Washington

Washington Exports and Foreign Investment

In 2024, Washington exported $57.8 billion of goods to the world. In 2022, exports from Washington supported an estimated 160 thousand jobs (latest data available).

Exports from Washington and Jobs

• Washington was the 9th largest state exporter of goods in 2024.
• In 2024, Washington goods exports were $57.8 billion, a decrease of 36 percent ($33 billion) from its export level in 2014.
• Goods exports accounted for 7.2 percent of Washington GDP in 2024.
• Washington goods exports in 2022 supported an estimated 160 thousand jobs (latest data available). Nationally, jobs supported by goods exports pay up to an estimated 18 percent above the national average.

Manufacturing Exports from Washington and Jobs

• In 2024, Washington exported $40.7 billion of manufactured products.
• Washington exports of manufactured products supported an estimated 135 thousand jobs in 2022 (latest data available).
• The state's largest manufacturing export category is transportation equipment, which accounted for $18.5 billion of Washington's total goods exports in 2024.
• Other top manufacturing exports are food & kindred products ($4.7 billion), computer & electronic products ($3.5 billion), petroleum & coal products ($3.4 billion), and machinery, except electrical ($2.5 billion).

Exports Sustain Thousands of Washington Businesses many of which are SMEs

• A total of 11,272 companies exported from Washington locations in 2022 (latest data available). Of those, 9,971 (89 percent) were small and medium sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
• Small and medium-sized firms generated 31.7 percent of Washington's total exports of goods in 2022.

Washington Depends on World Markets

• The state’s largest market was China. Washington exported $12.0 billion in goods to China in 2024, representing 21 percent of the state’s total goods exports.
• China was followed by Canada ($7.9 billion), Japan ($5.0 billion), Mexico ($4.3 billion), and South Korea ($3.1 billion).
• Washington’s exports to major world areas included:

• 35 percent of Washington’s goods exports ($20.2 billion) in 2024 went to current FTA partners.  

Agriculture in Washington depends on Exports

• Washington is the country’s 17th largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $3.5 billion in domestic agricultural exports abroad in 2023 (latest data available according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture).
• Top Agricultural exports were:

	2023 Value	2023 State Rank
other plant products	$609 million	8
fruits, fresh	$568 million	2
fruits, processed	$493 million	2
vegetables, processed	$393 million	2
wheat	$365 million	4

International Investment Creates Jobs in Washington

• In 2022 (latest data available), foreign-controlled companies employed 148,500 Washington workers. Major sources of foreign investment in Washington included Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.
• Foreign investment in Washington was responsible for 4.9 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2022.

Washington’s Major Metropolitan Areas Benefit from Exporting

In 2023 (latest data available), the following metropolitan areas in Washington recorded goods exports: Lewiston ($184.1 million), Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro ($27 billion), Bellingham ($2.8 billion), Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard ($74.1 million), Kennewick-Richland ($796.1 million), Longview-Kelso ($6.8 billion), Mount Vernon-Anacortes ($518.6 million), Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater ($325 million), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ($36.3 billion), Spokane-Spokane Valley ($818.7 million), Walla Walla ($123.3 million), Wenatchee-East Wenatchee ($478.9 million), and Yakima ($1.2 billion).