Washington state richer, better educated than rest of U.S.

SPOKANE — Washington state has a higher percentage of college graduates and a higher per capita income than the nation as a whole, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The population of Washington is also less diverse and uses public transit at higher rates than national averages, according to the first statistical portrait of the nation's cities and towns since the 2000 Census.

The American Community Survey estimates released Monday were a combination of three years worth of survey responses, taken in 2005, 2006 and 2007, in communities of at least 20,000 people.

"Communities are no longer limited to a once-a-decade look at their population's characteristics," Census Bureau Director Steve Murdock said in announcing the findings.

The report found that Washington has a higher percentage of college graduates (19.4 percent) than the national average (17.1 percent), while fewer residents have only high-school diplomas (25.6 percent vs. 30 percent).

In Washington, 5.2 percent of commuters use mass transit, compared with 4.8 percent nationally. The average commute time to work of 25 minutes is the same as the national average.

The per capita income of $28,290 was higher than the national average of $26,178. Eight percent of Washington families are living in poverty, compared with 9.8 percent nationally.

The median age of 36 is the same as the national average.

But Washington is significantly less diverse, with 76 percent of residents identified as white and non-Hispanic, compared with 66 percent nationally. The largest minority group is Hispanics, but at 9.1 percent of the population they are much less than the 14.7 percent nationally.

Some individual snapshots among the state's metropolitan and micropolitan areas:

• Aberdeen had the highest percentage of people with only a high-school diploma, 36.8 percent of the population.

• Pullman (25.2) and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (23.3) contained the highest percentage of college graduates. Aberdeen had the lowest percentage (8.3).

• Longview (80 percent), Aberdeen (79.2), Spokane, Mount Vernon and Olympia (all 78) had the highest percentage of people driving to work alone.

• Bremerton (8.4 percent), Pullman (8.3) and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (7.5) had the highest percentage of mass-transit users. Walla Walla, Yakima, Aberdeen, Centralia, Ellensburg, Longview and Moses Lake all had less than 1 percent of the population using mass transit.

• People in Shelton had the longest daily commute, averaging 33.1 minutes to get to work, followed by Bremerton (29.2) and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (27.7). Walla Wallans needed only 14.8 minutes to get to work.

Seattle ($32,000) and Olympia ($28,000) had the highest per capita incomes. Moses Lake was lowest ($17,539), closely followed by Yakima ($18,186) and Pullman ($18,234).

• Yakima's family poverty rate of 15.5 percent was highest, while only 5.6 percent of Bremerton families lived in poverty.

• Want to live among the young and hip? Pullman, home of Washington State University, is your place, with a median age of 24.9 years old. The college town of Ellensburg (29.5) was the only other place in the state with a median age under 30. Port Angeles had a median age of 44.9, while Oak Harbor, Centralia and Aberdeen were all over 39.

• The highest percentage of people who reported they were white, non-Hispanic were in Centralia (88.9 percent), Spokane (88.7) and Longview (88.5). The most diverse communities were Yakima, at 52.6 percent white; Moses Lake, 60.9 percent white; and Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, 69.1 percent white. All three had large Hispanic populations.

Information collected by the American Community Survey helps federal agencies decide where to distribute more than $300 billion to state and local governments each year.

The 2005-07 estimates are based on three years of data collected nationwide from about 250,000 addresses per month.