- Median House Prices are based primarily on data from Cotality (formerly CoreLogic), who collect the data from county property assessors. In some cases, we obtain the data directly from the county property assessors. Both the county and city house price data pertain to single-family houses and represent the midpoints in the distribution of prices for each location. Median house prices are provided only for those cities with enough transactions to allow for meaningful comparisons over time.
- Average Apartment Rents are based on data obtained from CoStar. To give a more comprehensive picture of affordability in the rental market, they reflect units categorized as both market-rate and affordable, but exclude specialized categories, such as housing for seniors or the military.
- Apartment Vacancy Rates are also based on data obtained from CoStar. New properties still in the lease-up process (within two years of completion of construction) are omitted from the data.
- Median Household Incomes for counties and cities are estimated by WCRER based on information from the Washington State Office of Financial Management, the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The income estimates and Housing Affordability Indexes (see below) are subject to change as new data become available.
- Housing Affordability Indexes (HAIs) represent household income as a percentage of the income required to afford to buy or rent the relevant dwelling unit. Index numbers of 100 or greater indicate that the relevant dwelling unit is affordable, while numbers less than 100 indicate that it is not affordable (although less expensive units would be affordable). For more details, please contact WCRER. Because the HAIs are based on median incomes in each county or city, and higher cost jurisdictions tend to have higher median incomes, they do not indicate relative affordability across locations. Instead, they are best used to track changes in affordability in specific locations over time. The following HAIs are reported:
- for a median-income household purchasing a median-priced single-family house, with a 20% down payment;
- for a first-time buyer with income at 80% of the median household income, purchasing a single-family house priced at 85% of the median house price, with a 10% down payment;
- for a median-income household renting an average-priced apartment, and
- for a low-income household with 70% of the median income renting an average-priced apartment.
These dashboards provide data from the 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) to aid Washington cities and counties in monitoring possible racially disparate impacts of growth and development as required by the Growth Management Act. Four sets of data are provided by race and ethnicity: population, median household incomes, homeownership rates, and housing cost burdens (for owners and renters combined). The racial and ethnic categories included are: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Some other race, Two or more races, and Hispanic or Latino (of any race).
Note that the annual median household income statistics provided here are from the ACS and are likely to differ from the quarterly income statistics estimated by WCRER and reported in the separate City and County Dashboards. Note also that the Census Bureau has changed the way it collects data about race in recent years, resulting in a shift from single-race categories to the Two or more races category.
Data are provided for the most recent six years available from the ACS and include cities for which sufficient statistically reliable data were available as well as all counties. Specifically, data are reported for cities for which there were at least four (out of six) reliable data points for at least four racial or ethnic groups for each of the measures (population, income, homeownership, and cost burden). Any missing data points are missing in the underlying ACS data. Because the ACS data are rolled up over a five-year period, only the first and last year shown are completely independent from a statistical point of view.
Reliability of the data was assessed using the Coefficient of Variation (CV), which is defined as the standard error of the estimate divided by the value of the estimate and multiplied by 100. If the CV is less than or equal to 30%, the data are assumed to be reliable; otherwise, the data should be interpreted with caution. Data points with CVs greater than 30% are marked with triangles. Estimates with values of zero are assumed to be unreliable. The 30% criterion is somewhat arbitrary but is commonly used in social science research. Standard errors are calculated from the margins of error provided by the ACS. In some cases, such as for the Hispanic or Latino population estimates, the ACS did not provide margins of error; in those cases, CVs cannot be calculated.
The graphs and underlying data can be downloaded using the buttons in the left-hand panel. The dashboards will be updated annually after the ACS releases new data.