Seattle

Seattle
Lushootseed: dᶻidᶻəlal̕ič
Nickname(s): 
The Emerald City, Jet City, Rain City
Motto(s): 
The City of Flowers, The City of Goodwill
Map
Map
Map
Map
Seattle is located in Washington (state)
Seattle
Seattle
Seattle is located in the United States
Seattle
Seattle
Coordinates: 47°36′35″N 122°19′59″W / 47.60972°N 122.33306°W / 47.60972; -122.33306
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyKing
FoundedNovember 13, 1851 (1851-11-13)[a]
Incorporated as a townJanuary 14, 1865 (1865-01-14)
Incorporated as a cityDecember 2, 1869 (1869-12-02)
Named forChief Si'ahl
Government
 • TypeMayor–council
 • BodySeattle City Council
 • MayorBruce Harrell (D)
Area
 • City142.07 sq mi (367.97 km2)
 • Land83.99 sq mi (217.54 km2)
 • Water58.08 sq mi (150.43 km2)
 • Metro
8,186 sq mi (21,202 km2)
Elevation175 ft (53 m)
Highest elevation
520 ft (158 m)
Lowest elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 • City737,015
 • Estimate 
(2022)[2]
749,256
 • Rank58th in North America
18th in the United States
1st in Washington
 • Density8,775.03/sq mi (3,387.95/km2)
 • Urban3,544,011 (US: 13th)
 • Urban density3,607.1/sq mi (1,392.7/km2)
 • Metro4,018,762 (US: 15th)
DemonymSeattleite[5] or Seattlite[6]
GDP
 • Seattle (MSA)US$517.803 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
ZIP Codes[8][9]
Area code206
FIPS code53-63000
GNIS feature ID1512650[10]
Websitewww.seattle.gov Edit this at Wikidata
ASN
  • 3401

Seattle (/siˈætəl/ see-AT-əl) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2022 population of 749,256[11] it is the most populous city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America, and the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-largest in the United States.[12] Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the country's fastest-growing large cities.[13]

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 East Asia, the Port of Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2021.[14]

The Seattle area has been inhabited by Native Americans (such as the Duwamish, who had at least 17 villages around Elliot Bay) for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers.[15] 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.[16] 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 currently has high populations of Native Americans alongside Americans with strong Asian, African, European, and Scandinavian ancestry, and, as of 2015, hosts the fifth-largest LGBT community in the U.S.[17]

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 Boeing company, 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. In 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle, and Alaska Airlines is based in SeaTac, Washington, serving Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Seattle's international airport. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased the city's population by almost 50,000 in the decade 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 century, the city also was the origin of several rock bands, including Foo Fighters, Heart, and Jimi Hendrix, and the subgenre of grunge and its pioneering bands, including Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and others.[18]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Washington". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "QuickFacts: Seattle city, Washington". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "List of 2020 Census Urban Areas". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Balk, Gene (October 2, 2012). "When can you call yourself a Seattleite?". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  6. ^ Wilson-Codega, Lily. "About Seattle: Sister Cities". City of Seattle. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Data. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. December 18, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  8. ^ "Zip Code Lookup". USPS. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015.
  9. ^ "Zip Code Lookup". USPS. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015.
  10. ^ "Seattle". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  11. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Seattle city, Washington".
  12. ^ Balk, Gene (March 26, 2018). "Seattle just one of 5 big metros last year that had more people move here than leave, census data show". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  13. ^ Gutman, David; Shapiro, Nina (August 12, 2021). "Seattle grew by more than 100,000 people in past 10 years, King County population booms, diversifies, new census data shows". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  14. ^ "Seaport Statistics". Port of Seattle. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Doree Armstrong (October 4, 2007). "Feel the beat of history in the park and concert hall at two family-friendly events". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
  16. ^ Speidel, William C. (1967). Sons of the Profits or There's No Business Like Grow Business The Seattle Story 1851–1901. Nettle Creek. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9780914890065. At the time, the Schooner "Exact" was outfitting in Portland for a voyage to Queen Charlotte Island with gold prospectors, and for a reasonable price the captain was willing to touch at Puget Sound en route. She started from Portland on November 5, 1851 and headed out over the Columbia River Bar after touching at Astoria two days later.
  17. ^ Gene Balk (March 20, 2015). "Survey ranks Seattle area 5th for LGBT population – so many people is that?". The Seattle Times.
  18. ^ Heylin, Clinton (2007). Babylon's Burning: From Punk to Grunge. Conongate. p. 606. ISBN 978-1-84195-879-8.