Blog #2: District Profile

Patty Murray Represents Washington State!

Population/Major Cities

Population: 7,705,281 

Seattle, the biggest city in Washington

Major Cities:

1. Seattle (787,995) 

2. Spokane (230,328)

3.Tacoma (222,975) 

4. Vancouver (189,191)

5. Bellevue (151,464)

Demographics

Racial Makeup:

• White Alone: 66.6%
• Black Alone: 4.0%
• Asian Alone: 9.5%
• American Indian and Alaska Native Alone: 1.6%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone: 0.8%
• Some Other Race Alone: 6.7%
• Two or More Races: 10.9%
• Hispanic or Latino: 13.7%

The racial makeup in Washington is very similar to the United States racial makeup. Although, there is a higher percentage of people who identify as Asian and a lower percentage of people who identify as black and Hispanic or Latino. Patty Murray identifying as white means she identifies as the same racial makeup as more than 60% of Washington State.

Religious Makeup:

• Christian (Protestant): 61%
• Christian (Catholic): 17%
• Christian (Mormon): 3% 

  

  Since Patty Murray is Catholic, she only aligns with 17% of Washingtonians in regards to religion

  
  
• Jehovah's Witness: 2%
• Other Faiths: 3%
• Jewish: 1%
• Muslim: < 1%
• Buddhist:  1%
• Hindu: 1%

*These are some of the figures given

Income:

• The median income is $38,041.
• The median household income is  $78,687
• Poverty rate: 9.8%

According to USA Today, the cost of living in Washington State is higher than the national average. 

Age:

• People who are 18+: 78.2%
• There is a higher adult population by 10% compared to ten years ago

Rural v. Urban:

• According to the chart below, there is  9 urban counties and 30 rural counties

Major Industries and Companies

Companies:

• Amazon.com
• Costco Wholesale
• UPS
• Starbucks Coffee
• Boeing
  
• Microsoft
• Nordstrom

Industries:

• Key exporter for transportation equipment
• Aerospace industry
• Crucial to the nation's food and agriculture industry
• 70% of the world's apples
• Leading in milk, potato, and cattle production

 Party Affiliation

2020 Election Map

• Washington primarily votes in Democrats in the Presidential elections
• 2020 Election
• 58.8% Biden (2,369,612)
• 38.8% Trump (1,584,651)

This demonstrates how Murray may have the upper-hand running as a senator since the state as a whole tends to vote for Democrats.

 COVID/Economic Concerns

Covid-19 has effected the Washington labor market with different protocols in place and lockdowns that made going to work difficult for many.

• Trends have shown a steady increase in employment since the pandemic initially began
• Currently 3.8 million employed
• The unemployment rate has also steadily decreased since the pandemic initially began
• Currently down to 3.4%
• Due to trends looking better since 2020, hopefully the economy will continue to grow and unemployment will continue to decrease

References:

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/washington-population-change-between-census-decade.html (primary)

https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/Pubs/609003.pdf (primary)

https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/covid-19-economic-data (primary)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington (secondary)

https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/cities/washington (secondary)

https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/washington/ (secondary)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/washington-results (secondary)