Population and Demographics

The total population of the two-county North Olympic Peninsula region is approximately 111,044. There is a high percentage of older people in the region, where Jefferson County’s median age is the highest of any county in Washington, and Clallam County’s median age is the sixth highest. The national average for an area this size is 32,967 people 55 or older, while there are 55,062 in this region. 



The non-white population in this region is growing slowly but steadily. Diversity in the region increased 22% between 2010-2020, while the population who identified as white increased only 8% during that same time frame. Approximately 16% of people in the region identify as black, indigenous or a person of color. This is lower than the national average for diversity of 40%.¹

Poverty and Wealth Disparity

The table below shows income inequality for the two counties.² It is significantly more unequal in Jefferson County than in Clallam County. 

11.2% of people are living at or below 125% of the poverty level in Clallam County, and 12.6% in Jefferson County.³ However, there are pockets of much higher poverty in each county, particularly in more rural parts of the counties and tribal areas. For Washington State as a whole, the percentage of population in poverty is 9.8.



The poverty and wealth disparity reflect the struggle that many people face in securing employment with a livable wage, and in accessing decent and affordable housing, healthcare, childcare, and other services. This poverty and disparity is greater for younger people and people of color and enhances problems related to the aging workforce nearing retirement. Inequality also undermines a sense of equality and results in a disparity of influence over decision-making and use of resources. 

Educational Attainment of Adults Age 25+

The national average for persons completing a bachelor’s degree or higher is 32%, and the state average is 36%.⁴ Jefferson County exceeds the state average by almost 6%, and Clallam County is below the state average by 8%. Many of the more educated individuals in Jefferson County in particular are retirees who moved to the area and are not in the workforce. The working population, therefore, has a lower education level than data including retirees suggests. Although they are not in the workforce, many of these educated retirees add to the community in a volunteer capacity. 

Workforce & Employment Data

There are approximately 38,016 people in the workforce in the two counties. From 2015 to 2020, jobs increased by 1.6% in Clallam County from 26,503 to 26,923 (0.3% higher than the national growth rate of 1.3%), and the labor force participation rate increased from 42.8% to 43.0%. From 2015 to 2020, jobs increased by 7.2% in Jefferson County from 10,348 to 11,093 (5.9% higher than the national growth rate), and the labor force participation rate increased from 41.9% to 43.6%. As of 2019, people ages 55+ made up 29% of the workforce in Clallam County and 30% in Jefferson County. The labor force participation rates for both counties are significantly lower than the state average of 65%,⁵ which is largely due to the high retiree population. 

A significant portion of the workforce is made up of people ages 55+, which presents a high risk in this area for losing workforce. Having a population with a large number of retirees and near-retirees, and not as many younger people, will have implications for finding young workers to fill job vacancies in the future. It is currently difficult to attract professionals with young families to the region, because of housing costs and availability, limited career path options, and limited amenities for families. 

Unemployment

As of August 2021, the unemployment rate for the region was 5.7%.⁶ Over the past 30 years, the unemployment rates in the region have been higher than the state and national averages by up to 4%, with Clallam County’s unemployment usually running a little higher than Jefferson County’s. 

Top Industries: # of Jobs 

The charts below show the top industries in each county by number of jobs. While this information is important, it can be misleading for a few reasons. First, many industries are split up into different industry codes, so they do not show up in the highest rankings even if they provide many jobs. For example, some logging businesses show up in the transportation sector. The maritime sector is split among transportation and warehousing, maintenance and repair and manufacturing. Local government jobs are high, because they include a range of employees such as those in schools and healthcare institutions combined. It’s important to recognize that, when taken together, small businesses are the largest employer in the region, but they are dispersed across industry codes and therefore do not show up as a category in the job rankings. 

Business Size

There are approximately 5,148 businesses registered in the region. The graphs below reflect the size of these businesses and the important role that smaller businesses play in the region. Some of the larger businesses may be headquartered in the region, but have locations and employees outside of the region.

Location Quotient 

Location Quotient represents the regional industry concentration relative to the national average. These graphs reflect the area’s richness in natural resources and corresponding concentration of related industries.