A new poll of Washington residents shows a slight majority would exit the state if they could — and there is a huge gap along political-party lines.
The survey by Portland-based DHM Research aimed to gauge Washingtonians' perceptions of the state and economy. One question asked respondents to choose which of the following two statements was closer to their opinion:
"I would move to another state if my professional and personal situation allowed me to," or "The cost of living in Washington is worth it for the quality of life."
Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they would move to another state if they could, compared with 39% who said the quality of life in Washington is worth the cost. The remaining 10% said they didn't know.
Not great.
But if you're feeling a little perplexed reading this because you absolutely love living in Washington, I can guess one thing: You're a Democrat.
The survey's cross tabs reveal a stark division along political lines when it comes to Washington residents' feelings about our state.
Democrats, it seems, love it here. Everybody else? Not so much. Washington is, of course, one of the "bluest" U.S. states.
Among Democrats, just 28% said they would move if they could, compared with 60% who said the cost of living was worth it to be in Washington.
For Republicans, it's pretty much the reverse. Only 26% thought Washington is worth the cost of living, while 68% said they would move if they could.
Independents and nonaffiliated voters were much closer to the Republicans, with only 27% who think Washington is worth the cost versus 62% who would move away.
DHM conducted the online survey of 500 Washington registered voters from April 13-17. The firm surveyed a representative sample of Washington voters and weighted the data to accurately reflect the population based on political affiliation as well as area of the state, age, gender, race and education. The margin of error for this survey is plus or minus 4.4%.
About 37% of those surveyed were Democrats, 27% were Republicans, and 35% were independents or something else.
The survey also breaks out the results by geographic area. King County, a Democratic stronghold, is the part of the state where folks are happiest to live in Washington. But even in King, 44% of adults would move away if they could, while 48% said the quality of life in Washington was worth the cost. Eastern Washington, which leans Republican, is the part of the state most unhappy with living here — 61% would move if they could and only 30% thought the quality of life here was worth the cost.
Men expressed a higher level of satisfaction with Washington than women. Only 46% of men would leave the state if they could, compared with 56% of women. And while 45% of men felt Washington's quality of life was worth the cost of living, just 32% of women did.
Overall, older people, those with high incomes and those with high levels of education tended to feel Washington's quality of life was worth the high cost of living. Younger people, those with lower incomes and people with less education were more likely to want to move to another state. There was no significant difference along racial lines.
Another survey question asked whether the state's cost of living is necessary for a strong economy, or if it will limit the state's growth.
Hardly anyone — just 10% — felt the cost of living was necessary for Washington's economy, while 79% felt it would limit growth. The remaining 11% said they didn't know.
