Seattle Facts

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 13, 1851 by the Denny Party, who had made their way from Portland, Oregon to what is now Alki Point in West Seattle.

GEOGRAPHY

Seattle is located at latitude 47.39’N, longitude 122.17’W, on the eastern shore of Puget Sound, approximately 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 water, 1,400 miles of shoreline, and 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- Seattle, WA (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 – Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA	40.03″	Highest Temperature	108° – June 28, 2021
Boston, MA	44.44″	Lowest Temperature	0° – January 31, 1950
Houston, TX	50.96″	Most rainfall in a year	55.14″ – 1950
Miami, FL	67.78″	Most rainfall in a month	15.63″ – November, 2006
New York, NY	45.41″	Most rainfall in a day	5.02″ – October 20, 2003
Washington, D.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

CONVENTION FACILITIES

In January 2023, the Seattle Convention Center (SCC) unveiled Summit, the Center’s $2 billion addition and one of North America’s rare vertical convention centers. Nearly one year after opening, Summit achieved LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making 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 events, large shows, or several groups concurrently. Together, Arch and Summit usher in the future of meetings and conventions. 

Transportation

Taxi companies and dispatch numbers.*

* App-based rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft also operate in Seattle

Bus/Rail/Water Transportation

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
• Vancouver, B.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 lines, including:
• 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

*Though Boeing’s headquarters are now located in Arlington, VA, Boeing was founded in Seattle, WA 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

Community & Technical Colleges

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 Sheva, Israel, est. 1977
• Bergen, Norway, est. 1967
• Cebu, Philippines, est. 1991
• Chongqing, China, est. 1983
• Christchurch, New Zealand; est. 1981
• Daejon, Korea, est. 1989
• Galway, Ireland, est. 1986
• Gdynia, Poland, est. 1993
• Haiphong, Vietnam, est. 1996
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan, est. 1991
• Kobe, Japan, est. 1957
• Limbe, Cameroon, est. 1984
• Mazatlán, Mexico, est. 1979
• Mombasa, Kenya, est. 1981
• Nantes, France, est. 1980
• Pécs, Hungary, est. 1991
• Perugia, Italy, est. 1991
• Reykjavic, Iceland, est. 1986
• Sihanoukville, Cambodia, est. 1999
• Surabaya, Indonesia; est. 1992
• Tashkent, Uzbekistan, est. 1973

Sources

1. Seattle Comptroller’s Office
2. U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts; U.S. Census 2018-2022 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; United Census 2022
3. Official readings of the Western Regional Climate Center taken at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from 1945-2013
4. Official readings from National Weather Service from 2004-2024
5. Tourism Economics for Visit Seattle
6. Port of Seattle
7. DistanceFromTo.net
8. Department of Revenue Washington State

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