Benton-Franklin Trends Newsletter – October 2023

Trending News

Climate Stripes

A Visual History of Temperature and Precipitation

Climate Stripes is a graphical visualization of annual temperatures and precipitation averages. The project uses data from NOAA (National Centers for Environmental Information) and spans 125 years; 1895 through 2022. Visitors can click though barcode-style graphs showing the variation of yearly averages in relation to...

Retirement Savings

Fewer Americans Are Prioritizing Saving for Retirement

Have you established a retirement plan yet? A USA Facts article elaborated and visualized a decline in the number of American households that have defined a benefit plan. The article includes various interactive graphs showing the amount of money different age groups hold as a percentage. How much savings should people...

Google Trends

What does Google do with Everyone's Search Inquires?

Have you ever wondered what your neighbors are searching for online? Google Trends may offer insight into people’s googling habits. Google Trends tracks a term’s popularity over time and makes good use of volunteered, independent queries. More importantly, it has been helping journalists and the news industry explore...

Number of Physicians

Physician Numbers Here Stagnant; Other Providers Increasing

Access is a buzzword in healthcare reform circles, for good reason. Without an easy path for residents to receive clinical services, improvements to population health remain a dream. Access takes on a few dimensions. One is the ability of residents to afford a visit to a provider. Thankfully, the introduction of the Affordable Care Act has fundamentally increased the provision of health insurance to...

Housing Price Appreciation Has Slowed – A Reset in the Local Market?

Over the past seven years, housing prices in the greater Tri Cities have doubled. Recently released data from the University of Washington’s Center for Real Estate Research (Center) put the median price of resale (not new) homes for the 2nd quarter of this year at $429,000. As Trends indicator 7.3.1 reveals, the median stood at about $209,000 in the 2nd quarter of 2016. It comes as no surprise that...

Robust Population Growth in Tri-Cities Continues

It is probably no surprise that the combined counties of Benton & Franklin continue to grow at a brisk pace compared to the state. Local residents likely see signs of growth pressures everywhere. But recent data from Washington’s Office of Financial Management (OFM) collected for Benton Franklin Trends 0.1.1 Total Population & Annual Growth provides insights into the...

Miranda Carmona

Hometown: Spokane, WA

Major: Economics

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2024

Post-graduation plans: Pursue a Masters' degree in Economics and pursue a career in economic analysis.

After some time working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far: My favorite thing so far is learning and analyzing new trends for different regions in Washington every week. It amazes me how much I have learned about various counties in our state!

Victoria Tyni

Hometown: Battle Ground, WA

Major: Accounting

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2024

Post-graduation plans: I plan to work as a financial accountant, with the hopes of eventually becoming a financial analyst.

After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:Seeing the impact of the economy and environmental factors on various aspects of different counties.