NAME
Seattle is a derivative of the Indian name “Sealth.” Sealth was a chief of the Suquamish tribe at the time the first white settlers arrived in 1851.
SETTLED
November 131851 by the Denny Partywho had made their way from PortlandOregon to what is now Alki Point in West Seattle.
GEOGRAPHY
Seattle is located at latitude 47.39’Nlongitude 122.17’Won the eastern shore of Puget Soundapproximately 90 air miles east of the Pacific coastline and 113 miles south of the U.S.-Canadian border (49th Parallel).
- Seattle – 83.9 sq. miles
- Metro area – 4,424.9 sq. miles
- King County – 2,126.1 sq. miles
Seattle has 147.52 miles of freshwater shoreline and 53.38 miles of saltwater.1
Puget Sound has 500 square miles of water1,400 miles of shorelineand some 300 islands. The average depth is 205 feet with a maximum depth of 930 feet. The average water temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
POPULATION
City of Seattle2 |
King County |
Washington State |
|
| 2023* | 755,078 | 2,271,380 | 7,812,880 |
| 2022* | 749,256 | 2,265,311 | 7,784,477 |
| 2021* | 733,904 | 2,252,305 | 7,738,692 |
| 2020 | 737,015 | 2,269,675 | 7,705,281 |
| 2019* | 753,655 | 2,52,782 | 7,614,893 |
| 2018* | 730,400 | 2,190,200 | 7,427,600 |
| 2017* | 724,745 | 2,188,649 | 7,405,743 |
| 2014* | 668,342 | 2,079,967 | 7,061,530 |
| 2012* | 634,535 | 2,007,574 | 6,895,318 |
| 2010 | 608,660 | 1,931,249 | 6,724,540 |
| 2007* | 586,200 | 1,861,300 | 6,488,000 |
| 2003* | 569,101 | 1,737,034 | 6,098,300 |
*Estimated population
DEMOGRAPHICS
Seattle2 |
Washington State |
|
| White | 63.6% | 76.8% |
| African American | 6.7% | 4.6% |
| Native American | 0.6% | 2.0% |
| Asian American | 16.8% | 10.5% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.5% | 14.0% |
| Two or more races | 9.4% | 5.3% |
CLIMATE
Average High/Low Temperatures- SeattleWA (Fahrenheit)3
| January | 48.0° / 37.7° | May | 63.3° / 48.7° | September | 71.6° / 53.6° |
| February | 50.3° / 37.7° | June | 71.1° / 53.0° | October | 60.5° / 47.0° |
| March | 54.2° / 59.3° | July | 71.1° / 53.0° | November | 52.1° / 40.9° |
| April | 59.3° / 43.3° | August | 77.6° / 57.2° | December | 47.0° / 37.1° |
Annual Precipitation4 |
Inches |
Climate Records – SeattleWA |
|
| SeattleWA | 40.03″ | Highest Temperature | 108° – June 282021 |
| BostonMA | 44.44″ | Lowest Temperature | 0° – January 311950 |
| HoustonTX | 50.96″ | Most rainfall in a year | 55.14″ – 1950 |
| MiamiFL | 67.78″ | Most rainfall in a month | 15.63″ – November2006 |
| New YorkNY | 45.41″ | Most rainfall in a day | 5.02″ – October 202003 |
| WashingtonD.C. | 43.26″ |
TOURISM
(Washington State’s 4th-largest industry)
Year |
Total Overnight Seattle/King Co. Visitors5 |
Total Seattle/King Co. Visitor Expenditures |
| 2023 | 18.8 Million | $8.2 Billion USDA |
| 2022 | 17.9 Million | $7.3 Billion USD |
| 2021 | 13.8 Million | $5.3 Billion USD |
| 2019 | 41.9 Million | $8.1 Billion USD |
| 2018 | 21.2 Million | $7.8 Billion USD |
| 2017 | 20.8 Million | $7.4 Billion USD |
| 2016 | 20 Million | $7 Billion USD |
ACCOMMODATIONS5
- Hotel rooms available in Downtown Seattle: 15,188
- Hotel rooms available in King County: 44,627
- Seattle’s Largest Hotels
- Hyatt Regency Seattle: 1,260 Guestrooms
- Sheraton Grand Seattle: 1,236 Guestrooms
- The Westin Seattle: 891 Guestrooms
- Renaissance Seattle Hotel: 557 Guestrooms
- Grand Hyatt Seattle: 457 Guestrooms
- Fairmont Olympic Hotel: 450 Guestrooms
CONVENTION FACILITIES
In January 2023the Seattle Convention Center (SCC) unveiled Summitthe Center’s $2 billion addition and one of North America’s rare vertical convention centers. Nearly one year after openingSummit achieved LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Councilmaking it one of the country’s few convention centers to achieve this feat. Complimenting SCC’s original Arch building – and located only a block and a half away – the introduction of the Summit building nearly doubles the city’s meeting hosting capacity. This new meeting campus located in the heart of the city allows the Center to host co-located eventslarge showsor several groups concurrently. TogetherArch and Summit usher in the future of meetings and conventions.
