A new study released by the Association of Washington Business shows Washington is the eighth-most regulated state in the country, and those regulations come at an economic cost. 

AWB commissioned Maryland-based StratACUMEN Group to look at the state’s regulations, compare Washington to other states and identify areas for improvement.  

According to the study, Washington has more than 200,000 state regulations, with labor and workforce regulations making up nearly a quarter of the total with more than 45,000. That’s well above the national average of about 7,000. 

StratACUMEN’s analysis indicates that more than 50% of Washington’s regulations can be classified as administrative “red tape,” with some estimates closer to 70% when accounting for layers and overlap.  

The unintended consequences of the state’s regulations include slower business formation and innovation, increased costs and reduced competitiveness, and increases in consumer prices disproportionately affecting lower-income households, according to the report.  

“Washington employers are struggling under a regulatory burden that is out of step with the rest of the country,” said AWB President Kris Johnson in a statement. “Regulations protect workers, consumers and the environment, but when they’re poorly designed or duplicative, they can have unintended consequences, forcing businesses to spend more time and money on compliance instead of innovation. This study shows what’s possible when states get serious about reducing unnecessary red tape.” 

The report also highlighted possible ways to improve the state’s regulatory environment, including: 

• Adopting a “regulatory budget” tied to compliance costs 
• Conducting sunset reviews of major rules and regulations 
• Fixing permitting bottlenecks 
• Streamlining overlapping requirements 

To read the full study, go to: awb.org/wp-content/uploads/WA-Regulatory-Environment-Study-3-2026.pdf.