Washington Has The Best Economy In America: Report

SEATTLE, WA - According to the personal finance site WalletHub, Washington has the best economy in the U.S. We're No. 1 in terms of gross-domestic product growth and exports, and the unemployment rate was about 4.8 percent in April.

That's somewhat of a paradox considering that Washington has one of the highest minimum wage rates in the U.S. (excluding Seattle's $15 minimum wage law), one of the highest sales tax rates, and, of course, that new head tax. Supposedly, those things all kill jobs.

Also, King County has the third-highest concentration of homeless people in the U.S., behind only New York City and Los Angeles. Housing costs are all but unaffordable for anyone middle class or below in places like Seattle, Snohomish County, and in most of the suburbs east of Seattle.

And while there are plenty of high-paying tech jobs around (Amazon has nearly 6,000 openings in Seattle alone), not just anyone can get one. In fact, having a full-time job in some parts of Washington no longer guarantees economic security.

Take for example living in Bellevue. The average rent on a studio apartment, according to RentCafe, is about $1,500 per month. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recommends that only 30 percent of earnings go toward housing. That means someone would have to earn more than $5,000 per month after taxes to comfortably afford a studio in Bellevue.

But if you work full time earning minimum wage - currently $11.50 per hour - you'll bring home only about $2,000 a month (before taxes). Even at $30 per hour, you'd only bring home about $3,700 per month after taxes. So, a person who wants to live in Bellevue has to work at least three full-time jobs at $11.50 per hour to comfortably afford an apartment or move somewhere cheaper, which would mean a longer commute to work.

According to the WalletHub study, here's how Washington ranks across economic indicators:

• No. 1– GDP Growth
• No. 1 – Exports per Capita
• No. 7– Startup Activity
• No. 4 – % of Jobs in High-Tech Industries
• No. 15 – Annual Median Household Income
• No. 4 – Change in Nonfarm Payrolls
• No 24 – Government Surplus/Deficit per Capita

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch