This map shows the proportion of income-eligible households for the Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) in Washington. The U.S. Congress initially funded WAP in 1976 to reduce weatherization project costs for low-income households. Eligibility for WAP is 200% of Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or 60% of State Median Income (SMI), whichever is higher. This map shows eligibility based on FPL.

Approximately 20% of the Washington State population (more than 1.5 million individuals) lives at or below the income qualification thresholds for WAP’s eligibility requirements, as seen in the map above. But the state’s 2020 plan for the number of homes to be weatherized was set at 2,953, significantly falling short of the number of homes that are eligible and in need of energy efficiency retrofits.

These gaps are most prevalent in rural and Tribal communities, where the median proportion of income-eligible households is 28%, as compared to 17% of urban communities.

Note: For the Community-Defined Decarbonization project, the definition of a rural community is a census tract that lies beyond a metropolitan tract (including micropolitan, small town, and rural tracts). Read the full Community-Defined Decarbonization report here.

The map is divided into census tracts, which are color-coded to show the percentage of income eligible households for WAP.

Click on the map to see associated data, including the rurality of the census tract (rural or urban). Use the + and – buttons in the upper left to zoom in and out of different census tracts and use the search bar in the upper righthand corner to search for an address.

Note: The white area between Yakima County and Franklin County is Hanford, a decommissioned nuclear production site where no one is permitted to live within 35 miles and hence is not a census tract.