Puget Sound Economic District is a federally designated Economic Development District (EDD) covering King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. This economic region is recognized by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce tasked with promoting regional economic development across the nation through grants and awards as mandated by the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Puget Sound Economic District, its economy and demographics. In what follows I shall compare district level to and state wide data on business clusters and industry presence, population socioeconomic status, unemployment rates, as well as demographics concerning age race and educational attainment.
Puget Sound economic district comprises four adjacent counties in the Northwest corner of Washington State which include King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. (“Puget Sound Trends”). The entire region's population totals to 3,899,720 (as of 2015). Washigton state total population is by comparison. The largest city in this district in Seattle ( King county) with a 2015 population of 662,400. The smallest city is Index of (of Snohomish county) with a 2015 population of 160. Sammamish, Washington (King County) is the newest city in the region, having incorporated in 1999. The oldest city in the region is Steilacoom (Pierce County), which was incorporated in 1854. The total number of cities and towns in the Puget Sound Economic District total to 82.
Economy, Business and Industry.. As of 2015, Puget Sound was home to a number of publicly traded and private firms with multinational presence in a range of sectors. In information Technology, Puget Sound is home to Amazon.Com, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Valve Software, Sucker Punch Production (Video Game development). Other multinational corporations of note with headquarters in the region include Amazon.com, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Expeditors International, Costco Wholesale, Paccar (global manufacturers of medium and commercial sized trucks) and the timber manufacturer Weyerhaeuser (Mefford 6). As of 2015, the biggest regional employers in the Puget Sound region are in the Information Technology Sector, with a total employment of 154, 494 persons.(Mefford 4) The next two heaviest employed clusters are Business Services, which employs 104,354 individuals and Aerospace, which employs 100, 284 individuals as of 2015.(Mefford 4) The next biggest employer following is in the Transportation and Logistics cluster, with just over 43,000 persons employed as of 2015. As of 2014, 1,832,400 persons were employed in public or private firms across all sectors (Mefford 5).
Puget Sound Employment forecasts for the next 5-10 years reflect the positive upswing in sectoral employment indicated in Table 1. In the Aerospace Industry, Boeing Commercial Airplanes had a record 2014, with 723 airplanes delivered, and 1,432 orders worth $232.7 billion. Boeing underwent a $1 billion expansion of the Everett plant, adding 1.3 million square feet. Boeing underwent a $1 billion expansion of the Everett plant, adding 1.3 million square feet. Boeing Everett expansion has also led other aeroxspace manufacturers to invest in Everett & Snohomish County facilities (Mefford 12) . Informaiton Technology sectors are expected to grow at solid rates of 4-6 % over the next 5 years with hiring growths expected from headquartered ecommerce and operations outfits of Nordstrom's as well as the expected growth of Amazon and Microsoft, both which plan increased hiring to meet the needs of teir cloud infrastructure services (Mefford 13).
Souce: Puget Source Regional Council
Population. Data for the Puget Sound population come from the 2014 release of the United States Census. In 2014, total population for Puget Sound District was 3,807,, 148 with 49.9% female and 50.1% of population male. 6.0% of this population were 4 years or younger; 15.9% of population were teenagers, from 5 to 17 years of age. 31.7 % of population were from 18 to 39 years of age. 34.3% of population were from 40 to 64 years of age, with 10.2% at 65 years to 84 years and just 1.2% of population aged 85 or older. In 2013, the median household income for persons in King County was $69,000.00 Compared to $57, 900 for Kitsap and Pierce Counties and $64,000 for Snohomish County. The projected income for 2018 is expected to rise for all counties to $71,500 (King) $58,600 (Kitsap), $58,500 (Pierce), and $65,500 (Snohomish). As of 2015, King County had 12.4% of its population in poverty. Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish Counties had comparable rates of 11.3%, 14.0% and 11.3% respectively. This data may be compared to the state-level average for Washington State which is 14.3% in 2015, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Phoung Lee).
Unemployment Rates. Unemployment data is gathered from the Puget Sound Regional Council Total population 16 years and over was 3,099,917 in 2015 (with a 2,896 margin of error). 67.6 % was in the labor force and 66.5 % was in the civilian labor force. Of this number, 61.7% were employed and 4.9% were unemployed. 32.4% of population was considered not in the labor force.
Population Demographics. The population demographics in 2014 for Puget Sound show signs of stability compared to 4 years prior. This ended a decade long trend of decreasing size of households. Over this period, numbers of persons with children decreased and the population aged 65 or older increased as well. This parallels trends that are happening on the state-wide level and nationally over the past 3 decades with shrinking sizes of households, fewer persons living with children and an aging population. In fact, since 1960 in the Puget Sound Region alone, the average size of household has dwindled from a peak of 2.97 persons to 2.49 between the years 1960 and 2014 (“Population Survey”). The most radical drop occurred over this period between 1970 and 1980, when average household size in the economic district plummeted nearly 13% (12.8%) between the years 1970 and 1980. Economists at the Puget Sound Research Center suggest this substantial decline was reflective of changing morales and consistent with broader societal changes that included declining fertility rates, mega increases in divorce rates and more and more of the “baby boomer” generation making their first enttrance into the housing market at this time (“Population Trends” 1). This population trend, of smaller household sizes spiked upwards until 1980, but flattened from 1990 into the 2000s. Average household size in Puget Sound has remained stable over the past decade, moving from slightly above 2.49 in 2000 to just slightly below 2.49 (2.39) in 2010 and back up to 2.49 in 2014 (“Population Trends”).
