AreaProfile

98125Seattle, Washington

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 98125.

59
Area Score
Bottom 38% of 695 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 50% of 727 published ZIP areas54
GrowthTop 30% of 701 published ZIP areas61
Housing affordability683rd of 800 published ZIP areas45
ClimateTop 37% of 779 published ZIP areas74
Physical resilience572nd of 800 published ZIP areas40
Access580th of 779 published ZIP areas93
Economic stabilityTop 25% of 800 published ZIP areas70
The quick read

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 4,827 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 25% on the prior year.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 23% of median household income.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by earthquake, heat wave and avalanche.

At a glance

Population
44,520
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$99,868
Top 19% nationally
Density
8,206/sq mi
5.4 sq mi of land
Median age
37.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Seattle
Washington
Metro area
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Nearest major airport
BFI
13 mi · Boeing Fld/King County Intl
Median home value
$874,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.7% is lower than 49% of the 1,061 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment fell 1.6% over the past year, to 480,320 employed residents.

60% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$4,614$99,868Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,171$67,288Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.8%Bottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.0 minTop 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher60.2%Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment480,320Top 35%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.8%Bottom 20%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.6%Bottom 33%June 2026
Labor force503,985Top 35%June 2026
Labor force participation71.3%Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$91,790Top 5%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$72,610Top 4%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 36%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.7%Top 49%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024100k82k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $99,868 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

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Seattle, WA, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,908 takes 23% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 8.8 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
22.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
8.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,908
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$874,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income8.75Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate45.4%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±84422,057Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$57$1,908Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$22,400$874,300Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income22.9%Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate6.2%Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
61/ 100
Top 30% of 701 published city profiles

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.

70% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 6.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
4,827
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.5
Top 20% nationally
Year over year
+25%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
69.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Seattle, WA, the city containing this ZIP code.

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.

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, 2.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation37.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall3.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high77°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing25°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

40 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, heat wave and avalanche.

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.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 13 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boeing Fld/King County IntlBFI13 mi10,007 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA18 mi11,901 ft
Grant County IntlMWH144 mi13,503 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
59
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.

98125 vs Seattle

How this ZIP area compares with Seattle as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

98125
Seattle
Median household income
$99,868
vs
$123,860
Per capita income
$67,288
vs
$86,095
Population density
8,206/sq mi
vs
8,979/sq mi
Median home value
$874,300
vs
$938,600
Median gross rent
$1,908
vs
$2,030
Homeownership rate
45.4%
vs
43.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher
60.2%
vs
68.4%
Poverty rate
9.8%
vs
9.9%
Median age
37.3
vs
35.6

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.