Out-of-state drivers’ license surrenders, one of the indicators of new residents moving into the area, have increased in Spokane County during the first 11 months of this year, according to Washington state Department of Licensing data. 

Although the number of out-of-state licenses surrendered in the county fell by 10 percent last month, to 788 total compared with 880 in November 2014, overall out-of-state licenses surrendered in the county are up 9.2 percent for the year.

During the first 11 months of 2015, drivers from out of state surrendered a total of 10,444 licenses in Spokane County, an increase of 878 from 9,566 reported in 2014. The average number of licenses surrendered in Spokane County per month this year was 949. Drivers new to Washington typically surrender their licenses and obtain Washington licenses when establishing residency. 

Grant Forsyth, chief economist for Avista Corp., says the data he follows from the city and the U.S. Department of Labor also suggests the populations of both Spokane and Kootenai counties are growing. 

“Spokane County is growing by about 1 percent a year, with Kootenai County growing about 2 percent each year,” says Forsyth.

He says factors such as employment growth, affordable housing, quality infrastructure, and school systems impact a city’s desirability as a potential place to settle. 

“For any given year, if there’s strong employment growth, it follows that the next year would have strong migration. Permitting is another indicator of growth. That too has been strong here this year compared to last,” he says.

Information on the Community Indicators Initiative of Spokane website shows that residual net migration last year accounted for 0.42 percent of the total population in Spokane County. Residual net migration is calculated by taking the population for the year, subtracting the previous year, and then adding and subtracting the number of births and deaths, respectively. The information shows a residual net migration of 2,060 people last year.  

For Washington state overall, the Department of Licensing report says that during the four-week period from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28, a total of 13,497 out-of-state drivers obtained a Washington driver’s license. That was 1,321 fewer than the 14,818 who obtained licenses in November of 2014. For the 12 months ending November 2015, 190,681 out-of-state drivers obtained a Washington driver license, an increase of 9.3 percent over the same period a year ago. 

The largest share of drivers surrendering their licenses in Washington during that time were from California with 2,857 surrenders; Oregon, 1,733 surrenders; and Texas with 734 surrenders.