Grays Harbor County profile

Learn about Grays Harbor County's unique labor market information and more.

Posted March 2025

Summary

Grays Harbor County is a scenic, largely rural area, owing to its location on the Pacific Ocean. Historically its major industries were in timber and fishing. While manufacturing continues to be a major industry, including seafood production, the county’s economy has shifted toward services. Tourism has also played a major role in recent years.

Local government is the largest sector, followed by health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and manufacturing.

Compared to the statewide average, Grays Harbor County tends to have higher unemployment and lower average wages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate hit a high of 19.6%. While unemployment has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, Grays Harbor consistently has one of the highest unemployment rates among Washington’s 39 counties.

Location

A dark blue map of Washington state with Grays Harbor County highlighted in orange.

 

Grays Harbor County is located along the Pacific Ocean in western Washington. The county is bordered by Jefferson County to the north, Mason and Thurston counties to the east, and Pacific and Lewis counties to the south. The largest city is Aberdeen, and the county makes up the Aberdeen Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Grays Harbor County is part of the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Area. Visit the Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board website for information about the 12 workforce regions.

Employment situation for January 2025

Labor force and unemployment

  • The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.8% in January 2025, up from 6.7% in the previous month and down from 7.5% in January 2024.

  • The total civilian labor force was 29,020 in January 2025, down slightly from 29,328 in January 2024.

  • The number of unemployed persons was 1,969 in January 2025, 239 fewer than in January 2024.

Unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted

A chart showing the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the United States, Washington and Grays Harbor County from January 2015 to January 2025.

Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research Division, Local area unemployment statistics

Payroll employment

  • Total nonfarm employment was 23,420 in January 2025, not seasonally adjusted. This was down by 190 jobs from the previous month and up 450 jobs (2.0%) from January 2024.

  • Over the year, employment increased in six industries, decreased in one industry, and was unchanged in four industries.

  • The largest year over year increase was in leisure and hospitality (170 jobs), followed by government (150 jobs) and mining, logging and construction (110 jobs).

  • Year over year decreases occurred in education and health services (down 110 jobs).

Nonfarm employment estimates, not seasonally adjusted, Grays Harbor County

NAICS Industry Title Jan 2025 (Preliminary) Dec 2024 (Revised) Jan 2024 (Revised) Dec 2024 to Jan 2025 change Jan 2024 to Jan 2025 change Jan 2024 to Jan 2025 % change
Total Nonfarm  23,420 23,610 22,970 -190 450 2.0%
--Total Private 16,420 16,580 16,120 -160 300 1.9%
---Goods Producing 4,130 4,100 3,960 30 170 4.3%
-----Mining, Logging, and Construction 1,600 1,610 1,490 -10 110 7.4%
-----Manufacturing 2,520 2,490 2,470 30 50 2.0%
-------Durable Goods 1,580 1,590 1,610 -10 -30 -1.9%
-------Nondurable Goods 950 900 860 50 90 10.5%
---Service Providing 19,290 19,520 19,010 -230 280 1.5%
-----Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 3,660 3,760 3,590 -100 70 1.9%
-------Wholesale Trade 530 520 530 10 0 0.0%
-------Retail Trade 2,620 2,730 2,550 -110 70 2.7%
-------Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities 510 520 510 -10 0 0.0%
-----Information 110 110 110 0 0 0.0%
-----Financial Activities 740 740 740 0 0 0.0%
-----Professional and Business Services 1,290 1,300 1,210 -10 80 6.6%
-----Education and Health Services 3,070 3,100 3,180 -30 -110 -3.5%
-----Leisure and Hospitality 2,790 2,790 2,620 0 170 6.5%
-----Government 7,000 7,030 6,850 -30 150 2.2%
-------Federal Government 190 180 180 10 10 5.6%
-------State Government 1,260 1,250 1,260 10 0 0.0%
-------Local Government 5,540 5,590 5,400 -50 140 2.6%
---------Local Government Education 1,940 1,970 1,990 -30 -50 -2.5%

Note: Data benchmarked through September 2024, updated March 17, 2025.

Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research (LMIR) Division, Washington employment estimates (WA-QB & CES)

Industry employment (covered employment)

Once a center for forestry and other goods producing sectors, the economy in Grays Harbor County has shifted towards services. Local government is the largest source of employment. In the private sector, the next largest major industries are split evenly between health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and manufacturing.

Employment by industry, Grays Harbor County 2023 annual average

A bar graph showing the 2023 annual average industry employment in Grays Harbor County.

Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research Division, Covered Employment (QCEW)

Average annual covered employment in Grays Harbor County was 23,424 and the average annual wage was $53,952 in 2023. Covered employment refers to workers who received wages in Washington state and are eligible for state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) compensation programs.

Top five sectors in terms of employment in 2023:

  • Government (6,568)
  • Health care and social assistance (2,981)
  • Accommodation and food services (2,664)
  • Retail trade (2,595)
  • Manufacturing (2,560)

High-wage industries in Grays Harbor County tend to be smaller, except for transportation and warehousing (450). Top five sectors in terms of wage in 2023:

  • Utilities ($114,496)
  • Transportation and warehousing ($84,659)
  • Information ($77,995)
  • Management of companies and enterprises ($77,006)
  • Professional, scientific, and technical services ($71,379)

Workforce demographics for Grays Harbor County

Grays Harbor County’s working age (16 and over) population is just under 63,000. The labor force participation rate is 50.9%, lower than the state average. Among the population aged 20 to 64, men and women have similar rates of labor force participation (66.2% and 69.2%) and unemployment (6.9% and 6.5%). Visit the U.S. Census Bureau website for quick facts about Grays Harbor County.

Age

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate
Population 16 years and over 62,918 50.9% 6.6%
16 to 19 years 3,388 31.4% 16.3%
20 to 24 years 3,529 76.7% 6.2%
25 to 29 years 4,287 73.7% 6.6%
30 to 34 years 4,641 76.5% 12.1%
35 to 44 years 9,176 68.1% 8.1%
45 to 54 years 8,948 71.8% 4.9%
55 to 59 years 5,231 61.4% 4.0%
60 to 64 years 6,280 50.2% 4.5%
65 to 74 years 11,104 18.5% 1.8%
75 years and over 6,334 7.3% 1.9%

Race or Hispanic origin

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate
White alone 52,516 49.8% 6.8%
Black or African American alone 1,030 18.0% 12.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 2,448 47.9% 5.6%
Asian alone 826 64.9% 0.0%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone 309 60.5% 3.2%
Some other race alone 1,537 74.2% 2.6%
Two or more races 4,252 62.2% 7.9%
Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) 5,124 66.4% 6.7%
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino 50,651 49.4% 6.6%
Population 20 to 64 years 42,092 67.6% 6.7%

Sex

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate
Male 22,421 66.2% 6.9%
Female 19,671 69.2% 6.5%

Females with children

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate
With own children under 18 6,046 73.4% 6.4%
With own children under 6 only 1,220 73.2% 13.0%
With own children under 6 and 6 to 17 1,357 65.5% 0.4%
With own children 6 to 17 only 3,469 76.5% 6.2%

Poverty status in the past 12 months

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate
Below poverty level 5,481 38.6% 29.7%
At or above the poverty level 34,332 76.7% 4.8%

Disability status

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate
With any disability 7,162 39.2% 15.6%

Educational attainment

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force participation rate Unemployment rate
Population 25 to 64 years 38,563 66.8% 6.7%
Less than high school graduate 4,146 61.9% 13.7%
High school graduate (includes equivalency) 13,747 57.6% 10.5%
Some college or associate's degree 14,388 70.8% 4.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher 6,282 80.8% 2.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, S2301 | Employment Status

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