Residents overwhelming chose this business over anything else to open in Pasco
Few issues appear to unite Pasco residents as much as this one, and it has nothing to do with taxes or public safety.
That’s according to the city’s 2026 community survey, which gathered responses from more than 800 Pasco residents, most of them women.
Nearly half of those surveyed said the retail store they most want to see come to town is Trader Joe’s. Followed by Target and Costco.
The most in-demand restaurants were In-N-Out Burger, Chili’s and a steakhouse.
The Trader Joe’s finding confirms what many Tri-Citians have long been asking for through the Trader Joe’s Tri-Cities Facebook page, which has over 8,000 followers.
There was less consensus when residents were asked to give their greatest request for city leaders.
About 34% said avoiding unnecessary taxes, while 28% said keeping the cost of living affordable, and 23% said crime prevention initiatives.
Most support a small tax increase
Avoiding “unnecessary taxes” was the top priority among the 20 issues measured in Pasco’s new survey, conducted by Onpointe Insights under a $30,000 contract with the city.
“Anything in the top 20 is a legitimate priority that the city can consider putting effort towards,” said Ryan Young, from Onpointe Insights.
Still, respondents showed they may be willing to pay more if it means maintaining services for the city of 82,000.
Most of them said they would support a small property tax increase of about $2.50 for every $100,000 of assessed home value, according to Young.
“If you combine the larger tax increase, the moderate tax increase, and the small tax increase, under the assumption that if someone would support a large tax increase it would also support a small tax increase, there are 57% of residents that would support a small tax increase,” he said.
If budget cuts became necessary, residents said the city should prioritize keeping up work to deal with traffic congestion at Road 68. About 79% identified that as the most important project to preserve.
The Pasco City Council recently decided to increase its sales tax by 0.1% to generate $2.3 million annually and invest in fixing and maintaining roads.
Weeks after the measure was approved, Councilman Leo Perales asked the council to vote on reversing the decision, arguing that most residents oppose it. His colleagues declined.
Most-wanted Pasco store
Of those who returned the survey, 49% chose Trader Joe’s as the business they would most like to see open in Pasco. Another 21% said they want a Target.
Last month, the Herald reported that city officials are processing a development application for a large, unnamed store that includes prominent design features unique to Target stores.
Interest dropped sharply after those two retailers. Just 1% of respondents said they most wanted businesses such as a bookstore, an Apple Store or Best Buy.
The enthusiasm for Trader Joe’s isn’t new.
Earlier this year, a Tri-City Herald reader launched a public call encouraging residents to ask the grocery chain to open a store in the Tri-Cities through the company’s online request form.
The closest one is over 2 hours away, in Spokane.
In an April opinion piece, Pasco resident Marty Conger argued that the region meets Trader Joe’s typical site requirements and said one challenge has been convincing the company to view the Tri-Cities as a single market rather than three separate cities. All together, the Tri-Cities area is home to over 320,000.
In mid-June, the popular grocery chain announced it will open new 13 stores in eight states. But Washington didn’t appear in the list.
Over the next six months, the retailer will open stores in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Utah.
When it came to restaurants, 20% of Pasco residents said they would like to see an In-N-Out Burger open in the city, while 12% chose Chili’s.
Just 1% said they wanted restaurants such as Shake Shack or Five Guys, famous for their East Coast roots.
City manager Harold Stewart asked the council members to review the main requests from the districts they represent.
“We are going to try to build (each’s departments goals) into the budget as we are preparing the budget for the next two years,” he said.
Worst customer service
Among the city departments, Animal Control received the lowest customer service ratings.
About 31% of respondents rated its service as poor or very poor. Comments included in the city’s presentation of the survey results pointed to staffing shortages and a lack of resources to respond to the growing number of stray and homeless animals.
“Lack of resources. When I called they could not help, and it felt like they didn’t care. A very sick animal was on my property, and they told me to call police. Police couldn’t help either. They just told me to let the animal back on the street, even though it was clearly not well taken care of,” one respondent wrote.
Another Pasco resident criticized the city’s investment in its new shelter, which opened in early 2025: “Waste of money to build a new facility that is not larger than the old one. Every time they are called they say they are at capacity. How about going around and making all these people pay for dog licenses? Then maybe they wouldn’t be full.”
The survey results were presented during the same city council meeting where animal welfare advocates urged officials to change some animal shelter policies for animals with biting problems.
Speakers argued that some dogs are kept in poor conditions and that the city lacks flexibility to delay behavioral euthanasia long enough for dogs to receive rehabilitation and training.
Pasco’s positive side
Despite those concerns, 72% of respondents said they were extremely likely to recommend Pasco as a place to live.
Many cited the city’s diversity, its proximity to the airport, public safety and the work of the Pasco Police Department and the fire department as reasons for their positive view.
“The downtown area is fun. Cafe con Arte, Peanuts Park, the farmers market and Specialty Kitchen make the city center feel fun and vibrant. I also like that the city embraces its Hispanic heritage,” wrote a woman between 30 and 39, who lives in District 5 and has lived in Pasco for at least five years.
At the same time, respondents continued to raise concerns about city planning and zoning, traffic congestion and the lack of shopping and retail options.
