Market Wire

Manufacturing in Washington Runs 17% Above the National Cost Average

Washington's manufacturing cost index stands at 117.1 against a national 100 as of June 2026 — labor at 130.0 and industrial energy at 78.5. That places it 40th cheapest of 51 jurisdictions.

Washington's manufacturing cost index stands at 117.1 against a national 100 as of June 2026 — labor at 130.0 and industrial energy at 78.5. That places it 40th cheapest of 51 jurisdictions.

• composite (US = 100): 117.1
• labor: 130.0
• industrial energy: 78.5

The composite weights labor at 75% and industrial electricity at 25%, so Washington's position is mostly a labor story: its labor component indexes at 130.0 against the national 100. A premium of 17 points compounds differently across shops — a labor-heavy job shop feels the labor line, an energy-hungry process plant feels the kilowatt-hours.

For a site decision the index is the starting point, not the answer: freight to customers, workforce depth, and incentives move individual cases. The per-state page carries the underlying wage and electricity series this index is built from, both refreshed automatically.

Published 2026-09-11.