How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Seattle, WA
780,995 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 5363000 · Census profile · mayors: being verified
Overall in 2023, Seattle ranked #178 of 340 cities and 3rd of 14 in its peer group, on 9 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Seattle and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Portland OR, Denver CO, Sacramento CA, Oakland CA, Minneapolis MN, Las Vegas NV, Long Beach CA, Anaheim CA, Washington DC, Mesa AZ, St. Paul MN, Aurora CO, Charlotte NC · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #178 of 340 cities · 3rd of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #228 | #210 | #80 | #58 | #118 | #44 | #85 | #71 | #55 | #74 | #96 | #57 | #69 | #87 | #114 | #54 | #120 | #83 | #178 | #167 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 573,336 | 580,609 | 586,956 | 593,588 | 604,189 | 610,630 | 622,694 | 635,928 | 653,588 | 670,109 | 687,386 | 709,631 | 728,661 | 742,235 | 753,675 | 740,600 | 733,700 | 751,454 | 764,182 | 780,995 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #212 of 340 cities · 8th of 14 in its peer group | -0.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.6 | — | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.1 | -0.2 | -0.2 | +0.1 | -1.7 | -0.7 | -0.9 | -0.5 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #49 of 271 cities with data · 1st of 11 in its peer group with data | 6.5 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 8.2 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 11.5 | 10.2 | 11.1 | 16.5 | 14.1 | 13.6 | 10.7 | 14.3 | 7.7 | 16.3 | 12.0 | 6.9 | 7.5 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #49 of 340 cities · 1st of 14 in its peer group | 19.6% | 17.1% | 18.3% | 18.3% | 19.6% | 19.7% | 20.1% | 20.0% | 20.0% | 20.3% | 20.3% | 20.8% | 21.5% | 21.8% | 20.4% | — | 19.4% | 19.5% | 19.4% | 20.3% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #169 of 304 cities with data · 3rd of 14 in its peer group | 4.4 | 5.2 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 7.2 | 8.9 | 6.5 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #184 of 295 cities with data · 4th of 13 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 27.2 | 24.5 | 29.8 | 36.5 | 33.3 | 36.5 | 38.0 | 37.2 | 50.9 | 74.1 | 86.2 | 89.1 | 84.3 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 455,994 | 466,868 | 483,904 | 504,207 | 494,860 | 503,357 | 508,350 | 511,151 | 524,954 | 544,249 | 543,819 | 571,164 | 594,458 | 617,851 | 582,789 | 615,720 | 602,432 | 644,346 | 656,821 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #219 of 329 cities with data · 9th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | -1.9 | -2.6 | +1.9 | +2.1 | +0.3 | +2.4 | -2.2 | -1.0 | +0.1 | +0.5 | -2.5 | +1.0 | +1.9 | +0.7 | -4.7 | +6.2 | -1.4 | +0.7 | -0.8 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 354,009 | 371,305 | 382,794 | 390,943 | 415,016 | 425,827 | 435,541 | 451,954 | 470,782 | — | 445,494 | 467,509 | 473,322 | 488,332 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #193 of 340 cities · 7th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7.2% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 4.5% | 4.8% | 4.7% | 4.0% | 3.8% | 3.6% | — | 5.3% | 3.3% | 4.2% | 5.2% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | 89% | — | 92% | — | 62% | 74% | 68% | 63% | 64% | 66% | 66% | 68% | 70% | 68% | 69% | 72% | 75% | 76% | 76% | 76% | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #151 of 314 cities with data · 6th of 14 in its peer group | 7% | 11% | 12% | 26% | 21% | 20% | 21% | 23% | 29% | 26% | 27% | 26% | 26% | 25% | 29% | 32% | 28% | 30% | 25% | 24% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #289 of 314 cities with data · 11th of 14 in its peer group | $10,049 | $9,254 | $8,928 | $8,368 | $9,316 | $8,796 | $8,962 | $8,946 | $8,672 | $8,524 | $8,595 | $8,976 | $8,867 | $9,316 | $9,057 | $9,055 | $8,565 | $8,009 | $7,746 | $7,568 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Seattle. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.