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 4 | 1,078 | Lewis County | 59.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 5 | 1,107 | Grant County | 58.6 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 6 | 1,214 | Pierce County | 56.9 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 7 | 1,222 | Cowlitz County | 56.7 | Second-most distressed fifth | Labor |
| 8 | 1,311 | Okanogan County | 55.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 9 | 1,374 | Spokane County | 54.1 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | 1,403 | Franklin County | 53.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 11 | 1,410 | Kittitas County | 53.5 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | 1,452 | Pacific County | 52.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 13 | 1,459 | Mason County | 52.5 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 14 | 1,490 | Thurston County | 51.8 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | 1,534 | Douglas County | 51.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 16 | 1,576 | Benton County | 50.4 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 17 | 1,612 | Walla Walla County | 49.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 18 | 1,615 | Clark County | 49.6 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 19 | 1,664 | Klickitat County | 48.9 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 20 | 1,690 | Clallam County | 48.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 21 | 1,698 | Whatcom County | 48.2 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 22 | 1,709 | Columbia County | 48.1 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 23 | 1,720 | Snohomish County | 47.9 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 24 | 1,733 | Asotin County | 47.7 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 25 | 1,786 | Skagit County | 46.8 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 26 | 1,813 | Stevens County | 46.3 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 27 | 1,820 | Ferry County | 46.2 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 28 | 1,837 | Garfield County | 45.8 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 29 | 1,839 | Pend Oreille County | 45.8 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 30 | 1,851 | Wahkiakum County | 45.7 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 31 | 1,906 | Whitman County | 44.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 32 | 1,933 | Kitsap County | 44.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 33 | 1,962 | Skamania County | 43.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 34 | 2,084 | Chelan County | 41.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 35 | 2,157 | King County | 40.2 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 36 | 2,171 | Island County | 40.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 37 | 2,203 | Lincoln County | 39.4 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 38 | 2,258 | Jefferson County | 38.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Labor |
| 39 | 2,292 | San Juan County | 37.6 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.
Most distressed fifth — 1 Washington county
Second-most distressed fifth — 6 Washington counties
Middle fifth — 23 Washington counties
Second-least distressed fifth — 9 Washington counties
Least distressed fifth — 0 Washington counties