Seattle's Population Nears 800,000 in Latest State Tally

Seattle could soon be more populous than San Francisco, based on current trends.

New state population estimates released Friday revealed that Seattle is on the cusp of crossing the 800,000 mark. The annual April 1 population estimates from the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) have showed Seattle steadily growing since a brief pandemic dip and hitting 797,700 in April 2024.

The recent trend line suggests Seattle will surpass 800,000 by a comfortable margin by the next round of estimates in April 1, 2025. That said, the real estate industry has warned of a homebuilding slowdown, which could cut into momentum, and housing advocates have warned that Seattle’s once-a-decade growth plan update aims too low, failing to target enough housing creation. Still, it’s been an impressive decade of growth for Seattle, which crossed the 700,000 mark in 2017 and the 600,000 mark around 2009. Growing by more than 100,000 residents per decade is turning into a pattern.



Seattle led the state in population growth by a wide margin, continuing a recent trend of urbanization in the Evergreen State. Still, several other Washington cities reached milestones of their own.

Vancouver added 3,000 residents, surpassing 200,000 for the first time, reaching 202,600. That was second largest numeric gain, with Tacoma in third-place with a population increase of 2,700, putting Tacoma’s new estimate at 225,100. Redmond was fourth, adding 2,550 residents and surpassing 80,000 for the first time. Home to Microsoft’s headquarters, Redmond recently opened its first two light rail stations, pointing to more momentum for growth.



https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/07/01/seattles-population-nears-800000-in-latest-state-tally/