The racial and ethnic composition of the region has experienced significant change form a marked increase in Hispanic population numbers of 3.9% in the years between 2000 and 2014 (“Population Trends”). White and non-Hispanic population numbers actually decreased over these same years by 0.3% and 2.2% respectively (“Population Trends”). While this growth is significant on its own, state wide and national trends. In Washington State, the Hispanic population grew by 4.1% between the years 2000 and 2010 (“ “State of Washington Employment and Population Trends”). The Hispanic population growth was higher during the previous decade which was the 1990s.(11.7% statewide). This growth is consistent with what researchers are finding on a national scale with respect to growth in the Hispanic population. Pew Research Center reports that the fasting growing racial and ethnic group in the United States is Hispanic, a group which now comprises over 17 percent of the national population and whose growth in 2010 accounted for over half of the population growth seen across the entire nation (Brown and Lopez 5).
Interestingly, Puget Sound Region saw a similar increase in household sizes for “some other race”. This may or may not include Hispanics, however, since the census questionnaire is designed in such a way that the question remains separate. In the region, “some other race” households increased by 8.3% from 3.4 to 3.68 in the years from 2000 to 2014. Since 2000, the actual size of households has remained stable, yet the age composition of households has changed in significant ways. Between the years 2000 and 2010, percentage of households with one or more persons below 18 years of age decreased by almost 10% in the region. In the decade in the years between 1990 and 2000, this same figure decreased only by 1 percent, by comparison (“Population Trends”).
Educational Attainment. Over 35% of Seattle’s adult residents have a Bachelor’s degree or higher, nearly twice the national average. In King County, this high educational attainment is the highest in the State of Washington for all counties, at 43% possessing at least a bachelor's degree or higher. The rates of educational attainment across the other counties in Puget Sound are not as high, however. The center of Puget Sound Region (in King County and in particular, Seattle Metropolitan Area) is among the most degreed populations in the entire United States. In 2010, Seattle rose above Minneapolis and Washington D.C. as well as Atlanta and even San Francisco, earning the title of being named “the most literature city in the United States” (“Educational Attainment”). This region also boasts the highest per-capita bachelor degree in the entire nation (“Educational Attainment”).
That said, disparities are persistent even in the high-achieving areas. On a state-wide level, Washington comes in at 39th of 50 total states in their percentage of students who graduate from high school after 4 years. In 2000, only 66 percent of students graduated from high school in Washington State according to a national survey conducted by the Manhattan Institute (“Educational Attainment”). There is some disagreement over whether these figures are accurate, however in light of the inconsistency with data reported by the The Washington State Office of Public Instruction. The Washington State Office of Public Instruction which evidently uses a different method for graduation rate estimation reports graduation rate at 72% in 2000, the same year as the Manhattan Institutes survey. Economists generally acknowledge high school graduation statistics may tend towards imprecision because of the high mobility of this young demographic. It is often hard to locate students because of residential moves that involve district switching, possible dropouts, possible early graduation attainments, or they may also have simply taken a bit longer time to graduate than the narrow 4 years.
Con clusion. The purpose of the preceeding reseearch was to give a comprehensive economic overview of the Puget Sound, a federally recognized Economic Development District in the State of Washington, locagted in the Pacific Northwest. Pugest Sound region is a multi-county district which comprises King, Snohomish, Kitsap and Pierce Counties, all in the Northwesternmost section of the Washginton State area. Crentral King County is home t one of the most economically prosperous Metroplolitan areas in the United States, which is Seattle. Seattle's prosperity has been helped by the combination of a highly educated population (over 35% have at least a Bachelor's degree or higher) as well as strong presence of local and multnational industry. Several Fortune 500 top companies in fact have their headquarters in Seattle or surrounding Pugete Sound areas including Boeing, Amazon. Com and of course, Starbucks. While this economic survey considered the standard set of population, demographic and economic data, including ethnic diversity, it only touched lightly on the presence of racial diversity and economic disparity. For instance, in our discussion on population, we considered socioeconomic status and reported Puget Sound Regional Council's statistical data on regional poverty rates. Despite the booming economy in King County, the County itself has a shockingly high rate of poverty at well above 12% . The figures for the adjacent counties were similar and all at least above 10%. While these figures are in in-line with national averages and hence are not a unique case, it illustrates that one does not have to go digging very deep to find evidence of significant disparity even in some of the wealthiest and most educated counties in the United States. This fact is corroborated by our discussion on educational attainment where we addressed the problem of low graduation rates from high school as brought to national attention by Manhattan Institutes's recent survey, which contested official government bureau data with an average graduation rate from high-school in Washington State at 66%, significantly lower than the still low officilaly reported figure of 72% in 2010. More research should be done in this area with respect to Puget Sound with an eye towards understanding the best ways to promote development in the regional economy – not just for some, but for all.
Works Cited
Brown, Anna and Hugo Lopez. “Mapping the Latino Population, By State, County and City”. Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends Project.(2013). Web. 15. Apr 2016.
"Current Population Survey (CPS)." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
"Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey." Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Department of Labor, (2014). Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Lee, Phoung. “Washington State Poverty Numbers Increase.” Komonews.com (2015). Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
“Population Trends.” Puget Sound Regional Council, (2015). Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
“Puget Sound: Trends.” Puget Sound Regional Council, (2015). Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Mefford, Chris. “Puget Sound Regional Forecast”. 43Rd Annual Conference Proceedings of the Economic Development Council.[Powerpoint slides] (2015). Web. Apr. 15 2016.
"Regional Data Profile: Introduction." Puget Sound Regional Council, (2015). Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
“State of Washington Employment and Population Trends” Forecasting & Research Division Office of Financial Management September (2015). Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
