Explore Washington business statistics, credit risk scores, payment trends and leading industries using the latest Creditsafe data. Search for a free business credit report to assess an individual company.
Washington Business Statistics, Credit Risk & Payment Trends | Creditsafe
Creditsafe has records for 3,013,341 businesses in Washington, including 2,135,109 classified as active. An active classification means a qualifying company-information, payment or legal-filing update was recorded within the previous two years; it does not necessarily prove current trading. This page examines company counts, credit risk, payment behavior, company ages and leading industries using the latest Creditsafe data. Creditsafe credit scores run from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating lower predicted credit risk. The figures describe Creditsafe database records, not an official state business census.
5 key takeaways for Washington businesses
1. Washington has a substantial recorded business market
The latest Creditsafe data shows: Creditsafe holds 3,013,341 Washington business records, including 2,135,109 classified as active. The database records 115,937 businesses added in the latest 12 months.
What this means for your business: Use this market overview to guide prospect research, but validate each company before treating it as an active trading opportunity.
2. Washington credit scores compared with the US
The latest Creditsafe data shows: Washington has an average Creditsafe credit score of 48.61, compared with 51.76 nationally. This suggests higher average predicted credit risk in Washington.
What this means for your business: Do not use statewide averages alone to set credit limits. Review each company’s credit report and individual risk indicators.
3. Payment performance provides a separate signal
The latest Creditsafe data shows: Washington businesses average 1.38 days beyond terms, compared with 1.94 nationally. The share paying on time is 28.24%.
What this means for your business: Consider payment history alongside credit scores when setting terms, managing collections and forecasting cash flow.
4. Industry differences can affect cash flow
The latest Creditsafe data shows: Among the ten largest listed industries, Eating Places records the longest average payment delay (2.65 days beyond terms), compared with 1.38 days statewide.
What this means for your business: Check sector-level and company-level payment patterns rather than applying one collections policy across every industry.
5. State averages can hide customer-level risks
The latest Creditsafe data shows: The database contains 511,863 records in the supplied high-risk category and 230,390 with an unavailable or inapplicable risk category. These aggregate categories are not the same as individual-company score bands.
What this means for your business: Use state statistics as context, then assess the specific company’s creditworthiness and payment behavior before extending credit.
Know who you are doing business with
Go beyond Washington averages. Check a company’s creditworthiness, payment behavior and potential risks before making your next business decision.
Active reflects Creditsafe’s data-update classification, not a guarantee a company is currently trading.
How many businesses are there in Washington?
Creditsafe holds records on 3,013,341 Washington businesses. Of these, 2,135,109 are active (70.9% of state records), while 878,232 are inactive. The database records 115,937 businesses added in the latest 12 months. These are database counts, not an official government census.
What is an active business?
Creditsafe classifies a business as active when at least one qualifying database element has been updated within the last two years. This may include company identity, contact, location, industry, sales or employee information, as well as payment data or legal filings such as suits, liens, judgments and UCCs. This classification indicates a recent data update and does not guarantee the business is currently trading.
Credit scores compared
Washington
48.61 / 100
United States
51.76 / 100
Higher scores indicate lower predicted credit risk. Washington has higher average predicted risk than the US benchmark.
Payment delays compared
Washington
1.38 days
United States
1.94 days
Washington businesses average fewer days beyond agreed terms than the national benchmark.
What is the average business credit risk in Washington?
The Creditsafe business credit score ranges from 1 to 100 and predicts the likelihood of a company becoming seriously delinquent (90 or more days beyond payment terms) within the next 12 months or going bankrupt. Higher scores indicate lower credit risk. Washington businesses have an average score of 48.61, compared with 51.76 nationally, suggesting higher average credit risk. These averages do not replace assessment of individual companies.
Washington businesses by risk category
Low
23.9%
Medium
51.5%
High
17.0%
N/A
7.6%
Shares reflect the supplied aggregate risk categories, which should not be equated with individual-company credit score bands.
Creditsafe US score bands are: very low risk (71-100), low risk (51-70), moderate risk (30-50), high risk (21-29), and very high risk (1-20). N/A indicates an unavailable or inapplicable score. The dataset’s aggregated low, medium and high categories are retained as supplied and should not be assumed to correspond exactly to these individual-company score bands.
