King County’s Income Rises But Costs Weigh Heavy On Wallets

Right now, income taxes are on everybody's mind. But let's look back another year, Let's look to 2024. New research indicates that earnings were up in most of the country, but dramatically up in King County. 

According to axios.com, 
‘The average income per person in King County climbed to nearly $129,000 in 2024 — about $55,000 higher than the national average, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Incomes here also grew 4.9% from the year before, slightly faster than the national increase. 
Total personal income — the sum of all income earned by county residents — rose 6.9% over the same period, also outpacing the U.S. rate.’ 

The Bureau of Economics (BEA) just completed a study of 2024. Measuring increases and decreases of earnings, county by county across the entire United States. 

Who is up, who is down

Earnings were up in 2273 counties, and earnings were down in 809 counties.  

Looking at the maps, you can see that an increase in earnings was less prevalent in the Midwest, but the western part of the country and the eastern part of the country both saw increases.  

As always, there are winners and losers in the income race, especially in King County. Tech workers were probably the biggest winners, but the other side of these high earnings is that the cost of living in Seattle and King County has also gone up dramatically. Housing costs in the Seattle and King County area have had the effect of taking all those dramatic earnings and leveling them out. 

Looking at eastern Washington 

According to the report, gross earnings in Chelan County were up an average of 5.1 percent in 2024 and Douglas County gross earnings were up 5.0 percent in 2024. In Grant County, gross earnings were up 5.5 percent in 2024. 

I was talking to my daughter Beth the other day, who lives in Lynnwood. She's planning on moving to a new location, but she's having a problem finding a place to live. They're currently renting, and if they were to rent a new apartment now with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, the average price is approximately $2700 a month. Now I get the whole idea of supply and demand, but this is ridiculous. 

$32,400 a year in rent, and that doesn't include deposits. It makes my eyes water just thinking about it. 

As far as earnings go, King County might be the land of milk and honey. Right until you have to pay for the milk and honey.