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 fresh water shoreline and 53.38 miles of salt water shoreline for a total of 200.90 miles of shoreline (source 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 Seattle

 King County

 Washington State

2021 733,904 2,252,305 7,738,692
2019 753,655 2,252,782 7,614,893
2018 744,949 2,233,163 7,535,591
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

*Seattle was last decade’s fastest growing major U.S. city (source 3)

DEMOGRAPHICS

Description

Seattle

Washington State

White 72.6% 78.1%
African American 8.4% 5.9%
Native American 2.5% 3.5%
Asian American 21.6% 12.3%
Pacific Islander 0.8% 1.4%
Hispanic/Latino 7.4% 13.7%
Two or more races 12.0% 12.4%

(source 4)

CLIMATE

Average High/Low Temperatures- Seattle, WA (Fahrenheit)

January 45.0° / 35.1° May 64.1° / 46.5° September 69.5° / 51.5°
February 49.0° / 36.7° June 69.3° / 51.4° October 59.3° / 45.4°
March 52.1° / 38.2° July 75.2° / 54.8° November 50.4° / 39.6°
April 67.4° / 41.3° August 74.9° / 55.0° December 45.4° / 35.9°

 

Annual Precipitation

Inches

Climate Records – Seattle, WA

Seattle, WA 37.14″ Highest Temperature 108° – June 28, 2021
Boston, MA 43.11″ Lowest Temperature 0° – January 31, 1950
Houston, TX 53.89″ Most rainfall in a year 55.14″ – 1950
Miami, FL 61.65″ Most rainfall in a month 15.63″ – November, 2006
New York, NY 49.80″ Most rainfall in a day 5.02″ – October 20, 2003
Washington, D.C. 39.52″

(source 6)

TOURISM

(Washington State’s 4th-largest industry)

Year

Total Overnight Seattle/King Co. Visitors

Total Seattle/King Co. Visitor Expenditures

2018 21.3 Million $7.8 Billion USD
2017 20.8 Million $7.4 Billion USD
2016 18.69 Million $6.0 Billion USD
2015 18 Million $5.6 Billion USD

(source 7)

ACCOMMODATIONS

(source 8)

CONVENTION FACILITIES

The expansive Seattle Convention Center includes the Arch and Summit buildings. Summit, which debuted in January 2023, is one of very few North American convention centers to achieve LEED Platinum certification and features 573,770 square feet of total event space. Arch is LEED Silver certified with 434,988 square feet of total event space. Both buildings are centrally located in Seattle’s compact downtown core that is home to the city’s major attractions, hotels, restaurants, and shops.

Taxi Companies

* App-based rideshare services such as UberLyft, and Sidecar also operate in Seattle

Bus/Rail/Water Transportation

Major Air Transportation

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

  • Location: 15 miles south of downtown Seattle
  • Serves (source 9):
    • 32 airlines
    • 49.8 million passengers/year
    • 120 non-stop destinations
      • 91 domestic
      • 29 international
  • Information: 206.431.4444 or portseattle.org/sea-tac

Air miles to Major Cities from Seattle

  • Atlanta – 2,796
  • Chicago – 2,114
  • Denver – 1,350
  • Houston – 2,367
  • Los Angeles – 1,261
  • New York – 2,952
  • Portland – 175
  • San Francisco – 843
  • Vancouver, B.C. – 120
  • Tokyo – 4,785
  • Hong Kong – 6,639
  • London 4,792

Seattle’s Cruise Industry

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

ECONOMY

Top Industries in Washington State

1. Aerospace
2. Agriculture & Food Manufacturing
3. Clean Technology
4. Forest Products
5. Tourism
6. Information & Communication Technology
7. Life Science/Global Health
8. Maritime
9. Military & Defense

Fortune 500 Companies Located in Puget Sound

Economic Characteristics

  • Population in labor force:  72.4%
  • Median household income:  $74,458
  • Per capita income:  $48,686

Housing Characteristics

  • Owner-occupied homes:  46.2%
  • Median value of homes:  $484,600

Taxes

  • Sales tax: 10.1%
  • Hotel tax: 15.7%
  • Car rental tax: 9.7%

(source 4)

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.

EDUCATION

60.4% of people in Seattle hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher

Four-Year Colleges & Universities

Community & Technical Colleges

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS

Club

Sport

League

Venue

Capacity

Seattle Seahawks Football (American) NFL Lumen Field 67,000
Seattle Mariners Baseball MLB T-Mobile Park 47,476
Seattle Kraken Hockey NHL Climate Pledge Arena 17,100
Seattle Storm Basketball WNBA Climate Pledge Arena 18,100
Seattle Sounders FC Soccer MLS Lumen Field 38,300
Seattle Reign FC Soccer NWSL Lumen Field 38.300

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
  3. U.S. Census Report (2021)
  4. U.S. Census 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates
  5. Official readings of the Western Regional Climate Center taken at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from 1945-2016
  6. Official readings of the Western Regional Climate Center taken at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from 1949-2006; Annual precipitation readings from the National Climatic Data Center 1981-2010
  7. Tourism Economics for Visit Seattle
  8. Smith Travel Research, Inc. for Visit Seattle
  9. Port of Seattle

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