I worked in Washington from Jan 22 to May 22, I worked in AZ from May 22 to November 22, I returned and worked in WA in December, when did I establish residency in WA?

January 22.  Washington state does not have an income tax.  A person may be considered a resident of this state even though the person is a resident of another state.

 

The Department of Revenue presumes that a person is a resident of this state if he or she does any of the following:

• Maintains a residence in Washington for personal use;
• Lives in a motor home or vessel which is not permanently attached to any property if the person previously lived in this state and does not have a permanent residence in any other state;
• Is registered to vote in this state;
• Receives benefits under one of Washington's public assistance programs;
• Has a state professional or business license in this state;
• Is attending school in this state and paying tuition as a Washington resident or is a custodial parent with a child attending a public school in this state;
• Uses a Washington address for federal or state taxes;
• Has a Washington State driver's license; or
• Claims Washington as a residence for obtaining a hunting or fishing license, eligibility to hold public office or for judicial actions.

Washington State Department of Revenue - Washington State residency definition

 

Every individual who spends, in the aggregate, more than nine months of the taxable year within Arizona is presumed to be a resident. 

 

If you are a part-year resident, you must file Arizona Form 140PY, Part-Year Resident Personal Income Tax Return. You are a part-year resident if you did either of the following during 2022: 

•  You moved into Arizona with the intent of becoming a resident. 
• You moved out of Arizona with the intent of giving up your Arizona residency. 

Arizona Form 140 Resident Personal Income Tax Booklet (pg. 6)

So lots of info, thanks, but didn’t quite answer the question: when did I become a resident of WA?  1/1/22 ( after living here 25 years? or 12/8/22 when I returned from AZ to WA to start a different job?  
This is a question by TT when I check that I worked in another state. Can not move forward w/o a WA residency date yet I worked here from 1/1/22 to 5/2/22 and now again 12/8/22. 

Residency of a state also takes into account intention. If you kept your Washington driver's license and were still registered to vote there but were temporarily in Arizona for work, you might make a case that you were a resident of Washington all year and a non-resident working in temporarily in Arizona. 

If you moved with the intention of taking up residence in Arizona, changed your license, voted there, and changed all your mailing addresses to Arizona, a case could be made that you did become a resident of Arizona, and you would file a part year resident return for both states.