The week in review: August 17–21
The week of August 17–21 on seattletrendlines.com, in 9 posts.
Monday, August 17 — Seattle Fire overdose responses, July 2026. Seattle Fire was dispatched to 98 overdose calls in July 2026, down 46.7% from a year earlier. Over the life of the series the monthly count has run between 68 (August 2022) and 233 (October 2023).
Monday, August 17 — Battery or hybrid: Washington’s EV mix, July 2026. Washington had 230,345 battery-electric vehicles registered in July 2026, up 13.5% on the year, and 55,589 plug-in hybrids, up 6.1%. Pure battery cars are 81% of the state’s plug-in fleet.
Tuesday, August 18 — Seattle gas prices in real terms, July 2026. A gallon of regular cost $5.24 at the Seattle pump in July 2026. The series is deflated to the latest month, so that is also this month’s figure in today’s money; what moves is what the old prices are worth.
Tuesday, August 18 — What the Seattle metro economy is worth, 2023. Everything produced in the three-county Seattle metro came to $567 billion in 2023, up 9.8% on the year. That is 256% more than the $159 billion the same three counties produced in 2001.
Wednesday, August 19 — The crime category that isn’t one, June 2026. Seattle police filed 256 offenses under the category ANY in June 2026 — neither a crime against a person, nor against property, nor against society, which are the three NIBRS is supposed to sort every offense into.
Wednesday, August 19 — Seattle inflation against the country, June 2026. Prices in the Seattle metro were 4.5% higher than a year earlier in June 2026. Nationally the figure was 3.4% — a gap of 1.2 points, with Seattle running hotter.
Thursday, August 20 — What King County sellers put up, July 2026. King County sellers listed 2,940 homes in July 2026, up 5.4% from a year earlier. The series has run from 672 in December 2022 to 4,684 in May 2019.
Thursday, August 20 — Washington jobless claims, week of Aug 8, 2026. Washington workers filed 5,307 initial unemployment claims in the week ending Aug 8, 2026; the steadier four-week average is 4,749, down 5.9% from a year ago.
Friday, August 21 — What King County sellers are asking, July 2026. The median King County home was listed at $850,000 in July 2026, down 2.7% from a year earlier. The series high is $949,248 (May 2022); the low is $550,000 (December 2016).
The week in review: every post from August 17–21, summarised from its own listing blurb and linked. Assembled each Saturday from the posts that actually published that week.