Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

Safety47#490/924
Economy94#55/925
Housing15#791/925
Health93#63/925
Healthcare96#42/923
Environment16#769/917
Education95#44/925
Infrastructure96#41/925
Community67#303/925
Leisure & amenities84#153/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Average weekly wage · high$2,289
100/100Washington $1,917United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Adult smoking · low8.7%
99/100Washington 12.2%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Median household income · high$115,177
99/100Washington $99,309United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Broadband subscriptions · high94.8%
99/100Washington 93.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Physical inactivity · low15.7%
99/100Washington 19.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Public transit commuters · high5.0%
99/100Washington 3.5%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high6.2×
5/100Washington 5.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Property crime rate · high2,273 /100k
5/100Washington 1,975 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAggregated from counties
Average commute time · high29.2 min
6/100Washington 26.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Cost of buying a home today · high47.8%
6/100Washington 43.5%United States 34.1%Aug 2026Zillow Research
Drug overdose deaths · high32.0 /100k
8/100Washington 32.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.8 µg/m³
11/100Washington 8.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Hot daysWorsening
0 days (2011-2020) → 1 days (2016-2025)
+915%5 yearsUS 41 days → 42 days
Drought exposureWorsening
3% (2021) → 24% (Nov 2025–Oct 2026)
+21 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
High ozone daysImproving
8 days (2017) → 2 days (2022)
−80%5 yearsUS 9 days → 7 days
New business applicationsImproving
11.3 /1k (2020) → 18.8 /1k (2025)
+67%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
Child care cost burdenWorsening
22.2% (2020 & 2021) → 33.9% (2023 & 2024)
+12 pts3 yearsUS 24.5% → 27.9%
Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
37.1% (Dec 2021) → 47.8% (Aug 2026)
+11 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area improved on 16 of 32 measures with a comparison and declined on 11. 1 moved within the margin of error and 4 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among metro and micro areas: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2015-2019 with 2020-2024); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved16

Commute−1.8 min31.1 min → 29.2 min
Weekly wage+29%$1,780 → $2,289
Real income+38%$68,278 → $94,058
Bachelor's++4.3 points43.0% → 47.2%
Unemployment−4.2 points8.8% → 4.6%

Declined11

Transit use−5 points10.0% → 5.0%
Price / income+1.2×5.0× → 6.2×
Overdose deaths+42%22.6 /100k → 32.0 /100k
Libraries−7.4%0.4 /10k → 0.3 /10k
Traffic deaths+28%5.6 /100k → 7.1 /100k

All 32 measures

Change of every measure of Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	4.3 /10k2020	4.6 /10k2025	+5.2%	Improved	40%
Average commute time	31.1 min2015-2019	29.2 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Improved	95%
Average weekly wage	$1,7802020	$2,2892025	+29%	Improved	88%
Bachelor's degree or higher	43.0%2015-2019	47.2%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Improved	82%
Broadband subscriptions	90.6%2015-2019	94.8%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Improved	5%
Child poverty rate	10.8%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	−1 points	Improved	33%
Distance to an airport	19 mi2020	19 mi2025	+0 mi	Little change	12%
Drug overdose deaths	22.6 /100k2020	32.0 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	+42%	Declined	10%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.77%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	50%
Firearm deaths	9.4 /100k2020	10.0 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+6.5%	Declined	38%
Grocery stores	1.6 /10k2020	1.7 /10k2025	+5.3%	Improved	69%
Gyms and fitness centers	1.5 /10k2020	1.6 /10k2025	+5%	Little change	52%
High school diploma or higher	92.6%2015-2019	93.4%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Improved	21%
Home price to income ratio	5.0×2015-2019	6.2×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	7%
Homicide rate	4.5 /100k2020	3.7 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−18%	Improved	41%
Income adjusted for local prices	$68,2782019	$94,0582024	+38%	Improved	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4542015-2019	0.4692020-2024	+0.015	Declined	20%
Median household income	$86,8562015-2019	$115,1772020-2024	+33%	Improved	78%
New business applications	11.3 /1k2020	18.8 /1k2025	+67%	Improved	77%
Pharmacies	1.3 /10k2020	1.1 /10k2025	−13%	Declined	39%
Poverty rate	9.0%2015-2019	8.5%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	38%
Property crime rate	3,206 /100k2020	2,273 /100k2025	−29%	Improved	39%
Public libraries	0.4 /10k2019	0.3 /10k2024	−7.4%	Declined	16%
Public transit commuters	10.0%2015-2019	5.0%2020-2024	−5 points	Declined	1%
Rent as share of income	28.8%2015-2019	29.6%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Declined	42%
Rent-burdened households	47.0%2015-2019	49.0%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Declined	39%
Restaurants and bars	10.5 /10k2020	10.6 /10k2025	+0.6%	Little change	48%
Suicide rate	13.3 /100k2020	14.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+12%	Declined	35%
Traffic deaths	5.6 /100k2015-2019	7.1 /100k2020-2024	+28%	Declined	20%
Unemployment rate	8.8%2020	4.6%2025	−4.2 points	Improved	84%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.3%2015-2019	6.4%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Violent crime rate	346 /100k2020	317 /100k2025	−8.4%	Improved	38%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 708 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 925 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Metro and micro areas like Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area itself moved −2.3 points in standing on average over the same 30 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,061,920 residents

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,608,596 households (±3,508)

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area
United States share

Under $25k9.4%151,270
$25k–50k11%171,005
$50k–75k12%197,050

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,608,596 households (±3,508)

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area
United States share

Own60%964,807
Rent40%643,789

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,107,042 workers (±6,533)

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area
United States share

Drive alone58%1,215,400
Carpool8.0%168,731
Public transit5.0%105,322

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The 10 largest occupations in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA employ 442,140 people. 10 pay a median above the US median.

