Loneliness in Washington tops national average

More than 43% of Washingtonians reported feeling lonely at least sometimes, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Why it matters: Loneliness isn't just a feeling; it's associated with serious mental and physical health impacts, including elevated likelihood of developing diabetes, cardiac risk, dementia, substance abuse, depression and anxiety, Sebastian Tong , a family physician with UW Medicine, told Axios.

• It's such a pervasive public health threat that Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an epidemic last year, comparing its health impact to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day .

Driving the news: The newest Household Pulse Survey by the Census showed Washington was above the national average of 40.3%.

• The survey, conducted from July 23 to August 19, had nearly 60,000 respondents nationwide.

Zoom in: Loneliness is more prevalent among young adults and older people than those in their middle years, said Tong.

• In an early 2024 survey of 200 young adults ages 18 to 25 in Seattle, 50% reported being lonely, said Tong, and four in 10 described having suicidal thoughts in the previous two weeks.
• Loneliness was higher among local individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, Tong said.

Go deeper: The so-called Seattle Freeze , in which people maintain emotional and social distance from each other, the weather and social media may also play roles, said Tong.

What they're saying: "People may be connecting online, but not in person, and it's hard to get anyone to take the initiative to make concrete plans," he said.

Between the lines: Almost one-third of households in the Seattle metro area consist of one person , per the Census Bureau — and though living alone doesn't automatically equate to loneliness, it's linked to higher rates of self-reported depression .

The big picture: Alaska (45.9%), Oregon (44.7%) and Virginia (43.3%) had the highest rates of loneliness in the nation; Iowa (35.9%), Delaware (36.5%) and Wisconsin (37%) had the lowest.

The bottom line: A small pilot program involving 20 Seattle residents from the earlier study showed that psychotherapy and setting specific goals to meet people in real life — such as volunteering or joining hobby groups — reduced loneliness, according to Tong.