SEATTLE – Prominent business leaders and a former Washington Governor are demanding improvements to statewide economic conditions that have ballooned the cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business in the Evergreen State.
The 400-member group, Economic Alliance Snohomish County, is supporting the efforts of two groups lead by former Governor, Christine Gregoire, who unveiled seven recommendations to improve Washington’s economic competitiveness and prevent jobs from being shifted to other more economically practical states.
Challenge Seattle, whose CEO is Gregoire, and the Partnership for A Competitive Puget Sound co-authored a 30-page report delivered this week alerting state and local elected leaders that economic opportunities that have long provided an edge in Washington may disappear forever, pointing to the Evergreen State dropping from 32nd to nearly dead last, at 47th, in CNBC’s ranking of states for the cost of doing business since 2017.
Gregoire’s message to open the 30-page report laments, “Washington has become a more challenging place to do business, while other states and regions are competing aggressively to attract employers, investment, and talent. The pace of tax and regulatory change has accelerated, while rising operating costs and growing challenges in attracting and retaining talent have made it harder to plan for the future. Restoring our competitiveness means creating the conditions for businesses to plan, hire, invest, and grow, and for workers and families to come here and remain here.”
“Decisions made anywhere in Puget Sound affect all of us,” the EASC tells the EverettPost.com, “which is why regional collaboration matters. EASC works closely with Greater Seattle Partners, and we look forward to even more collaboration in Snohomish County. Our lower cost of living and operating costs, with access to the same talent, are a real advantage. But some opportunities fit King County better, and the reverse is also true. We want the whole region to succeed, and we want to see as much of that success here as possible.”
The rate and scope at which tax increases have increased are a combination Gregoire’s group, which includes leaders from businesses like Microsoft, Costco, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Weyerhauser, and Nordstrom among many others, calls attention to for its impact on cost of doing business.
EASC says, “Businesses can adjust to higher costs if they can see them coming. The problem is when taxes and rules change faster than companies can plan. The regional plan found business taxes per employee rose from about $8,400 in 2020 to about $11,900 in 2026.” In Snohomish County, they say, “That matters most for manufacturers, our largest sector, because they make long-term, capital-heavy decisions. EASC’s advocacy focuses on predictability: housing for workers at every wage level, common-sense tax policy, and regional collaboration.”
Taxes have grown rapidly at the state level, as an example of the increased tax burden facing residents and businesses. Washington’s state operating and total budget spending more than doubled between 2015 and 2026, growing by roughly 110% to 116% across the decade. The 2013–2015 Biennial state budget totaled approximately $80 billion. Twelve years later, the 2025–2027 Biennial budget surpassed $173 billion. As the state budget more than doubled in size, the state population only grew by 13.8% during that same period.
The reliance on tax increases at all levels of government in Puget Sound over the last few years have had a compounding effect. The State Legislature has increased several business related taxes while concurrently allowing local jurisdictions to increase local sales tax or property tax levels to accrue more money at the city or county level. “Many costs rose at once and stacked on each other,” the EASC points out, citing examples like Seattle’s JumpStart payroll tax, state B&O tax increases, and higher unemployment insurance costs.
Navigating city, county, state and even federal decisions “There are external factors beyond our influence here, but we want to keep the quality of life high and the cost of living low in Snohomish County.” EASC will keep working with our partners toward that goal.
Another key factor in the price of doing business in Puget Sound is acquiring permits when a company wants to expand or just get started. “Permitting timelines have also roughly doubled,” EASC advises. “Longer licensing and permitting timelines mean a business waits longer to open its doors and start earning revenue while still paying rent, employees, and loans. Many remedies don’t require new spending,” EASC’s says, pointing out that the City of Everett is piloting AI permitting tools that aim to cut resubmittals in half to expedite final approval.
The Gregoire-led report hits hard on the Puget Sound job loss statistic that nearly 7,000 jobs were lost in 2025, marking the first time in 20 years the greater Seattle area’s employment growth trailed the nations outside of a recession or the COVID pandemic.
EASC’s response to those staggering job losses is a sliver of optimism, “For Snohomish County, the latest state data shows growth: employment was up 2,800 jobs (0.9%) from July 2025 to July 2026, with manufacturing up 5.0%, while some service sectors dipped. The outlook for our manufacturing base is strong. Boeing opened its fourth 737 MAX assembly line in Everett, a $1 billion investment creating nearly 1,000 jobs, and is aiming for 52 airplanes a month by early 2027 (at both Renton and Everett plants). As Boeing ramps up, its suppliers ramp up too, which is real opportunity for manufacturers across Snohomish County.”
To illustrate what 1000 Puget Sound job loses represents in the regional economy–let alone 7000 that occurred in 2025–the 30-page report states, 1,000 higher-wage job losses cause $200 million in annual income removed from the regional economy. As many as 5000 additional jobs could be placed at risk as household and business spending declines. That trickle down effect would impact local governments, according to this week’s report thusly, with approximately $15 million to $20 million in annual public tax revenue lost, which is tied to funding of schools, transit, housing, public safety, infrastructure, and other essential services.
Asked about a preferred first step in this direction to bolster economic vitality across Puget Sound, EASC focused on a broader “regional commitment to taking economic development seriously. We do better when we work together. EASC works closely with Greater Seattle Partners, and Challenge Seattle’s members have committed $1 million to GSP to carry out the plan and track progress publicly. That work only succeeds with real backing from both the public and private sectors. Economic development isn’t a nice-to-have or a marketing function. It’s how a region keeps its employers and its wages.”
The Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound’s conclusion involves the following seven priorities.
1. Compete together to create one of the most competitive regions in the world
2. Create local business customer service and improve the culture of partnership
3. Create tax structures that are simple, fair, competitive, and predictable
4. Ensure policies, regulations, and taxes achieve their intended impact
5. Streamline permitting timelines and complexity
6. Connect talent pipelines to regional employers and hubs of commerce
7. Ensure regional industries are set up to thrive
To view the full 30-page report, click here.