Seattle, Washington

Area Profile

754,195 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Seattle, in King County.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 42% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 50% of 4,199 cities measured56
SchoolsTop 22% of 4,162 cities measured72
GrowthTop 25% of 4,224 cities measured63
Housing affordability2,933rd of 4,218 cities measured57
ClimateTop 35% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilience2,874th of 4,226 cities measured41
AccessTop 42% of 4,226 cities measured95
Economic stabilityTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured66
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $123,860, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 62% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.9 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 4,827 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 25% on the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
754,195
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$123,860
Top 9% nationally
Density
8,979/sq mi
84 sq mi of land
Median age
35.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington
Nearest major airport
BFI
7 mi · Boeing Fld/King County Intl
Median home value
$938,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% — higher than in all but 40% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.3% over the past year, to 481,953 employed residents.

68% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $123,860 is higher than in 91% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsKing County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$101,94782nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftKing County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$131,29497th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,2442024 ACS 5-Year$123,860Top 9%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,1582024 ACS 5-Year$86,095Top 3%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%Top 40%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.1 minBottom 43%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year68.4%Top 4%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year36.7%3rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026481,953Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 27%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.3%Bottom 38%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026504,99784th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.0%Top 18%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$91,790Top 8%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$72,610Top 4%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%99th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Bottom 24%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.6%Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year34.8%97th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.32.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024124k105k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $123,860 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Software Developers92,770$167,280
Home Health and Personal Care Aides54,670$48,210
Fast Food and Counter Workers49,190$39,150
Retail Salespersons46,620$42,080
Registered Nurses39,900$128,260
Business Operations Specialists, All Other38,800$101,920

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 72% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.9 students for every full-time teacher across 104 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
109
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.9
across 104 of them
Math proficiency
61.8%
Top 18% in Washington
Reading proficiency
72.3%
Top 21% in Washington
The 12 largest of 109 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lincoln High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,77023.3——
Ballard High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,69722.971%92%
Roosevelt High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,54222.768%93%
Garfield High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,50721.569%86%
West Seattle High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,47922.856%87%
Franklin High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,27719.654%70%
Chief Sealth International High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,18419.141%68%
Nathan Hale High SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,05220.249%79%
Eckstein Middle SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,02422.374%82%
Madison Middle SchoolSeattle School District No. 11,01722.672%80%
Hamilton International Middle SchoolSeattle School District No. 198324.081%88%
Cleveland High School STEMSeattle School District No. 187519.950%77%

33.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Washington’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 112.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA Metropolitan Division is up 25% over five years, and up 0.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $7,337 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.78% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,726, some 34% above the $2,030 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,726 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $109,100 a year, about 88% of the median household income here of $123,860.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,030 a month.

A median home at $938,600 costs 4.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $190,719, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
112.7

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
27.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,726
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,030
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$938,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Seattle’s median household income of $123,860, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area’s figure2023112.7Bottom 9%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+0.3%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+24.6%8th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Seattle-Bellevue-Kent, WA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+86.3%38th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year4.9Bottom 9%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year43.7%6th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2,0852024 ACS 5-Year393,91899th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,342Bottom 11%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,566Bottom 10%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,726Bottom 12%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$222024 ACS 5-Year$2,030Bottom 7%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,4942024 ACS 5-Year$938,60098th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$882024 ACS 5-Year$7,33797th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,1922024 ACS 5-Year$190,719Top 2%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.01%2024 ACS 5-Year0.78%36th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year27.4%Top 44%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±7442024 ACS 5-Year4,35099th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%48th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,6762024 ACS 5-Year30,45299th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

63/ 100
Top 25% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 5% since 2020, reaching 780,995 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 4,366 units authorized in 2025, 26% below the prior year.

70% of the 4,827 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show King County, which contains Seattle, lost about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $101,947, below the $131,294 of households that moved out.

At 6.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
4,827
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.4
Top 21% nationally
Year over year
+25%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
69.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024781k734k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
67%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$101,947
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$131,294
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Snohomish County, WA 11,026 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Pierce County, WA 9,505 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Los Angeles County, CA 3,138 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  4. Santa Clara County, CA 2,036 people · 2.2% of arrivals
  5. Maricopa County, AZ 1,817 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Snohomish County, WA 17,266 people · 16% of departures
  2. Pierce County, WA 16,244 people · 15% of departures
  3. Maricopa County, AZ 2,460 people · 2.3% of departures
  4. Los Angeles County, CA 2,375 people · 2.3% of departures
  5. Kitsap County, WA 2,186 people · 2.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for King County, WA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202512k4k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−31%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 77°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.8 inches, including 3.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and about 3 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SEATTLE SAND PT WSFO, 6.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals3.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals77°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year32024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year412024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
3
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

41 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave, with earthquake alone responsible for 72% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeElevated
AvalancheModerate
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate
Volcanic activityModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, winter weather, ice storm, wildfire, lightning, tornado, coastal flooding, tsunami, cold wave, drought, strong wind, hail, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
705
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
4,460
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Seattle's police department reported 705 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 4,460.

King County records 3.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 32.0 per 100,000 residents in King County.

Homicide
3.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
32.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.6
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Seattle’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Seattle (King County) rather than Seattle itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Boeing Fld/King County Intl at 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year94.5%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 14%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year3.0%Top 25%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boeing Fld/King County IntlBFI7 mi10,007 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA12 mi11,901 ft
Portland IntlPDX141 mi11,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
61
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Other cities in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
TacomaPierce County222,75851Tacoma vs Seattle
BellevueKing County151,84763Bellevue vs Seattle
KentKing County135,60344Kent vs Seattle
EverettSnohomish County111,84550
RentonKing County105,31748
Federal WayKing County99,49342
KirklandKing County92,62162
AuburnKing County85,67647
RedmondKing County77,35367
MarysvilleSnohomish County73,00253
South HillPierce County68,02556
SammamishKing County66,46359

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Seattle side by side with a similar place.

Seattle vs BellevueSeattle vs Roseville

Moving to Seattle from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Seattle

24 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Seattle with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Seattle closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9811554,349$156,142$1,094,60063
9810352,671$131,154$1,044,10062
9811850,500$113,762$810,50054
9810549,767$74,349$1,312,100—
9812544,520$99,868$874,300—
9812243,234$106,886$957,100—
9811735,711$182,984$1,043,500—
9810934,328$133,663$1,034,100—
9814433,787$96,969$901,700—
9810728,776$142,662$953,400—
9811628,711$126,151$973,400—
9810628,690$124,212$706,600—
9810227,333$114,925$963,200—
9811926,879$123,551$1,047,600—
9810825,529$95,780$720,400—
9811223,921$171,572$1,549,100—
9812622,975$116,466$783,700—
9819922,468$180,789$1,198,700—
9812121,166$152,019$848,400—
9813617,252$149,269$925,000—
9810117,153$128,882$784,200—
9810416,542$61,460$616,000—
98134645$68,214$345,800—
98164292$250,000+$714,600—