Grays Harbor has one of the best debt-to-income ratios in WA
Grays Harbor County ranked among the lowest debt-to-income ratios in the state.
In a recent study by New York financial technology company SmartAsset, they looked at debt from the fourth quarter of 2018, comparing it statewide.
According to SmartAsset, in the final part of last year Americans’ debt hit a record level of $13.5 trillion, although residents in some places owe less debt compared to their incomes.
Grays Harbor showed a ratio of 1.27% debt as a percentage of income, with 2.04 bankruptcies per 1000 people. This placed us as the 5th best in the state.
Despite a higher than normal unemployment rate at the time, the poverty rate for Grays Harbor was less than the majority of the other counties in the list.
Pacific County also ranked in the bottom ten, at #10.
When it came to the Most Financially Healthy counties, Grays Harbor ranked #14 and Pacific County at #18.
To find the financial health of areas, SmartAsset said a financially healthy county means people have low average debt as a percent of income, along with a low chance of being affected by personal bankruptcies, poverty or unemployment.
The list also compared all the factors against counties across the US.
Additional details on the study, including the methodology and interactive map, can be found here: https://smartasset.com/retirement/financial-advisor#Washington
For a detailed look at how the top counties in Washington performed, check out the table below:
| Rank | County | Debt as % of Income | Bankruptcies | Poverty Rate | Unemployment Rate | Debt as % of Income Index |
| 1 | Okanogan, WA | 1.10% | 1.14 | 19.70% | 6.90% | 70.29 |
| 2 | Asotin, WA | 1.18% | 1.85 | 14.60% | 4.20% | 66.83 |
| 3 | Whitman, WA | 1.25% | 0.63 | 25.90% | 4.40% | 63.58 |
| 4 | Clallam, WA | 1.27% | 1.90 | 15.30% | 6.80% | 62.66 |
| 5 | Grays Harbor, WA | 1.27% | 2.04 | 15.20% | 7.10% | 62.62 |
| 6 | Klickitat, WA | 1.32% | 2.10 | 15.50% | 5.80% | 60.73 |
| 7 | Walla Walla, WA | 1.38% | 2.07 | 14.20% | 4.90% | 57.94 |
| 8 | Pend Oreille, WA | 1.45% | 1.23 | 16.20% | 7.50% | 55.26 |
| 9 | Yakima, WA | 1.45% | 3.47 | 18.20% | 6.80% | 55.09 |
| 10 | Pacific County, WA | 1.46% | 1.64 | 17.00% | 7.00% | 54.49 |
| WA | 1.60% | 1.92 | 11.30% | 4.76% |
