“For instance, in Seattle’s King County, the annual household survival budget for a family of four (including one infant and one preschooler) in 2016 was nearly $85,000. This would require an hourly wage of $42.46. But in Washington State, only 14% of jobs pay more than $40 an hour. “
The summary reporting results could be making more apples-to-oranges like the one above. Data and the relevance of data for Seattle’s King County cannot be compared to data for the whole state of Washington. King county, hosting as it does Microsoft and other large technology companies is bound to have not just higher wages, but a higher cost of living than large parts of the state. Therefor it is not relevant that only 14% of the state has wages like King County. Quite likely only some similar % of the state has a cost of living like King County as well.
people choose where to live. If they want to live where they can’t afford it, they have to live with others like extended family members or rent out rooms.