Personal tools
 
Sections
Goals
Clean and Sufficient Water Preservation of Wild Lands, Habitat & Biodiversity
Indicator Maps
Goals
Climate Protection Responsible Land Use Sustainable Transportation
Indicator Maps
Goals
Food Security Health Equity Income Equity
Indicator Maps
Goals
Healthy Living Choices Quality Educational Opportunities
Indicator Maps
You are here:   Home → Social Environment → Ratio of Jobs to Housing
Document Actions

Indicator: Ratio of Jobs to Housing

Data and Data Discussion provided by King County Benchmark Program

Number of Jobs per Housing Unit in the Four-County Region

view full size
Upstream Indicators

There are currently no published Upstream Indicators.

Downstream Indicators
  •   Housing Affordability by City --- Homes prices have increased at a greater rate than incomes over the last two decades, making home ownership less affordable. However, rents have increased at a slower rate, generally in line with median household incomes.  (view data graph)
  •   Housing AND Transportation Costs as a Percentage of Budget --- There is no on-going reporting for this indicator broken down for King County or the Central Puget Sound, though there are multiple data sources showing that the costs of transportation and housing are going up in the region. Recent hikes in gas prices indicate that these costs will continue to escalate.  (view data graph)
  •   Housing Affordability Gap --- The ratio of median income sales price to median household incomes has increased in all four Central Puget Sound counties from 1995 to 2007. (2) Median income levels generally have kept better pace with increases in average rents from 2000 to 2006. (1)  (view data graph)
more info
Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

When housing growth fails to keep pace with job growth, housing cost goes up. When too few jobs exist in relation to the number of houses, unemployment rises. In both cases, an imbalance results in longer commutes (either to homes or jobs), traffic congestion, deterioration of physical and mental health and community strength. A ratio of 1.4 jobs to each household is considered balanced.

Sustainability Trend:

Despite small changes in the jobs-to-housing ratio in each of the four counties, there has been relatively little change in the jobs-to-housing ratio in the region over the last 14 years.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Ratio of Jobs to Housing Units in King and Surrounding Counties and Urban Centers and Sub-Areas within King County.

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

Throughout the four-county region, the ratio of jobs to housing units has returned to 1990 levels after peaking in 2000. Only Kitsap County shows a marked increase in the ratio of jobs to housing units from 2000 to 2004 as job growth outpaced its increase in housing units. While King County has seen an overall reduction in the ratio of jobs to housing from 2000 to 2003, there were disparate changes among the county's subareas. All of the changes from 2000 to 2003 reflect the countywide trend of job reductions during the recession while housing growth continued unabated. The jobs-to-housing ratio in all of the urban centers exceed the countywide ratio in 2003. Since the urban centers are intended to be centers of commercial activity and employment, this is not unexpected. Urban centers are also meant to have a significant residential component. While the average jobs-to-housing ratio in the urban centers is larger than the aggregate county ratio, there is substantial disparity amont the centers. While the First Hill/ Capitol Hill center shows a ratio of 1.7, the Tukwila center has 9,162 jobs per housing unit.

Data Source and Limitations

 Data derived from the Washington State Employment Security Department, Puget Sound Regional Council, Washington State Office of Financial Management, King County jurisdictions and the U.S. Census.

collapse all