Washington

Washington covers 66,544 square miles, with a 2017 estimated population of 7,405,743 people – 740,930 living in rural Washington (USDA-ERS). Olympia, the capital, is located in the western region of the state. The state’s largest cities are Seattle, Spokane and Tacoma. According to 2017 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 79.5% of the state’s population is white, 4.2% is African-American, 8.9% is Asian, 1.9% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.8% is Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 12.7% is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Washington Rural Healthcare Facilities

According to data.HRSA.gov, as of January 2019 Washington had:

• 39 Critical Access Hospitals
• 113 Rural Health Clinics
• 71 Federally Qualified Health Center sites located outside of Urbanized Areas
• 6 short term hospitals located outside of Urbanized Areas

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Washington

6% of Washington residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2017). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for Washingtonians in 2017 was $57,896, although rural per capita income lagged at $42,724. The ERS reports, based on 2017 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Washington is 15.9%, compared with 10.5% in urban areas of the state. 11.9% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 8.9% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2013-2017 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Washington is 6.1%, while in urban Washington it is 4.6% (USDA-ERS, 2017).

Data Sources
Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts; U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts; USDA Economic Research Service: State Fact Sheets

Contacts

There are more organizations related to Washington in the organizations section.