Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
EWU analyst: Grant County grew modestly in 2024 as retail sales fell and local poverty rose
Summary
Dr. Patrick Jones of Eastern Washington University told the Moses Lake City Council that Grant County's April 1, 2024 population estimate was about 106,000, taxable retail sales fell roughly $200 million from 2023 to 2024, and the city of Moses Lake saw a rise in its poverty rate to about 15 percent.
Dr. Patrick Jones, a research analyst with Eastern Washington University, told the Moses Lake City Council that Grant County's population estimate for April 1, 2024 was about 106,000 and that the city of Moses Lake accounted for roughly 37,500 residents.
Jones said county population growth between April 1, 2023 and April 1, 2024 translated to a gain of nearly 1,000 people and a county growth rate just under 1 percent, while Moses Lake's estimated growth rate for that period was about 1.7 percent. "These are not just compilations of data, but they all tell a story," Jones said, summarizing the indicators he presented.
The indicators Jones highlighted matter to municipal budgeting and planning: Department of Revenue figures show taxable retail sales in the county fell from about $3.8 billion in 2023 to roughly $3.6 billion in 2024, a decline of about $200 million and nearly a 7…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
