WALLA WALLA — Walla Walla and Columbia counties have experienced notable shifts in various aspects of life — from demographics to economics and beyond — as revealed in the recently updated Walla Walla Trends list.

Since 2007, Walla Walla Trends has been an ongoing community trends project serving Walla Walla County, which encompasses Walla Walla, College Place, Touchet and more. This initiative features a collection of about 130 indicators and caters to a community comprising 62,625 individuals. Walla Walla Trends is sponsored by the Port of Walla Walla.

According to the Walla Walla Trends website, the project seeks to improve local, public decision making by providing relevant data in an easily navigable website. The data highlights important changes in the region’s makeup and its progress in various sectors.

Highlights and updates

During the past 15 years, the share of people of color — POC — in the population of the metro area, which includes Walla Walla and Columbia counties, has seen a steady climb. This demographic has grown from 25% to 29%, with Hispanics and Latinos being the largest among these populations, followed closely by individuals identifying as “two or more races.”

In terms of economic vitality, little change was observed between 2021 and 2022. The five largest sectors by employment continue to be government, which includes local school districts, health care, social assistance, agriculture and retail trade. Notably, manufacturing has increased its share of jobs the most during the past decade.

The average annual wage in the region saw an increase between 2021 and 2022, rising by almost $2,500.

However, the number of net firms created in 2022 saw a decline, with 222 companies disappearing from the local landscape. This decrease was primarily seen in “social assistance” organizations, which may have been influenced by the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

In the realm of environmental trends, the city of Walla Walla saw a continued decline in water production and consumption during 2022. The share of water lost because of system leakage has decreased since 2009, dropping from 34% to just 13% of all water pumped.

Housing affordability remains a challenge in Walla Walla. The Housing Affordability Index — HAI — for all homebuyers indicates that the local market has been consistently decreasing in affordability during the past seven quarters.

In terms of health, the county reported a record-low number of live births by females between ages 15 and 19 in 2021, with just 27 births. This rate is now considerably below the national average and similar to the state of Washington.

In public safety, the county’s public schools recorded a continued decline in weapons incidents during the 2022-23 school year. However, the count of 16 incidents was higher than the best year in 2017-18 when only nine were reported, with daggers and knives being the most commonly reported weapons.

Economic progress

One notable aspect of Walla Walla’s economic progress in 2022 was the increase in the annual average wage, which grew by 4.9% compared to the previous year. According to the Walla Walla Trends Project, this marks the fastest year-over-year wage growth in the past decade for the county, surpassing the state average.

Manufacturing, government and retail trade were the leading sectors contributing to this wage increase. However, it’s important to note that when adjusting for inflation, the real wage for 2022 declined, but not as sharply as at the state level. The region is expected to experience lower inflation in 2023, and whether wages continue to grow at the rate seen in 2022 will determine the impact on real incomes for the coming year.

The Walla Walla Trends project aims to democratize data by providing accessible and neutral information to support informed decision-making by various stakeholders, including community members, policymakers, organizations, businesses, researchers and the press.

The project’s approach involves collecting and sharing data that is important to the community, scientifically valid, understandable and benchmarked against relevant trends.

This project is not about ranking needs but rather offers data for individuals to interpret based on their values. The project is supported by Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis, with Dr. Patrick Jones as its director and Kelley Cullen as the data analyst.

This information is courtesy of the Walla Walla Trends website.