Padilla Bay Panorama - 20150425 - panoramio · Photo: Dan'l Boone · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Skagit County, Washington
131,328 residents · Updated Nov 12, 2026
The community services in Skagit County, from the data behind Range Lab’s tools, refreshed daily.
Padilla Bay Panorama - 20150425 - panoramio · Photo: Dan'l Boone · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
53,015
▲ 0.2%
vs. a year ago · Q1 2026
$1,312
▲ 0.5%
vs. a year ago · $32.80/hr
—
Needs a 2-bedroom rent
No published median yet
3.8%
▼ 0.7 pts
vs. a year ago · July 2026
$89,263
11.6%
below the poverty line · ACS 2024
Are wages keeping up with rent?
Average weekly wage and typical rent, both indexed to Q3 2023 = 100.
+0.5%wages vs. a year ago
| Q3 2023 | Wages 100.0 | Rent 100.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | Wages 104.2 | Rent 101.7 |
| Q1 2024 | Wages 105.9 | Rent 103.6 |
| Q2 2024 | Wages 105.0 | Rent 103.9 |
| Q3 2024 | Wages 105.7 | Rent 104.0 |
| Q4 2024 | Wages 113.2 | Rent 105.4 |
| Q1 2025 | Wages 111.6 | Rent 104.5 |
| Q2 2025 | Wages 112.6 | Rent 104.5 |
| Q3 2025 | Wages 111.2 | Rent 106.3 |
| Q4 2025 | Wages 117.0 | Rent 106.4 |
| Q1 2026 | Wages 112.1 | Rent 108.2 |
Unemployment, year over year
Not seasonally adjusted, so each year gets its own line. A line above last year’s is the real signal. October 2025 was not published.
| Month | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.8% | 5.2% | 5.5% |
| February | 6.1% | 5.7% | 5.6% |
| March | 5.3% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| April | 4.5% | 4.2% | 5.2% |
| May | 4.8% | 4.4% | 5.0% |
| June | 4.1% | 3.8% | 4.4% |
| July | 4.9% | 4.5% | 3.8% |
| August | 4.9% | 4.7% | — |
| September | 4.0% | 4.0% | — |
| October | 4.4% | — | — |
| November | 4.8% | 5.1% | — |
| December | 5.1% | 5.6% | — |
3.8%
▼ 0.7 pts
vs. July 2025
2,282
unemployed of a 60,086 labor force
July 2026
How pay is spread
Hourly pay of all workers in the Mount Vernon metro, BLS wage percentiles.
Hourly pay, all workers
10th$28.65
Median$60.27
90th
The biggest job groups pay the least
Each bubble is an occupation group: median hourly wage across, jobs up, size by jobs.
| Management Occupations | $67.23/hr | 2,210 jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | $50.82/hr | 3,160 jobs |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | $48.86/hr | 970 jobs |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | $46.98/hr | 1,300 jobs |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | $39.95/hr | 2,610 jobs |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | $37.72/hr | 680 jobs |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | $37.28/hr | 3,640 jobs |
| Protective Service Occupations | $36.47/hr | 1,160 jobs |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | $31.83/hr | 2,510 jobs |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | $31.26/hr | 1,160 jobs |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | $30.25/hr | 3,250 jobs |
| Production Occupations | $27.76/hr | 4,010 jobs |
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | $26.05/hr | 5,480 jobs |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | $23.64/hr | 400 jobs |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | $23.13/hr | 4,530 jobs |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | $22.33/hr | 2,430 jobs |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | $21.24/hr | 1,590 jobs |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | $21.05/hr | 1,040 jobs |
| Sales and Related Occupations | $21.01/hr | 4,900 jobs |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | $20.97/hr | 4,930 jobs |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | $20.81/hr | 400 jobs |
What different jobs pay
Hourly pay range for each occupation group: 10th–90th percentile, middle half and median.
Pay compared with Washington and the U.S.
Median hourly wage for all occupations, then each group’s Mount Vernon median against the statewide median, sorted by the gap.
- Mount Vernon metro$28.65
- Washington$30.28
- United States$24.51
- Protective servicePays more by +22%
- Farming, fishing & forestryPays more by +7%
- ProductionPays more by +4%
- Construction & extractionPays more by +3%
- Food servicePays less by −2%
- Healthcare practitionersPays less by −3%
- Cleaning & groundsPays less by −3%
- Community & social servicePays less by −4%
- Healthcare supportPays less by −4%
- Installation & repairPays less by −4%
- Office & admin supportPays less by −4%
- Transportation & movingPays less by −5%
- Education & libraryPays less by −5%
- Personal care & servicePays less by −7%
- SalesPays less by −8%
- ManagementPays less by −13%
- Architecture & engineeringPays less by −13%
- Business & financePays less by −15%
- SciencePays less by −17%
- Arts, media & sportsPays less by −24%
- Computer & mathPays less by −26%
What sets local work apart?
Every occupation group’s share of local jobs compared with its U.S. share (location quotient). 2× means twice as common here; 0.5× means half as common.
Most concentrated here
Farming, fishing & forestry
2.7× the U.S. share
Least concentrated here
Computer & math
0.6× the U.S. share
- Farming, fishing & forestry2.7×
- Construction & extraction1.7×
- Architecture & engineering1.5×
- Production1.4×
- Science1.4×
- Community & social service1.3×
- Installation & repair1.2×
- Sales1.1×
- Education & library1.1×
- Food service1.1×
- Cleaning & grounds1.0×
- Transportation & moving1.0×
- Healthcare practitioners0.9×
- Personal care & service0.9×
- Protective service0.9×
- Office & admin support0.9×
- Healthcare support0.9×
- Business & finance0.7×
- Management0.6×
- Arts, media & sports0.6×
- Computer & math0.6×
Key takeaways
What this means for Skagit County.
Wages are flat
The average weekly wage is $1,312, about the same as a year ago.
The biggest job groups pay the least
Office & admin support, food service and sales are 29% of jobs; all have median pay under $27/hr.
Unemployment is falling
3.8% in July 2026, 0.7 points below a year earlier.
Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (through July 2026) · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (Q1 2026) · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025, Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA metro area) · Census ACS 2024 · Range Lab RST listings. The housing wage follows the National Low Income Housing Coalition method: rent × 12 ÷ 0.30 ÷ 2,080 hours. About the data.