Washington state is No. 1 for UFO sightings.

Washington has logged more reports of UFOs per capita than any other state in the U.S., according to data from the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).

By the numbers: Washington residents have reported 6,812 UFO sightings to NUFORC, with the earliest reports dating to the 1940s.

• That’s roughly 88 sightings per 100,000 residents — more than double the rate of reports from most states.
• California, for instance, logged only 39 UFO sightings per 100,000 residents over a similar time frame.

Context: NUFORC has been around since 1974, and it’s where the FAA recommends folks report sightings of UFOs, Axios Richmond’s Karri Peifer reports.

Flashback: Washington has a long history of UFO sightings, dating to when Boise pilot Kenneth Arnold was flying from Chehalis to Yakima and saw nine large, shiny objects flying near Mt. Rainier, reports The Bellingham Herald.

• The National UFO Reporting Center is based in Washington — another sign that we are truly the nation’s UFO headquarters.

Our thought bubble: If Washington is No. 1 in UFO sightings now, just imagine how high our numbers would be if half the state wasn’t cloudy all the time.