Transportation
Taxi companies and dispatch numbers.*
- Farwest Taxi: 206.622.1717
- STITA Taxi: 206.269.8294
- Yellow Cab: 206.622.6500
* App-based rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft also operate in Seattle
Bus/Rail/Water Transportation
- King County Metro Transit: 206.553.3000
- Greyhound-Interstate bus: 800.231.2222
- Amtrak: 800.872.7245
- Washington State Ferries: 888.808.7977
- Victoria Clipper: 800.888.2535
- Sound Transit Link Light Rail: 800.201.4900
Major Air Transportation6
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- Location: 15 miles south of downtown Seattle
- Serves:
- 36 airlines
- 50.8 million passengers/year (twice the population of Texas)
- 127 non-stop destinations
- 94 domestic
- 33 international
- Information: 206.431.4444 or portseattle.org/sea-tac
Air miles to Major Cities from Seattle7
- Atlanta – 2,178
- Chicago – 2,788
- Denver – 1,640
- Houston – 1,889
- Los Angeles – 959
- New York – 2,401
- Portland – 145
- San Francisco – 678
- VancouverB.C. – 120
- Tokyo – 4,780
- Hong Kong – 6,473
- London – 4,784
Seattle’s Cruise Industry6
- Locations:
- Bell Street Cruise Terminal at Pier 66 and Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91
- Locations: Seattle’s central and northern waterfront areas
- Serves 8 major cruise linesincluding:
- Information: 206.615.3900 or portseattle.org/maritime/cruise
GOVERNMENT
- City of Seattle
- Seattle City Council (elected at large)
- Mayor: Bruce Harrell
- King County
- King County Council (elected by district)
- King County Executive: Dow Constantine
ECONOMY2
Top Industries in Washington State
- Aerospace
- Agriculture & Food Manufacturing
- Clean Technology
- Forest Products
- Tourism
- Information & Communication Technology
- Life Science/Global Health
- Maritime
- Military & Defense
Puget Sound is Home to 12 Fortune 500 Companies
- Costco Wholesale
- Microsoft
- Amazon.com
- The Boeing Company*
- PACCAR Inc.
- Weyerhaeuser Company
- Starbucks Corporation
- NordstromInc.
- Expeditors International of WashingtonInc.
- Alaska Air GroupInc.
- Expedia
- Coupang
*Though Boeing’s headquarters are now located in ArlingtonVABoeing was founded in SeattleWA in 1916 and still has major manufacturing facilities in Seattle.
Economic Characteristics2
- Population in labor force: 73.7%
- Median household income: $116,068
- Per capita income: $77,616
Housing Characteristics2
- Owner-occupied homes: 44.5%
- Median value of owner-occupied housing units: $879,900
Taxes8
- Sales tax: 10.25%
- Hotel tax: 15.7%
- Car rental tax: 5.9%
SEATTLE TOURISM IMPROVEMENT AREA (STIA)
STIA includes 71 hotels in the downtown area with 60 or more rooms. A 2.3% per occupied hotel room rate per night surcharge is assessed in addition to the 15.7% hotel tax.
EDUCATION2
66.7% of people in Seattle hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher3
Four-Year Colleges & Universities
- University of Washington (46,081 students)
- Seattle University (7,405 students)
- Seattle Pacific University (2,662 students)
Community & Technical Colleges
- Seattle Central College (10,178 students)
- South Seattle College (6,849 students)
- North Seattle College (6,195 students)
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS
Club |
Sport |
League |
Venue |
Capacity |
| Seattle Seahawks | Football (American) | NFL | Lumen Field | 67,000-72,000* |
| Seattle Mariners | Baseball | MLB | T-Mobile Park | 47,476 |
| Seattle Storm | Basketball | WNBA | Climate Pledge Arena | 18,300 |
| Seattle Kraken | Hockey | NHL | Climate Pledge Arena | 17,100 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | Soccer | MLS | Lumen Field | 67,000-72,000* |
| Seattle Reign FC | Soccer | NWSL | Lumen Field | 67,000-72,000* |
| Seattle Seawolves |
Rugby |
MLR | Starfire Stadium | 4,500 |
SISTER CITIES
- Beer ShevaIsraelest. 1977
- BergenNorwayest. 1967
- CebuPhilippinesest. 1991
- ChongqingChinaest. 1983
- ChristchurchNew Zealand; est. 1981
- DaejonKoreaest. 1989
- GalwayIrelandest. 1986
- GdyniaPolandest. 1993
- HaiphongVietnamest. 1996
- KaohsiungTaiwanest. 1991
- KobeJapanest. 1957
- LimbeCameroonest. 1984
- MazatlánMexicoest. 1979
- MombasaKenyaest. 1981
- NantesFranceest. 1980
- PécsHungaryest. 1991
- PerugiaItalyest. 1991
- ReykjavicIcelandest. 1986
- SihanoukvilleCambodiaest. 1999
- SurabayaIndonesia; est. 1992
- TashkentUzbekistanest. 1973
Sources
- Seattle Comptroller’s Office
- U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts; U.S. Census 2018-2022 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; United Census 2022
- Official readings of the Western Regional Climate Center taken at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from 1945-2013
- Official readings from National Weather Service from 2004-2024
- Tourism Economics for Visit Seattle
- Port of Seattle
- DistanceFromTo.net
- Department of Revenue Washington State
Media Contacts:
Kau’ilani Robinson – (206) 461-5839 | [email protected]
Cory O’Born – (206) 461-5805 | [email protected]
Jared Dionne – (206) 461-5807 | [email protected]
Sydney Martinez – (206) 461-5852 | [email protected]
Joey Thompson – (206) 903-0768 | [email protected]
(Updated 5/2024)
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