COVID-19: How Cases in the Walla Walla, WA Metro Area Compare to Other Major Metros

The U.S. reported over 620,000 new cases of coronavirus over the seven days ending May 17, bringing the total count to more than 81.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 992,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country.

New cases continue to rise at a faster rate. In the past week, there were an average of 24.6 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — an increase from the week prior, when there were an average of 19.2 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.

While new data shows that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is high in almost every part of the country, cities continue to be the sites of major outbreaks and superspreader events. Experts agree that the virus is more likely to spread in group settings where large numbers of people routinely have close contact with one another, such as colleges, nursing homes, bars, and restaurants. Metropolitan areas with a high degree of connectivity between different neighborhoods and a large population may be particularly at-risk.

In the 50 largest metro areas, the incidence of COVID-19 grew at an average rate of 27.6 new cases a day per 100,000 residents in the past week — 19.2% greater than the case growth in all counties outside of metro areas.

The Walla Walla, WA metro area consists of just Walla Walla County. As of May 17, there were 25,817.9 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 Walla Walla residents, roughly in line with the national rate. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 25,296.3 cases per 100,000 Americans nationwide.

In order to slow the spread of COVID-19, city and county governments have ordered the closure of thousands of consumer-facing businesses. These measures have led to widespread job loss and record unemployment. In the Walla Walla metro area, unemployment peaked at 12.7% in April 2020. As of November 2021, the metro area’s unemployment rate was 3.9%.

To determine how the incidence of COVID-19 in the Walla Walla, WA metro area compares to the rest of the country, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked metro areas based on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.To estimate the incidence of COVID-19 at the metropolitan level, we aggregated data from the county level using boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates. Unemployment data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is seasonally adjusted.

These are all the counties in Washington where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).

FIPS MSA Population Confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 17 Confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 17 per 100,000 residents Cumulative COVID-19 deaths as of May 17 Cumulative COVID-19 deaths as of May 17 per 100,000 residents 14740 Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA 265,882 41,506 15,610.7 344 129.4 36500 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 279,711 49,071 17,543.5 417 149.1 13380 Bellingham, WA 220,821 39,343 17,816.7 301 136.3 34580 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 125,612 22,747 18,108.9 204 162.4 42660 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 3,871,323 767,602 19,827.9 5,314 137.3 31020 Longview, WA 106,778 23,312 21,832.2 347 325.0 44060 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 550,160 134,404 24,430.0 1,525 277.2 47460 Walla Walla, WA 60,365 15,585 25,817.9 142 235.2 48300 Wenatchee, WA 118,252 31,731 26,833.4 231 195.3 49420 Yakima, WA 249,697 72,365 28,981.1 790 316.4 28420 Kennewick-Richland, WA 289,527 85,674 29,591.0 686 236.9