Good jobs, lower costs attract people to state’s smaller interior counties.
Want to know where the job growth of the future is headed in the state of Washington? Look no further than the latest data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to the American Community Survey, all but four of Washington’s 39 counties experienced population growth from the 2014-2018 timeframe to the 2019-2023 period. The study also showed that Washington now ranks sixth in population growth nationwide.
Per the study, the four fastest-growing counties in Washington over the last decade are Pacific (up 11.6%), San Juan (10.9%), Clark (9.7%) and Spokane (9.3%).
Several smaller counties in the interior and eastern portions of the state experienced solid growth too: Benton County grew by 8.3%, Klickitat County grew by 7.9%, and Franklin County grew by 7.7%. All three border the Columbia River at or near the Oregon state line.
According to the Washington Office of Financial Management, about 82% of Washington’s population growth from 2023 to 2024 came from people moving to the state. A separate study by U-Haul showed that as well, with the cities of Spokane, Tukwila and Tacoma all ranking among U-Haul’s top growth destinations in 2024.
Tukwila placed No. 8, Tacoma No. 17 and Spokane No. 24 on U-Haul’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing destinations for movers in the U.S. Lower cost of living, access to abundant outdoor recreational opportunities and more affordable housing were cited as factors drawing people to these growing cities.
“People are seeking cheaper options for land and housing. They want decent property taxes. The views of Mount Rainier here are the best you will find in all of Washington, and we are very strong on personal property rights.”
— Richard Foster, Director of Economic Development, Klickitat County, Washington
Come for the Bargain, Stay for the Views
Richard Foster, economic development director for Klickitat County in south central Washington, says folks relocate to his county of 24,161 people for several reasons: “People are seeking cheaper options for land and housing. They want decent property taxes. The views of Mount Rainier here are the best you will find in all of Washington; and we are very strong on personal property rights.”
Besides government jobs, manufacturing and agriculture comprise the top employers. “We are the size of Rhode Island in square miles,” he says, “but we are a very rural frontier county. We have only 470 unemployed people out of a labor base of 9,154.”
The future, he says, is energy. An Energy Overlay Zone for green hydrogen is the biggest project on the drawing board. A venture of California-based RIC Energy, it is called H2Klick and promises to be a source of hydrogen, methanol, wind, solar and energy storage on 2,194 acres. The $1 billion capital investment creates 200 jobs in construction.
Two other mega-projects loom on the horizon: Savion Energy plans to build a $1 billion project for solar and wind power generation on 8,075 acres in the far eastern portion of Klickitat County, while the Goldendale Energy Storage Project is slated to be a $3.3 billion pumped energy storage endeavor, the largest on the West Coast.
“Pumped storage is water that is pumped uphill,” says Foster. “The system lets the water run downhill, and energy is captured from that process. Surplus power on the grid is used to pump that water back uphill. That will produce about 1 GW of energy. The battery project will be another 1 GW.”
Foster estimates that $5 billion in capital investment is going on across the county, but that number could increase in a hurry if a prospective data center developer decides to move forward with a 2-GW digital infrastructure campus on the energy storage site.
High-Tech Work with a Side of Fries
Just to the east of Klickitat lies Benton County, part of the Tri-Cities Region anchored by the fast-growing communities of Kennewick, Richland and Pasco. Adam Fyall, sustainable development manager for the Benton County Commissioners’ Office, says that agriculture and related industries are the main economic drivers in this county of 219,999 people.
“Most French fries in the U.S. come out of this area,” says Fyall. “That has been a good baseline employer over the years. We also have the legacy of the Hanford Site, which was part of the original Manhattan Project during World War II.”
Hanford is the decommissioned nuclear production complex in Benton County. “A large piece of land is available there,” says Fyall. “That has driven a lot of energy R&D. That sector has really caught fire here over the last 20 years.”
High-tech jobs are attracting talent from all over the country, he adds. “In the 30 years I have been here, the population of this area has more or less doubled. Most residents of Benton County were not born here. The 80 years of the Hanford Site have generated its own legacy workforce, and those are very high-skilled folks.”
Fyall says the county currently is in talks with a nuclear technology startup out of California. “They are looking at the Tri-Cities area and North Carolina,” says Fyall. “They are in California now, but they don’t feel like that is the best place for them.”
Benton County, Washington
Benton County, Washington
Benton also boasts the only commercial nuclear generating power plant in the Pacific Northwest — a 1,200-MW facility. “Emerging nuclear energy generation is very much on our radar,” he adds. “We also have hydroelectric power from a dam that is half in Benton County and half in Oregon.”
Fyall says people move to Benton for a variety of reasons: “The California exodus is driven by people getting priced out of the state,” he says. “The political environment also drives them to move to places like Washington and Idaho. Where we are, there has been a prevailing pro-growth mindset. Redeveloping the Hanford Site has become a driver. And our climate is different here. It is a little drier. We are colder in the winter and warmer in the summer. People like that. From Boise to Salt Lake City to eastern Washington, the whole Intermountain West is growing and is very attractive to new residents.”
