Benton-Franklin Trends Blog

In this blog, we showcase a few indicators recently updated.

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Trends Update List

In PEOPLE:

0.1.3 Median Age of the Population
The middle value of the age distribution in the two counties shows a very young population. At an estimated 34.9 years in 2022, the median here is 4 and 3.5 years lower than the middle value of the U.S. and Washington populations, respectively. A large gap characterizes the medians of the two counties, with Franklin County showing a population 5 years younger at the median, at 31.4 years.

0.3.1 Residual Net Migration
Nearly all U.S. counties rely on in-migration to grow their population. Benton and Franklin Counties are no different. Between April 1 of 2022 and 2023, about 3,200 newcomers entered the area. This flow amounted to about 70% of the entire population gain.  It also represents the highest number post-pandemic, but one significantly below the immediately preceding pre-pandemic years.

In AGRICULTURE:

1.2.3 Food & Beverage Manufacturing
Manufacturing in the greater Tri Cities is rooted in food processing. As of 2022, 120 companies were engaged in this activity. (This includes wineries.) Their workforce represented nearly 5% of the entire number employed in the two counties, a much higher share than statewide.

In TRANSPORTATION:

9.1.2 Commuters Using Alternate Modes of Transportation
This Census-based indicator covers five means other than one’s privately owned vehicle:  bike, carpool, public transit, walking and work from home. Traditionally, carpooling has been the most common here, in the U.S. and in Washington state. The pandemic added many more “alternative commuters” in the greater Tri Cities. The share of commuters working from home jumped from 3.6% in 2019 to 11.4% in 2022. Unlike the U.S. and Washington, however, carpooling still remains the most common alternative.

In ECONOMIC VITALITY:

3.1.4 Income Distribution
This measure, from Census, tracks the size of the quintiles based on money income reported to its American Community Survey. A convenient way of summarizing this information is to examine the ratio of the claim on total income by the top 20% of households to the income of the bottom 20% households. For 2022, Census estimated this to be 12.4. That is, the top 20% of the households claimed over 12 times the income reported by the bottom 20%. This is a considerably lower value than the U.S. (17.3) and somewhat below Washington (13.4)

3.3.1 Civilian Labor Force & Labor Force Participation Rate
The civilian labor force is composed of non-active-duty residents employed or unemployed but looking for work. The participation rate reported here is this sum divided the number of all residents 16 or older.  Between 2022 and 2021, the labor force grew by nearly 3,500, the highest amount since 2019. The civilian labor force in 2022 nudged up a little, to 63.8%. That is well below the rate reached in 2019 of 66.2%, however.

In EDUCATION:

4.1.2 Share of Kindergarteners Meeting WaKIDs Standards
The WaKIDS assessment examines, at the start of kindergarten, readiness for kindergarten in 6 domains:  cognitive, math, language, literacy, socio-emotional and physical. Ideally, a child meets standards in all six. For the 2022-2023 school year, the average of all school districts in the two counties meeting standards was about 40%. This continues the trend of little change over the past 8 years. The local share, however, is considerably lower than the average of all Washington state school districts.

4.4.1 1st Year Post-High School Enrollment
Nearly all young people profit from some post-secondary education or training. (Some, of course, enlist in the military or commit to a church mission.) This indicator tracks the share of graduating seniors who are enrolled in a 2- or 4-year non-for-profit school anywhere in the U.S. within one year of graduation. The recent finding? The pandemic ushered in a stark drop-off in formal, post-secondary education in the greater Tri Cities., seen in the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021.The average of all public-school students in the state also dipped significantly but still remains higher than here.

 

 

 

 

 

List Updated 12.11.2023