Submitted by Thurston County Chamber
The Thurston County Chamber of Commerce has released its third annual Quality of Life Index, offering a detailed look at how residents view life in Thurston County today and their expectations for the future.
For the third consecutive year, residents gave Thurston County an overall C+ as a place to live. “Six in 10 respondents continue to rate the county as an excellent or good place to live,” said David Schaffert, President/CEO of the Thurston County Chamber. “However, this year’s results reveal growing concerns about affordability, financial stability, the business climate and the community’s near-term outlook.”
The annual survey was designed, administered and analyzed by Elway Research. In June, 500 Thurston County residents, randomly selected from a list of registered voters, participated by telephone and online. Respondents were asked to evaluate a range of local government services and community attributes using letter grades, “as they do in school.”
Among the key findings:
- The composite grade point average for nine local government services declined from 2.26 in 2025 to 2.09 in 2026.
- The composite GPA for community attributes declined from 2.12 in 2025 to 1.89, returning to its 2024 level.
- The grade for business climate fell from 2.17 to 1.81, a .36-point decline — the largest drop among the 20 categories measured after holding steady during the previous two years.
- 74% of respondents said recent price increases have caused financial hardship for their household, including 23% who described the hardship as “severe” and affecting their standard of living.
The survey also found growing uncertainty about the future. Majorities of respondents said they expect things to get worse over the next year for both Thurston County and their community. Fewer than half expect conditions to improve for their own household, marking the first time positive household expectations have fallen below 60%.
At the same time, the percentage of residents who expect things to get worse for their household has risen from 18% to 44% over the past two years.
According to Schaffert, “Financial hardship was closely connected with respondents’ perceptions of the community. Those reporting severe financial hardship rated nearly every measure in the survey lower than residents who were not experiencing hardship.”
When asked in an open-ended question to identify Thurston County’s most pressing issue, respondents once again named the same four issues that have topped the list each year since 2024: affordability, homelessness, crime and taxes.
For a comprehensive analysis of the survey and its findings, please visit the Thurston Chamber’s website.
