Official Federal Data
Clark County, Washington
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA · Population 516,959
9 Sources
Updated September 10, 2026
$97,536 up from the baseline named below
Median Income (nominal) vs 2019
$80,734 national
4.5% up from the baseline named below
Unemployment vs 2024
4.3% national
$33.4B up from the baseline named below
GDP (nominal) real change vs 2023
33.3% up from the baseline named below
Bachelor's+ vs 2019
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household (nominal)
$97,536 up from 2019 vs 2019
Per Capita
$48,520 up from 2019 vs 2019
Mean Household
$125,385 up from 2019 vs 2019
Poverty Rate
8% down from 2019 vs 2019
Median Income Comparison
Clark County$97,536
Washington$98,141
National$80,734
Clark County is $605 (0.6%) below the Washington median, despite sitting above the national median.
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003
CohortsShare of total population
Under 18 · 22.7%
18-34 · 21.8%
35-54 · 26.5%
55-64 · 12.4%
65+ · 16.7%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
up from national +3.0 pts vs national
33.3%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
down from national 2.4 pts vs national
12.4%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
down from national 1.7 pts vs national
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
516,959
Population
264,628
Labor Force
Employed
250,629
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.5% up from 2024 +0.2 pts vs 2024
Mean Commute 2 min below national avg
24.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.1%
Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Below the state median: Median household income runs $605 (0.6%) under the Washington median, so statewide income averages overstate local household buying power.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
$33.4B up from 2023 +3.4% vs 2023
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
+3.4% real (inflation-adjusted)
·
+6.5% nominal
· 2023 to 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · level and nominal change from CAGDP2 (current dollars); real change from CAGDP9 (chained 2017 dollars), both all-industry total. The two series agree in 2017, the chain reference year, and diverge by the amount of price change since.
Key Takeaways
- Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 31,621 workers (23.2% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $73,336. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 27,850 and is counted separately.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $33.4B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $129,954 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $31,399, a 4.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
9 sub-sectors at LQ ≥ 1.5
Largest grouping among them is Construction Cluster at 66.2% of the employment across all of them, which signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
25,943
Employment in the sub-sectors listed
2.96x
Peak sub-sector LQ
Sub-Sector Detail
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
2.96x 3,436
Forestry and Logging
2.29x 122
Securities, Commodity Contracts, Investments
2.04x 2,620
Paper Manufacturing
1.95x 798
Construction of Buildings
1.90x 4,103
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
1.82x 1,026
Specialty Trade Contractors
1.81x 10,966
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
1.52x 2,096
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1.50x 776
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, screened against local siting constraints. Source: BLS QCEW
0.13x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
57 employed
0.16x
Warehousing and Storage
350 employed
0.17x
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
66 employed
0.18x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
364 employed
0.36x
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
179 employed
Screened on industrial power cost, rail-truck intermodal access, land base.
Industrial electricity in Washington costs 6.88¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025).
Washington has 16 rail-truck intermodal terminals, the nearest 91 miles from the county.
Land area 629 sq mi, larger than 52% of US counties.
Sources: EIA, BTS NTAD, Census Gazetteer.
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing concentrates at 2.96x the national norm.
- Cluster depth: 9 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, but 66.2% of the employment across them depends on one source of demand: construction and real estate cycle. Read the count as depth within that single demand base rather than as spread across separate ones.
- Attraction whitespace: 5 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064, B25004
$522,900 up from the baseline named below
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,748 up from the baseline named below
Rent/Mo vs 2019
66.4% down from the baseline named below
Owner-Occ vs 2019
4.1% down from the baseline named below
Vacancy vs 2019
1.6% available
for rent or sale
for rent or sale
5.4x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
HUD publishes these by FMR area, which may cover more than one county · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070
Studio
$1,570/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,677/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,922/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,619/mo
4 Bedroom
$3,109/mo
30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,726/mo, from a renter median of $69,038) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Measured: 48.5% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 21.5% pay 50% or more.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 5.4x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $69,038 can pay without cost burden (~$1,726/mo), and 48.5% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23001, B23025, B08303, B08301
313,411 up from the baseline named below
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 2 min below national avg
24.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
19.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
80.7%
of prime-age population
Prime-age rate numerator is civilian employed (B23001); the denominator is total population aged 25-54 (B01001), which also includes armed forces.
of population age 16 and over (413,515)
unchanged from 2019 vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
33.3% up from 2019 vs 2019
HS Diploma+
92.6% down from 2019 vs 2019
Institutions in Clark County
2 institutions in Clark County reporting credentials to College Scorecard
Credentials awarded in Clark County
1,675/yr
1,596/yr
79/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
20.4%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Same cohort is 12.4% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
41.8%
Service
15.5%
Sales & Office
19.6%
Construction / Maint.
8.6%
Production / Transport
14.5%
Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 250,629 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy participation: 64.2% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
- Talent pipeline: 2 institutions in Clark County award 1,675 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 9 federal data sources.
Sample AI Insight
Clark County shows emerging potential for computer and electronic product manufacturing attraction, with a 2.96x concentration and 3,436 jobs in this sub-sector.
Most of the employment across the concentrated sub-sectors traces back to a single source of demand. Construction and real estate cycle accounts for 66.2% of it, with specialty trade contractors the largest single sub-sector at 42.3%. Recruitment that widens the demand base changes that exposure; recruitment inside the same base deepens it.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
American Community Survey figures on this page are 2020-2024 five-year averages rather than single-year counts. A five-year estimate pools 60 months of survey responses, so each value describes the period as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Clark County, Washington, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Clark County, Washington?
516,959 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Clark County, Washington?
$97,536 in nominal dollars (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Clark County, Washington?
4.5% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Clark County, Washington?
$33.4B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP2).
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