Public Health — Seattle & King County is monitoring changes in key economic, social, and other health indicators resulting from strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19. Just as the pandemic has had disparate impacts on parts of our population, mitigation measures present more hardship for some members of our community than others. The economic, social, and health impacts data project helps inform strategies and policies to minimize those harms and maximize outcomes for all residents of King County.

How are you using the data? Share your feedback via this brief survey.

Below are highlights, but you can view the entire dashboard here

We're proud to celebrate the achievements of King County's LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and all year.

If you are LGBTQIA+ and are experiencing difficulty with access to care, there are local and national resources available; below are a few : 

Gay City, Seattle's LGBTQ Center: https://www.gaycity.org/enroll-in-health-care/  
Gender Justice League: https://www.genderjusticeleague.org/covidsupport 
Ingersoll Gender Center: https://ingersollgendercenter.org/ingersoll-directory/ 
LGBTQ National Help Center:  https://www.glbthotline.org/programs.html  
National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network: https://nqttcn.com/en/  

Inequities in mental healthcare access based on gender identity and sexual orientation continue to be a public health concern.

¹In the King-Pierce-Snohomish County area from March 2 – May 9, 2022:

• LGBQ+ adults (ages ≥18) were twice as likely to report feeling depressed, down, or hopeless for more than half the week compared to non-LGBQ+ adults.
• Almost 1 in 3 LGBQ+ adults (ages ≥18) reported not getting needed mental healthcare for any reason in the last 4 weeks, whereas 1 in 10 non- LGBQ+ adults reported the same.

²In WA State, from March 2 – May 9, 2022, adults who identified as transgender or another gender were more likely than adults who did not identify as transgender to report:

• feeling depressed, down, or hopeless for more than half the week
• not getting needed mental healthcare for any reason in the last 4 weeks

^{1. Our survey analysis defines LGBQ+ respondents as those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or another sexual identity. We report gender identity separately.}

^{2. Due to the small number of survey respondents, we report mental health data by gender identity for Washington State rather than the region.}

In the King-Pierce-Snohomish County area from March 2 – May 9, 2022: 

ECONOMIC

Housing: slight percentage increase for those not current on rent or mortgage

From April 27 - May 9, 2022, 12% of adults in the King-Pierce-Snohomish county area reported they were not or slightly confident that they will be able to make their next payment (rent or mortgage) on time or defer payment. This is a slight increase compared to rates reported in early April 2022 (11%).  

Washington State eviction moratorium ended October 31, 2021 while the City of Seattle's eviction moratorium ended February 28, 2022. 

SOCIAL

After one year of steady decline, SNAP enrollment is increasing again 

As of May 2022, there were 113,144 households enrolled in King County, or about 12% of households. SNAP enrollment has been slowly increasing since February 2022, a reversal in trend after enrollment peaked in January 2021 and declined steadily over the course of last year. 

Increase in number of calls to the National Domestic Violence (DV) Hotline among King County residents 

In May 2022, there were 175 calls to the National DV Hotline, a 7% increase in calls compared to the previous month. This is similar to the number of calls one year ago (176 calls during May 2021).   

HEALTH

This work is funded by Public Health — Seattle & King County, the Washington State Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’ s (CDC) Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases ( ELC) Cooperative Agreement (CK19 - 1904 ).

For questions, please write to: COVIDevaluation@kingcounty.gov

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