Spokane Spotlights

Forbes Ranked Spokane #9
for Best Places for Business
and Careers

In 2008, Spokane ranked #9 out of 200 Metropolitan Statistical Area’s in Forbes Magazine’s Best Places for Business and Careers list, jumping from 2007’s #20 ranking, and catapulting from 2006’s position of 114. The significant jump was due to strong growth in jobs and personal income. Forbes ranked 200 large and small cities based on a number of criteria including cost of living, job growth, recreation and cultural opportunities, and education attainment.

Spokane County Named One of 100 Best
Communities for Young People

Spokane County was named one of 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance. The 100 Best competition recognizes the 100 outstanding communities across America – large and small, rural and urban – that are the best places for young people to live and grow up. More than 300 communities in all 50 states applied for the honor this year. Spokane is a three-time 100 Best winner.

Other Spokane Kudos

• Ranked #77 100 Best Places to Live and Launch (CNNMoney.com, 2008)
• Ranked #37 Best Green Cities (Country Home Magazine, 2008)
• Eighteen regional hospitals were ranked 100 Most Wired (Hospital and Health Networks Magazine, 2008).
• Ranked #22 Best Midsize City for Doing Business (Inc. Magazine, 2007)
• 100 Best Communities for Young People (America’s Promise Alliance, 2007)
• Top 20 Best Affordable Suburbs in the West (Business Week, 2007)
• Top Six U.S. Adventure Cities (National Geographic Adventure Magazine, 2006)
• 99 Best Sporting Cities (Sporting News, 2006)
• Top Ten Real Estate Hot Spots (Money Magazine, 2006)
• Ranked #30 Hottest Midsize Cities in the U.S. (Inc. Magazine, 2006)
• Ranked #13 States with the Most Business-friendly Tax Structure (The Tax Foundation, 2006)
• Top Ten Best Places to Ice Skate (USA Today, 2006)
• Top Ten Best Places to Live (Total 180, 2005)
• Ranked #4 Friendliest Policy Environments at State Level for Entrepreneurship (Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, 2005)
• Ranked #163 Top Logistics-friendly Cities in the U.S. (Logistics Today, 2005)
• Ranked #16 Top Midsize Cities for Entrepreneurs (Entrepreneur.com, 2005)
• Ranked #16 Best Walking Cities (American Podiatric Medical Association, 2005)
• Ranked #5 Safest Cities in the United States from Natural Disasters (Forbes Magazine, 2005)
• Ranked #63 America’s Brainiest Metropolitan Area (Biz Journal, 2005)
• Ranked #2 Top Cities for Medical and Emergency Technology (Popular Science, 2005)
• #9 Best City for Lifestyle of Women (Ladies Home Journal, 2005)
• Ranked #35 in 150 Best Places for Doing Business in America (Inc., 2005)
  

And the list goes on . . .

Location

Spokane is located along the eastern border of Washington State in the heart of the Inland Northwest. The largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis on the Interstate 90 corridor, Spokane is 18 miles west of the Idaho border and 110 miles south of the Canadian border.

As the county seat, Spokane serves as a hub for business, retail and financial services, and is the major health care provider to a 36-county region encompassing parts of Montana, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alberta, as well as Washington. The Inland Northwest region extends across 80,000 square miles and is home to over two million residents who live, work and enjoy this recreational paradise.

The topography of the land varies from rolling wheat fields to snow-capped mountains, from lush forests to deserts, and from pristine lakes to raging rivers. To the west lies the gradually sloping Columbia River Basin; the land north toward Canada is a forested mountainous region; to the east the precipitous Rocky Mountains thrust toward the heavens; and the rolling hills of the Palouse to the south are the world’s largest producer of peas and lentils.

Size

With a 2008 population estimate of 204,400, the City of Spokane is the second-largest city in Washington State. Spokane County encompasses 1,763.6 square miles and its estimated population is 459,000 for 2008.

Climate

Spokane is four-season country, each contributing to the region’s unique lifestyle. Situated between the Rocky and Cascade mountain ranges, Spokane is protected from damp coastal weather like that of Seattle, as well as continental-type winters. The growing season is from mid-April to mid-October.

Summer weather is ideal for enjoying the many mountain and lake recreational areas. Winter weather includes occasional snowfalls of several inches. Nearby mountainous winter sport areas receive much more snow and enjoy up to a five- to six-month season.

Taxes

Sales/usage tax for Spokane MSA is 8.6 percent. A 6.5 percent tax is remitted to Washington State and 0.6 percent is a public transit tax. Tax deferral is available for businesses moving into the state. The average property tax rate (per $1,000 assessed value) for Spokane County is $11.33, $11.45 in incorporated areas, and $11.09 in unincorporated areas. Washington State has a Business and Occupation tax ranging between 0.138 and 1.6 percent; rates are based on the type of business activity. It represents approximately 12 percent of the state’s general fund revenues and has been the second leading tax source for the past 50 years. Washington State does not have a state income tax.

Facts and Figures

Mileage to Spokane
Boise ID	391
Calgary Alberta	487
Coeur d’Alene ID	33
Coulee Dam WA	85
Denver CO	1,204
Glacier National Park MT	287
Los Angeles CA	1,126
Minneapolis MN	1,349
Nelson BC	179
Portland OR	348
Seattle WA	289
Vancouver BC	402
Yellowstone Park  WY	437
Land Area
City of Spokane	58 square miles
Spokane County	1,763.6 square miles
Washington State	68,192 square miles
Yearly Climate Averages
Precipitation	16.7 inches
Snow	48.5 inches
Wind (mean speed)	8.9 mph
Days with maximum temperatures
over 90 degrees F	29
Days with maximum temperatures
under 32 degrees F	24
Days with clear skies	86
Days with partly cloudy skies	88
Temperature Averages, Degrees F
January	33 high / 22 low
March	49 high / 30 low
May	66 high / 43 low
July	82 high / 55 low
September	73 high / 46 low
November	41 high / 29 low
Spokane County Population Projections
2010	466,417
2015	496,981
SOURCE: U.S. Census; Washington State Office of Financial Management
Demographics
Male	49.1 percent
Female	50.9 percent
Persons under age 15	21.2 percent
Persons ages 15-24	15.2 percent
Persons ages 25-34	13.1 percent
Persons ages 35-44	15.8 percent
Persons ages 45-54	14.2 percent
Persons ages 55-64	8.1 percent
Persons age 65 and over	12.4 percent
Median age	36 years
SOURCE: Washington State Office of Financial Management, May 2007
Race
White	91.4 percent
Black or African American	1.6 percent
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.4 percent
Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	2.1 percent
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (of any race)	2.8 percent
Two or More Races	2.8 percent
SOURCE: Washington State Office of Financial Management, September 2008