1999 King County Benchmark Report Talk to anyone about why they like living in King County and sooner or later you will hear the words "quality of life." For some King County residents, quality of life is affordable housing and good schools. For others, it's parks and open space. Another will say it's clean air, clean water and views of the Cascades and the Olympics. Yet another might say it's economic opportunities. Most of us agree we want to maintain our quality of life. The King County Countywide Planning Polices — the policies adopted by the Growth Management Planning Council — mandate that we actually measure, track and monitor quality of life issues. But quality of life is subjective — a mood or an attitude more than a number — so how do we measure it? How do we know if it is getting better or worse? In 1995, the GMPC and citizens throughout the County helped develop 45 indicators, which directly relate to the policies in our countywide plan. Our Benchmark Report reviews how we are doing on each indicator, giving us a broad-brush picture of our quality of life. Through the Report we've tried to find objective ways to determine if our quality of life is getting better or worse at the community level. This fourth annual 1999 Benchmark Report has over 120 pages of charts, graphs, text and numbers that give us a good idea of the direction we are heading. In general, data from the Benchmark Report indicate that our quality of life is improving in areas like air quality, water consumption, new housing unit production, parks and open space, rural and resource lands. In other areas like the amount of affordable housing and traffic congestion, where data from the Report show a need for improvement, we have enhanced programs to address these quality of life issues. Thank you for your interest and review, Ron Sims Chair, Growth Management Planning Council Table of Contents Note: The 1999 Benchmark Report is presented in Adobe Acrobat Format. The Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or greater is required to read this document. For more information, look here. Introductory Materials (36 KB Acrobat file) Mission Table of Contents The Benchmark System Map: King County 20-Year Growth Plan Economic Development Summary (139 KB Acrobat file) Indicators: #1 Real wages per worker #2 Personal and median household income: King County compared to the United States #3 Percentage of population below the poverty level #4 New businesses created #5 New jobs created by employment sector #6 Employment in industries that export from the region #7 Educational background of adult population #8 High school graduation rate Environment Summary (357 KB Acrobat file) Indicators: #9 Land cover changes in urban and rural areas over time #10 Air quality #11 Energy consumption #12 Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per year #13 Surface water and groundwater quality Map: Tri-County Watersheds and Major Streams #14 Water consumption #15 Change in groundwater levels #16 Change in wetland acreage and functions #17 Continuity of terrestrial and aquatic habitat networks #18 Change in number of salmon #19 Rate of increase in noise from vehicles, planes and yard equipment #20 Pounds of waste disposed and recycled per capita Affordable Housing Summary (585 KB Acrobat file) Indicators: #21 Supply and demand for affordable housing #22 Percent of income paid for housing #23 Homelessness #24 Home purchase affordability gap for buyers #25 Home ownership rate Map: King County Home Ownership Rate #26 Apartment vacancy rate Map: Rural and Urban Subareas of King County #27 Trend of housing costs vs. income #28 Public dollars spent for low income housing #29 Housing affordable to low-income households Map: Affordable Housing in King County Land Use Summary (615 KB Acrobat file) Map: Parks, Rural and Resource Lands Indicators: #30 New housing units in Urban Areas and Rural/Resource Areas, and in Urban Centers Maps: Urban Centers #31 Employment in Urban and Rural/Resource Areas, Urban and Manufacturing/Industrial Centers #32 New housing units built through redevelopment #33 Ratio of land consumption to population growth #34 Ratio of achieved density to allowed density of residential development #35 Ratio of land capacity to 20-year job and household targets #36 Land with 6 years of infrastructure capacity #37 Acres of urban parks and open space #38 Ratio of jobs to housing in Central Puget Sound counties, and King County subregions #39 Acres in forest land and farm land #40 Number and average size of farms Transportation Summary (124 KB Acrobat file) Indicators: #41 Percent of residents who commute one way within 30 minutes #42 Transit trips per person #43 Percent of residents who use alternatives to the single occupant vehicle #44 Ability of goods and services to move efficiently and cost effectively through the region #45 Number of lane miles of city, county and state roads in need of repair and preservation Appendix (45 KB Acrobat file) Acknowledgments List of Outcomes and Indicators Updated: Jan. 9, 2003 Benchmark Report Archive Menu Office of Budget home King County | Executive | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. 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