Washington Business Opportunities

Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA[1]

A Quick Glance at Washington

Washington, whose nickname is The Evergreen State, first obtained its statehood in 1889. With a population of 6,971,406 people, Washington is the thirteenth most populated state in the United States.

If you are considering starting your new business in Washington, you might want to look into one of Washington's top three most populous cities - Seattle, Spokane or Tacoma and also in the state's capital of Olympia.

Top Industry

The largest industry in the state of Washington is publishing industries, except internet (includes software).

  • The gross domestic product (GDP), of this industry, is roughly $31.5 billion and accounts for 7.1% of Washington's GDP.
  • Publishing industries, except Internet (includes software) also employs 1.7% of Washington's private workforce.

Small Businesses

In the United States, the more than 600,000 plus franchised small busineeses account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), their standard definition of what constitutes as a small business includes a maximum of 500 employees or operations with and/or up to $7 million in revenue, depending on the industry.

  • There are 1.3 million small businesses, in the state, of Washington.
  • Small businesses in Washington, make up 35.2% of the state's private workforce.

State and Local Taxes

Listed below are the state and local taxes, for the state of Washington, and how they rank against other states in the U.S.

State Tax Rate Avg. Local Tax Rate Combined Rate Combined Rank* Max Local Tax Rate
6.5% 2.42% 8.92% 5 3.4%
*Combined Rank is rank from highest to lowest tax percentage

California has the highest state tax rate in the United States at 7.25%, but Lousinana has the highest combined tax rate, overall, at 9.98%. Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon share the spot for lowest combined tax rates at 0%.

Additional Information

If you need additional information about how to start a business in Washington, their official state page might be a good place to start. If you are looking to own your own established franchise in Washington, we have collected a comprehensive list of companies that are actively looking to expand in Washington, for you to explore.

References

  1. By Jamies - Own work, Public Domain
  2. Census.gov
  3. Comparison between U.S. states and countries by GDP (nominal) from Wikipedia
  4. Largest Industry in Each State from 24/7 Wall St.
  5. Civilian Labor Force and Unemployment by State from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  6. State and Local Sales Tax Rates in 2017 from the Tax Foundation

City and County Level

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