How quickly do Washington businesses pay their bills?
Businesses in Washington average 1.38 days beyond terms (DBT), compared with 1.94 nationally, a difference of -0.56 days. The supplied on-time payment figure is 28.24%. DBT and on-time payment percentage are separate measures and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Among the ten largest listed industries, Eating Places has the highest average DBT (2.65 days), while Membership Organizations has the lowest (0.16 days). Industry aggregates do not establish the payment behavior of any particular company.
Need a Washington business’s Secretary of State number?
Look up a business and find its Secretary of State (SOS) registration number with our free business search.
The median recorded company age is 16 years and the average is 20 years. The database includes 801,142 businesses aged 20 years or more and 846,740 records with no available company age.
Company age
Share of business records
Under 5 years
7.6%
5-10 years
14.3%
10-20 years
23.4%
20+ years
26.6%
N/A
28.1%
Percentages use all 3,013,341 Washington business records, including those with no recorded age. Totals may differ slightly from 100% due to rounding.
What are the largest industries in Washington?
Business Services is the largest listed industry, with 171,694 businesses in the Creditsafe database. The chart and table rank the ten largest listed industries by number of business records, not by employment or economic output.
Washington ten largest industries by business records
Business Services
171,694
Eating Places
87,277
Real Estate Agents and Managers
76,708
Residential Construction
66,832
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors
44,095
Legal Services
42,412
Religious Organizations
37,527
Business Consulting
37,190
Single-family Housing Construction
36,506
Membership Organizations
32,769
Longer bars indicate larger recorded industry populations.
Rank
Industry
Business records
1
Business Services
171,694
2
Eating Places
87,277
3
Real Estate Agents and Managers
76,708
4
Residential Construction
66,832
5
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors
44,095
6
Legal Services
42,412
7
Religious Organizations
37,527
8
Business Consulting
37,190
9
Single-family Housing Construction
36,506
10
Membership Organizations
32,769
The three largest listed industries together account for 335,679 records (11.1% of the state database). These industry rankings should not be interpreted as employment or economic output rankings.
Average credit score by industry
Business Services
46.99
Eating Places
48.97
Real Estate Agents and Managers
50.65
Residential Construction
41.29
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors
53.31
Higher scores indicate lower predicted risk. Five leading industries shown.
Payment delays by industry
Business Services
0.73 days
Eating Places
2.65 days
Real Estate Agents and Managers
0.74 days
Residential Construction
2.33 days
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors
1.10 days
Average days beyond terms for five leading industries with available values.
Credit score profile across leading industries
Industries are ordered by business record count, not time. The line connects categorical observations and is not a historical trend.
Which Washington industries stand out for credit risk and payment behavior?
Among the ten largest industries, Religious Organizations has the highest average credit score (54.53, indicating lower predicted risk), while Residential Construction has the lowest (41.29, indicating higher predicted risk). Eating Places records the longest average payment delay (2.65 DBT). Industry averages do not establish the creditworthiness of an individual business.
Industry (top ten)
Average credit score
Average DBT
Business Services
46.99
0.73
Eating Places
48.97
2.65
Real Estate Agents and Managers
50.65
0.74
Residential Construction
41.29
2.33
Offices and Clinics of Medical Doctors
53.31
1.10
Legal Services
53.67
0.70
Religious Organizations
54.53
0.37
Business Consulting
51.74
0.69
Single-family Housing Construction
45.04
1.62
Membership Organizations
53.62
0.16
How does Washington compare with US averages?
Metric
Washington
United States
Average credit score
48.61
51.76
Average DBT (days)
1.38
1.94
Washington is 3.15 points below the national average credit score and 0.56 days below the national payment delay. These measures can move in different directions, so neither should be used alone to assess a business.
About Creditsafe data
These statistics are derived from Creditsafe’s US business database and provide an aggregated view of records associated with Washington. They are not official state registration totals. An active business has had at least one qualifying company-information, payment-data or legal-filing update in the last two years, which does not necessarily establish current trading. State and industry averages provide context and should not replace assessment of an individual business credit report.
Source: US_STATE_SEO_LLM_FINAL_20261101.csv | Data as of October 31, 2026 | Refresh frequency: monthly.
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