Our Valley, Our Future Shares Chelan Douglas County Population Report

The state Office of Financial Management (OFM) is estimating 93% of the population growth in Chelan and Douglas Counties in the last four years is the result of in- migration--more people moving here than have decided to leave.

An analysis of the report by Our Valley, Our Future (OVOF) concludes,  if it wasn't for the influx of new residents, the region would have experienced virtually no population growth since 2020.

OVOF Coordinator Steve Maher says the estimates show the two-county population grew by 5,371 people from April 2020 through April 2024.  93 percent of the increase was from net migration which is the difference between people moving into or out of an area.

Natural population change is another factor that is the difference between births and deaths.

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Douglas County's growth rate was higher than Chelan County (5.1 percent vs. 4.0 percent).

The two-county area only gained 398 people when you exclude people who relocated to or from the region between 2020- 2024.  That is the lowest increase in at least 60 years.  While Douglas County added population with more births than deaths, Chelan County's population declined with 101 more deaths than new births.

Maher says the increases were uneven throughout both counties between 2020-24;

• City of Leavenworth has seen a15 percent population increase
• City of Chelan population has risen by 9 percent,
• Unincorporated areas in Chelan County are up 6 percent.
• City of Wenatchee grew only by 1.3 percent.
• Douglas County population in unincorporated areas increased by 7 percent,
• Incorporated areas grew by 3 percent in Douglas County
• East Wenatchee had a population growth of less than 1 percent.
• Rock Island grew by 31 percent over the past four years.

Is the trend continuing?

The number of people moving here outpacing the number that are leaving the area is continuing the trend the region experienced during the COVID pandemic.  The OFM estimated the Chelan/Douglas County population swelled due to in-migration by 1,471 people in 2020-21 and by 1,450 people between April 2023 and 2024.

In both cases, about 90% of the growth is the result of people moving here and not from a higher birth rate than the number of people who died.