Seattle

About Seattle

Seattle ( see-AT-əl) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is the 18th-most populous city in the United States with a population of 784,777 in 2025, while the Seattle metropolitan area at over 4.15 million residents is the 15th-most populous metropolitan area in the nation. The city is the county seat of King County, the most populous county in Washington. Seattle's growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the country's fastest-growing large cities.

Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Canadian border. A gateway for trade with the Asia-Pacific region, the Port of Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2021.

The Seattle area has been inhabited by Native Americans (such as the Duwamish, who had at least 17 villages around Elliott Bay) for at least 4,000 years before the arrival of the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, Oregon, on the schooner Exact at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. The settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay in 1852 and named "Seattle" in honor of Chief Seattle, a prominent 19th-century leader of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Seattle has relatively high populations of Native Americans as well as Americans with strong Asian, African, and European ancestry, and, as of 2015, has the fifth-highest percentage of residents who identify as LGBT among major metropolitan areas in the U.S. (4.8 percent).

Logging was Seattle's first major industry, but by the late 19th century the city had become a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. The city grew after World War II, partly due to the local company Boeing, which established Seattle as a center for its manufacturing of aircraft. Beginning in the 1980s, the Seattle area developed into a technology center; Microsoft established its headquarters in the region. Alaska Airlines is based at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in nearby SeaTac. The rise of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased the city's population by almost 50,000 between 1990 and 2000.

The culture of Seattle is heavily defined by its significant musical history. Between 1918 and 1951, nearly 24 jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District to the Central District. The jazz scene nurtured the early careers of Ernestine Anderson, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, and others. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the city was the origin of several rock artists and bands, including the Foo Fighters, Heart, and Jimi Hendrix, and the subgenre of grunge and its pioneering bands, including Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden.

Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Seattle weather: 7-day forecast

Source: National Weather Service (NOAA).

Live webcams in Seattle

Webcams: Windy.com

Living in Seattle

Median household income

$123,860

Median home value

$938,600

Median rent

$2,030/mo

Median age

35.6

Map of Seattle

Tap any street on the map to see it in Street View below. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Seattle Street View

Drag the image to look around and tap the arrows on the ground to move. If it says there is no imagery, tap a nearby street on the map above.

Seattle, WA population

Seattle had 737,015 residents in the 2020 Census.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census.

Seattle at a glance

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (Gazetteer, ZCTA), USGS GNIS, Wikidata.

Towns near Seattle

• Medina5.2 mi E
• Hunts Point5.9 mi E
• Clyde Hill6.3 mi E
• Yarrow Point6.4 mi E
• Mercer Island6.8 mi SE
• Beaux Arts Village7.3 mi E
• Bainbridge Island7.5 mi W
• Boulevard Park7.5 mi S
• White Center7.6 mi S
• Kirkland8.7 mi NE
• Bellevue9.2 mi E
• Shoreline9.6 mi N

Straight-line distance between town centers.

Frequently asked questions about Seattle