12 Things Washingtonians Are Tired of Explaining to the Rest of the Country

Seattle’s rainy reputation doesn’t match the totals. The Seattle-Tacoma area gets less precipitation in a typical year than Miami.

If you live in Washington, you’ve probably explained that to out-of-staters more than once.

Here’s what Washingtonians are tired of explaining to the rest of the country.

Note: This is general information, not tax advice. Tax rules and rates are subject to change, so confirm the current figures with the Washington State Department of Revenue.

1. Not That Washington

Washington is the only state named for a president, and that’s where the mix-up starts.

Many people hear Washington and think of D.C., so you often end up clarifying that you mean the state.

You can point to the top left corner of the map, and Washington, D.C., is a long way east of there.

2. Olympia, Not Seattle

Seattle gets the skyline, so you’ll hear some visitors guess it’s the capital.

It isn’t.

Olympia is the capital, and the state capitol there first welcomed the Legislature in March 1927.

The Legislature says the capitol is closest in design to the U.S. Capitol.

If you want the statehouse, you’ll be driving to Olympia.

3. Less Yearly Precipitation Than Miami

The Seattle-Tacoma area gets less precipitation in a typical year than Miami or New York City.

In the 1991-2020 normals from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the area averages about 39 inches of precipitation a year.

Miami averages about 67 inches, and New York’s Central Park averages nearly 50.

That puts Central Park about 10 inches ahead of the Seattle-Tacoma area.

That makes the Seattle-Tacoma area about 28 inches drier than Miami every year.

If someone teases you about your umbrella, you can point to those normals.

4. Redmond and Issaquah

Microsoft’s corporate address is One Microsoft Way in Redmond, where the company moved to its campus in 1986.

Costco has its home office in Issaquah.

Neither company is in Seattle.

If you’re giving directions to either one, Redmond and Issaquah are the names to use.

When a relative asks where Microsoft is, you can tell them Redmond.

5. Olympic Rain Forest

Olympic National Park has a temperate rain forest, and its valleys get 140 to 167 inches of precipitation a year.

That’s at least three times the Seattle-Tacoma total.

Storms off the Pacific Ocean drop much of their moisture on those west-facing valleys.

If a visitor assumes the whole state is this wet, you can point them to the numbers above.

You can also tell them the valleys stay mild, since summer highs there rarely exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature seldom drops below freezing.

6. Income Tax Questions

Washington doesn’t currently have an individual income tax, according to the state Department of Revenue.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2028, a new 9.9% tax applies to individuals and married couples with adjusted gross income above $1 million.

The 2026 Legislature created it.

A repeal initiative will appear on the November 2026 ballot.

Retail sales tax is Washington’s principal tax source, and the state rate is 6.5%.

Your total depends on where you shop, since local rates are added on top and vary by city and county.

A downtown Seattle address carries a combined rate of 10.55%, so you’ll pay $10.55 in tax on a $100 purchase.

7. Dry Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington runs dry, and Yakima averages about 8 inches of precipitation a year.

That's roughly a fifth of what the Seattle-Tacoma area gets.

In inches, that's about 31 fewer than the Seattle-Tacoma area records.

The Columbia Basin Project irrigates approximately 680,000 acres, with Grand Coulee Dam as its main feature.

If you're picturing a state of rain and evergreens, Yakima is the example to share.

You can check both cities in the same climate normals.

8. Volcano on the Skyline

Mount Rainier rises 14,410 feet above sea level, and it's an episodically active volcano.

The National Park Service calls it the most hazardous volcano in the Cascades.

It towers over more than 3.3 million people in the Seattle-Tacoma area.

It also experiences about 20 small earthquakes a year.

If you call it a pretty mountain, you've left out the volcano part.

When a visitor asks whether the mountain on your skyline is a volcano, you can say yes.

9. State Route 520 Floating Bridge

The Washington State Department of Transportation says Guinness World Records named the State Route 520 bridge the world's longest floating bridge when it opened in April 2016.

The bridge replaced the previous floating bridge on that route.

It added dedicated lanes for buses and carpools.

If someone doubts that a bridge can float, you can send them to the Guinness record.

If you carpool, you can use those lanes.

10. St. Helens' Missing Summit

Mount St. Helens lost the top 1,300 feet of its summit in the 1980 eruption.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the eruption left a horseshoe-shaped crater, now partially filled by a lava dome and a glacier.

A 2009 lidar survey found the summit at 8,330 feet, still more than a mile and a half above sea level.

If you've seen a photo of the mountain from before 1980, you're looking at a taller summit.

When someone asks whether it's the same peak, you can say it's the same mountain with a shorter top.

11. Winter Dark, Summer Light

In Seattle, the sun sets at 4:20 p.m. on the winter solstice, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

That day, the sun rises at 7:55 a.m., which leaves about eight and a half hours of daylight.

On the summer solstice, the sun is up by 5:12 a.m. and doesn't set until 9:11 p.m.

In June, you get nearly 16 hours of daylight.

That's a gap of roughly seven and a half hours between the two days.

If you're planning a trip, those numbers can help you schedule your days.

12. Which Vancouver

Vancouver, Washington, had 199,698 residents in the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate.