CITY OF OLYMPIA DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILEOctober 2015

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 Earnings by Industry, Olympia

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% $59,800Healthcare 13.8% 29.7% $41,500Education 10.9% 46.9% $51,700Retail 10.1% 42.9% $23,600Hospitality 9.0% 53.0% $22,700Other Services 5.5% 48.8% $37,900Professional 5.4% 40.2% $73,800Construction 4.9% 43.6% $58,700Manufacturing 4.9% 15.4% $56,600ALL INDUSTRIES 100% 34.0% $48,700

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

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.

Trends in median rent, housing wage, and minimum wage

Year

Median

Rent

Hourly wage for full-time worker 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

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.

Number of households by income group

Num

ber o

f hou

seho

lds

0

7500

15000

22500

30000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

7151701669446668621865355831

8049841581708232824583998757

5251514453105680500950915179

Low-income: Less then $25,000 Middle-income: $25,000 - $100,000High-income: $100,000 +