For more than a century, Washington has been home to the people and ideas that move the world forward.
From aerospace and agriculture to technology and life sciences to manufacturing and microbrews, we have turned innovation into impact.
Our ideas fly higher, grow farther, and reach wider, powered by the talent, vision, and determination found only here in the Evergreen State.
For generations, Washington has shown the world what leadership looks like. But lately, our state is losing sight of the values and vision that once made us great.
For more than a decade, we’ve relied on higher spending as a substitute for progress and the result has been the opposite:
Higher costs for families and challenges that keep getting worse.
Washington Forward helps Washingtonians connect the dots between rising costs and rising spending and what more of the same would mean for our future.
Because the first step to moving Washington forward is knowing where we stand today.
Where We Stand
Washington has always been a place of promise and progress. Our people and our businesses work hard, think big, and take pride in setting a standard for the rest of the world.
Yet today, our legacy is being tested.
Where We Stand
Costs keep rising, our schools are falling behind, and too many families and small businesses are struggling to keep up. In response, state spending has soared, driving costs higher and making many of our challenges even harder to solve.
According to US News, Washington ranks as the fifth most expensive state in America.
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Washington families spend $10,202 a year on groceries – $850 a month. That’s the 6th highest cost in the nation.
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Between 1984 and 2024, Washington home prices soared more than 800%.
That is the largest increase in the country. And despite the state spending billions of dollars on affordable housing, homelessness is still rising.
Fourth grade reading scores have been dropping in Washington since 2015 and are at their lowest level since 1994.
Meanwhile, states such as Kentucky and Mississippi are now exceeding Washington in several education metrics.
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DATA
State and Local Tax Burden
- State and local tax burden per capita: $7,786 – 14th highest nationally (2023)
- Taxes paid by businesses in Washington are the 10th highest in the nation, on a per-employee basis – $10,100 in state and local taxes per employee (2023)
- Businesses in Washington pay 49.6% of all state and local taxes (2023)
Food and Basic Living Costs
- Washington state is the most expensive of the 48 states with restaurant menu prices that are 13.6% higher than the national average
- Menu prices in Seattle are more than 17% higher than the average for the 20 largest cities in America, putting Seattle in line with New York City and San Francisco
Housing Costs
- Home ownership is unaffordable for 75% of Washington families
- Government regulations at all levels account for approximately 29.5% of the final price of a new single-family home in Washington
- According to US News, Washington has the 13th highest average monthly rental costs in the nation at $1,553
- 22% of all renting households—more than 240,000 households in Washington state—spend 50% or more of household income on shelter
Educational Outcomes
- The percentage of 8th graders proficient in math dropped from 39% in 2015 to 30% in 2024
- The percentage of Washington 8th graders proficient in reading dropped from 37% in 2015 to 30% in 2024
- The percentage of 4th graders proficient in math dropped from 47% in 2015 to 40% in 2024
- The percentage of 4th graders proficient in reading dropped from 40% in 2015 to 32% in 2024
- 70% of 10th graders scored below grade-level standard in math; 40% were below grade-level standard in English Language Arts
Childcare Costs
- The average annual price of childcare for two young children is $38,300 in Washington state, up 6.0% compared with $36,100 in 2023
STAY INFORMED
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Washington Forward
Washington Forward is an education campaign sponsored by the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy.
Our campaign celebrates Washington’s legacy of innovation and leadership, while calling attention to the challenges we face, including our growing cost of living. Through accessible data and comparative insights, we aim to support broader understanding of the connections between rising state spending and rising costs for families and businesses.
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