Above the US median
Below the US median

The largest occupations in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA by employment, with median annual pay and how it compares with the United States
Occupation	Jobs	Median pay	vs USCompared with the US	Concentration
Software Developers92,770 jobs	92,770	$167,280US $135,980	+23%	4.1×
Home Health and Personal Care Aides54,670 jobs	54,670

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA has 110,685 employer establishments, 272 for every 10,000 residents (1.10× the US rate of 248), with 1,884,361 paid employees at an average annual pay of $96,525. The Census Bureau also counts 322,387 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 110,685; 322,387 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 272; US 248
Paid employees: 1,884,361
Average annual pay: $96,525; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	8,705	21.4	1.03×About typical	116,606	$74,993	16,181
Restaurants and other eating places	8,443	20.8	1.13×About typical	133,774	$32,548	1,237
Specialty trade contractors	8,239	20.3	1.31×More than typical	85,245	$83,734	11,839
Lessors of real estate	7,527	18.5	1.50×More than typical	34,812	$79,251	33,486
Construction of buildings	4,948	12.2	1.61×More than typical	33,284	$90,964	7,295
Full-service restaurants	3,876	9.5	1.24×About typical	65,711	$37,758	469
Offices of other health practitioners	3,509	8.6	1.42×More than typical	17,447	$51,584	9,378
Real estate agents and brokers	3,449	8.5	1.74×More than typical	9,353	$91,903	10,027
Management, scientific and technical consulting	3,420	8.4	1.25×More than typical	34,052	$134,059	17,956
Services to buildings and dwellings	3,156	7.8	1.15×About typical	24,995	$48,933	12,414
Building finishing contractors	2,959	7.3	1.92×More than typical	21,186	$68,749	5,027
Limited-service restaurants	2,939	7.2	0.90×About typical	48,471	$27,730	510

Rank places for an industry

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 4,062,857 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
A metro area's figures are the exact sums of its counties.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $12B on contracts performed in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area: $2,878 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $12B; +42% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,878; US $2,007
Sole-source: 61%; US 30%
Single offer: 4.9%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Air Force$5.7B47%
Defense Contract Management Agency$3.5B29%
Department of the Army$631.4M5.3%
Department of the Navy$417.1M3.5%
Defense Logistics Agency$282.9M2.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs$279.2M2.3%
U.S. Coast Guard$242.6M2.0%
Defense Health Agency$229.9M1.9%

Top recipients

THE BOEING COMPANY$9B75%
FLATIRON-AECON JOINT VENTURE$320.2M2.7%
AMAZON WEB SERVICES, INC.$181.5M1.5%
PACMED CLINICS$179.9M1.5%
WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY, THE$175.2M1.5%

Spending by fiscal year

7.9BFY2017
8.7BFY2018
10BFY2019
6.7BFY2020
10.1BFY2021
6.6BFY2022
6.7BFY2023
8.6B

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$9.2B76%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$344.8M2.9%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$290.5M2.4%
Data processing, hosting, and related services · 5182$254.9M2.1%
Ship and boat building · 3366$200.4M1.7%
Insurance carriers · 5241$188.7M

Largest awards

USN P-8A FRP II LONG LEAD MATERIAL$18.1B
THE BOEING COMPANY· King County, WA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Oct 5, 2016 – Jun 12, 2026· N0001914C0067
CANADA AND GERMANY LOT 13 P-8A AIRCRAFT$5.8B
THE BOEING COMPANY· King County, WA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Feb 29, 2024 – Jun 12, 2026· N0001924C0025
P-8A FRP LOT I LONG LEAD MATERIAL$5.5B
THE BOEING COMPANY· King County, WA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Oct 3, 2016 – Jun 3, 2026· N0001912C0112
KC-X MODERNIZATION PROGRAM$5B

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026.

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $23.6B in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area: $5,681 per resident (US $12,975).

Assistance · FY2026: $23.6B; −1.8% vs FY2025
Per resident: $5,681; US $12,975
Loan face value: $2.4B; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 0.1%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$13.5B57%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$1.9B8.1%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$1.1B4.5%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$925.4M3.9%
14.871 · Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers$775M3.3%
81.121 · Nuclear Energy Research, Development and Demonstration$713.9M3.0%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$521.7M2.2%
93.855 · Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research$298.4M1.3%

Top recipients (organizations)

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON$717.6M3.0%
SEATTLE, WA
US SFR OWNER LLC$713.9M3.0%
BELLEVUE, WA
WASHINGTON ST DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION$597.1M2.5%
OLYMPIA, WA
FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER$320.8M1.4%
SEATTLE, WA
SEATTLE HOUSING AUTHORITY$305.9M

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$16.1B68%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$2.3B9.6%
Department of Veterans Affairs
National Institutes of Health$1.1B4.9%
Department of Health and Human Services
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing$882.7M3.7%
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of Energy

Assistance by fiscal year

22.1BFY2021
19.6BFY2022
21.3BFY2023
22.6BFY2024
24.1BFY2025
23.6BFY2026

County aggregates

80%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 8, 2026, loaded Oct 8, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Counties in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

Other metro and micro areas in Washington

Areas based in Washington, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-10-06
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08

JSON · /api/v1/places/M42660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved16

Declined11

Metro and micro areas like Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Jobs and pay

Local businesses

Federal contract spending

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards

Federal grants & assistance

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Counties in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Principal cities

Largest cities and towns

Other metro and micro areas in Washington

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Similar metro and micro areas

Data and sources

Improved16

Declined11

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Look up any occupation

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

By type

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards

What was bought