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Bars in Washington

How many bars exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 11 Washington counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

Includes: Bars & taverns · Pubs & brewpubs (drinking-focused) · Cocktail & wine bars · Taprooms. Counted together because official statistics use one 722410 code.

State verdict (covered counties): Below the U.S. rate — 84% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Washington

Bars

667

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

0.8

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

1.0

per 10,000 present

State index

84%

vs. U.S.

Residents

6,541,140

in covered counties

Workers

2,642,012

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 11 Washington counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing bars and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in Washington

City	County	Bars	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Bellingham	Whatcom County	46–74	228,467	80,332	1.7	170–251%	Range spans bands
Redmond	King County	303–457	2,298,524	1,295,866	1.0	102–133%	Above average
Spokane	Spokane County	68–146	558,369	211,785	1.0	101–191%	Range spans bands
Kennewick	Benton County	25–39	211,971	76,558	1.0	99–155%	Range spans bands
Yakima	Yakima County	21–57	257,983	70,831	0.7	71–179%	Range spans bands
Lacey	Thurston County	23–49	296,357	85,525	0.7	67–114%	Range spans bands
Tacoma	Pierce County	71–179	921,490	277,851	0.7	66–147%	Range spans bands
Vancouver	Clark County	36–66	515,787	158,571	0.6	60–100%	Range spans bands
Everett	Snohomish County	56–102	841,433	277,304	0.6	57–87%	Range spans bands
Silverdale	Kitsap County	14–54	277,633	62,999	0.5	45–141%	Range spans bands
Mount Vernon	Skagit County	4–30	133,126	44,390	0.3	26–191%	Range spans bands

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

170%

102%

101%

99%

71%

67%

66%

60%

Most competitors per capita

26%

45%

57%

60%

66%

67%

71%

99%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few bars may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.