Did you know there are over 150 different community indicators on Grant County Trends - each updated throughout the year? But which ones, and when?
This issue of the Grant County Trends Blog lists the most recently updated indicators on the Grant County Trends website.
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Recent Updates
In PEOPLE:
The age distribution of Grant County is looking more like that of the state.
The county’s population growth pace quickened over the year ending in March 2026, rising to an estimated 107,500. That represented a 1.2% year-over-year increase, considerably higher than the pace of state population growth of 0.8%. The year-over-year county rate was a bit below the prior 10-year compounded rate of 1.3%. The recent county growth rate places Grant 4th in the state, after Franklin, Benton and Clark Counties.
Over the past 12 months, the city of Moses Lake grew at nearly twice the pace of the county. The growth, however, was well below its prior 10-year compounded annual rate of 2.4%.
Residual net migration is contributing to population growth but in balance with the “natural increase.”
Grant County gained an estimated 658 new residents in the interval between April 1 of 2025 and April 1 of this year due to in-migration. That amounted to about half of the population gain of the county. The remainder was made up of the natural increase, or the surplus of births over death.
This calculation of migration by Washington State demographers is much higher than the prior year, but considerably lower than all but one year since 2018. Most eastern Washington counties attribute most or all their population growth due to in-migration. Not so in Grant County; births still are force in increasing the headcount.
How high (or low) will the turnout be on November 3rd?
In the last two mid-term election cycles, the Grant County turnout, or the share of registered voters who voted, has been lower than the state average by nearly six percentage points. In prior years – 2002, 2006 and 2010, turnout here surpassed the state average, although barely.
As a category, mid-term election turnouts have lagged those of presidential elections, but have been stronger than the odd-year election cycle, one that is focused on local races and initiatives. This is true of all counties in eastern Washington and the state.
To simplify the graph, click on those components of the graph you would like to hide.
In ECONOMIC VITALITY:
Total annual taxable retail sales hit a peak in the county in 2025 but slumped in Moses Lake.
In 2025, taxable retail sales, county-wide, reached $3.87 billion. That was up $300 million from 2024 and represented a new peak. While “retail trade,” or what the lay person typically understands as retail, played a role in increase, other parts of the county economy contributed more. These sales were, first, Wholesale Trade, followed by Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, a broad sector of skilled occupations usually requiring some or significant post-secondary education. Construction activity (sales) showed a decline in 2025 over 2024.
Taxable retail sales in the county’s largest city finished the year at $1.28 billion, for about a 1% decline. This marked the second year in a row of falling taxable sales. The peak was reached in 2023, at $1.34 billion. In Moses Lake, the decline can be laid clearly at the feet of construction activities; retail trade sales showed a slight increase.
After several years of growth, job creation was negative in Grant County last year.
An overarching goal of nearly all communities is to create jobs. By that measure, Grant County recovered well from the pandemic – until last year. Between 2024 and 2025, about 750 jobs at county employers were lost. This represents the first major decline since the start of the pandemic. Note this refers to jobs that pay into the Unemployment Insurance fund.
The largest losses were in the sector Administrative Services, specifically “support services,” which includes employment services. The other sector showing significant job declines was Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, a broad sector of skilled occupations usually requiring some or significant post-secondary education.
In EDUCATION:
Grant County’s public high school on-time graduation rate now bests the state average.
Graduating from high school marks the completion of an important stage of a person’s life. A successful completion of high school is also important for community life (literacy, voting participation) as well as for local businesses looking for an educated workforce. The overall rate is also a significant part of a school district’s own report card.
The data come from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; the method follows a cohort from 9th grade for four years and calculates what share of that cohort receives a degree in that interval.
In school year 2024-2025, the average county rate was 84%. That is slightly below the peak rate reached the prior year, and considerably above the rate a decade prior when it stood at 75%. For the past two years, the county average graduation rate has been slightly higher than that of the state, a reversal of most of the years shown in the indicator.
For the largest district, Moses Lake, its most recent on-time graduation rate equaled the county average. This represents the highest rate achieved by the district and far above the 69% observed a decade ago.
Share of students meeting math standards on the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA).
For over a decade, Washington state students have been assessed on their mathematics proficiency by the SBA, an assessment that is based on national educational norms. The results of the assessment are four-fold. The two that are part of the calculation in this indicator are the share of students “meeting standard” and the share of students “exceeding standard.” The indicator tracks the results for two grades: 4th and 10th.
For the most recent school year, 2024-2025, 35% of 4th graders in the county’s public schools met or exceeded standard. This has been the result over the past three years, moving from a pandemic low of 20%. As the graph reveals, the current share is still lower than the results before the pandemic. The current share of the county’s public school 10th graders doing the same is much lower: 22%. This result is a bit lower than the pre-pandemic shares.
For both grades over all years, the county average share meeting or exceeding SBA math standards have been below the state averages.
In HEALTH:
Life expectancy at birth has nearly recovered from the pandemic in Grant County.
The projected number of years that a current newborn is expected to live is a key marker of overall population health. It is calculated using current age-specific mortality rates. As such, it captures the state of chronic conditions and the rates of different types of deaths.
For the most recent year with data, 2024, life expectancy at birth in Grant County was 79.4 years. This marked three years higher than the trough reached in pandemic year 2021. But it is slightly below the recent peak reached in 2019 of 79.8 years. In 2024, Grant County regained its long-held position versus the U.S. – slightly higher. However, life expectancy here continues to lag that of the state, currently at 80.2 years.
In HOUSING:
The County’s median home resale price remains in a narrow range most recently.
A house is typically the largest purchase in the life of a family. The ability to purchase a house relies on, among other factors, the price of the dwelling. In a competitive market, price reflects both supply and demand factors, consequently concentrating lots of information about the market in a single number. This measure looks at the median realized price of sales in a quarter, and not the average. It also addresses the larger of the two components of supply, existing homes. New construction sales are not considered.
For the quarter ending in July, the median price in Grant County was $360,000. That was up a bit from the first quarter of the year ($341,000) but largely in the range of prices over the past two years. It was also $185,000 lower than the state-wide median.
In RECREATION & TOURISM:
Grant County’s accommodation sales show substantial growth over the past few years.
The revenue at accommodation establishments represents a “cleaner” measure of visitor activity than revenues in related industries, such as general retail or food and beverage establishments. These, of course, are frequented by residents, while not too many local “heads on beds” take place over a year.
In 2025, taxable sales in accommodation establishments in the county reached nearly $55 million. This was slightly less, by $2.5 million, than the peak reached the year before. As the graph reveals, accommodation sales in the county over the past three years are much higher than in pre-pandemic 2019 ($39 million). Visitors are certainly spending more time in Grant County than a few short years ago.
updated 10.20.26