City of Olympia

Economic & Demographic profile

WAGES

A third of Olympia workers are currently paid less than $15/hour, and 19% are paid less than $12/hour.

Olympia workforce by wage rate
Number of workers Percent of workforce
Making less than $15/hour 16,906 33%
Making less than $12/hour 9,842 19%
Making $12 - $15/hour 7,064 14%
Making more than $15/hour 34,439 67%
Low wage earners by age, gender and race
Workers paid less than $12 Workers paid between $12 and $15 All workers
Median Age 38 years old 39 years old 45 years old
Average Age 40 years old 40 years old 44 years old
% Women 59% 57% 53%
% White 80% 85% 85%
% Black 2% 1% 1%
% Latino 6% 5% 4%
% Native American or Alaskan Native 2% 2% 2%
% Asian/Pacific Islander 6% 5% 5%
% Other 0% 0% 0%
% Multiracial 4% 2% 2%

Industries

A majority of workers employed in retail and hospitality are paid less than $15/hour. Together, these two industries employ a combined 19.1% of the workforce — a bigger share than government alone does. These industries also have high shares of part-time work.

Low wage earners by industry
Industry Total workforce Number of workers paid less than $12 Number of workers paid $12 - $15 Percent paid less than $15
Resources 90 20 21 45.6%
Construction and Utilities 1180 139 133 23.1%
Manufacturing 535 78 100 33.3%
Wholesale Trade 635 111 187 46.9%
Retail Trade 6225 2100 1366 55.7%
Transportation and Warehousing 405 41 51 22.7%
Information 715 89 227 44.2%
Finance and Insurance 2285 171 287 20.0%
Real Estate 1795 475 190 37.0%
Professional Services 4900 1045 537 32.3%
Education, Health, and Social Services 9080 1677 1486 34.8%
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 900 355 172 58.6%
Accommodation and Food Services 3625 2117 735 78.7%
Tribal Services and Other Services 2720 591 471 39.0%
Government and Public Education 16255 831 1101 11.9%
Share of workforce by ten largest industries, with part-time status & median wage
Industry % of Workforce % Part-time Median wage
Government 17.3% 11.9% $59,800
Healthcare 13.8% 29.7% $41,500
Education 10.9% 46.9% $51,700
Retail 10.1% 42.9% $23,600
Hospitality 9.0% 53.0% $22,700
Other Services 5.5% 48.8% $37,900
Professional 5.4% 40.2% $73,800
Construction 4.9% 43.6% $58,700
Manufacturing 4.9% 15.4% $56,600
ALL INDUSTRIES 100% 34.0% $48,700

Housing

Olympia rents have grown increasingly out of reach for even full-time minimum wage workers.

Trends in median rent, housing wage, and minimum wage
Year Median 
Rent Hourly wage to afford median rent Minimum 
wage Hours at minimum wage to afford rent
1990 $385 $7.40 $4.25 70
2000 $624 $12.00 $6.50 74
2010 $841 $16.17 $8.55 76
2013 $923 $17.74 $9.19 77

Poverty

  • 17.4% of Olympia residents required support from food stamps (SNAP) in the past 12 months
  • 30.1% of students in the Olympia School District receive free or reduced-price lunches, and 472 students are currently homeless.
  • 9.8% of employed people in Olympia have incomes below the poverty level, which is just $15,930 for a household of two.

Inequality

The top 5% of Olympia households have almost twice as much income as the bottom 40% of households. Since 2007, Olympia has seen growth in only the poorest and richest households.

Notes: Analysis of American Community Survey Microdata and ESD Occupations and Wages by Puget Sound Sage. Other sources: OSPI; American Community Survey; US Census housing wage calculated at affordability standard of 30% of gross income to rent.