Downtown Seattle
2023 Report Card

LIVE
Residential Population
74% increase since 2010 / 2023 estimate: 106,116

WORK
Total Number of Jobs
54% increase since 2010 / 2023 estimate: 336,959

SHOP
Brick-and-Mortar Retail Jobs
19% decrease since 2010 / 2023 estimate: 7,154

PLAY
Dining, Hotel, Recreation, Arts and Entertainment Jobs
16% increase since 2010 / 2023 estimate: 31,866

Sources: Esri Community Analyst, Puget Sound Regional Council. The 2023 jobs estimate was derived from data provided by PSRC and the Washington State Employment Security Department. Note that data here are for Q1 of each year. The 2013 jobs data were unavailable and were therefore interpolated.

Downtown By-the-Numbers: 2023

18.0%total office vacancy rate

This figure has increased by four percentage points since 2022, but remains below the national avarage of 19.6%. This represents downtown’s highest vacancy rate over the past two decades.
-2.8M sq. ft.net office absorption rate

The measure of total square feet occupied, less the total space vacated over a given period for existing buildings. This was the lowest annual net absorption rate for downtown buildings for at least 20 years.
1875 new downtown residents

Estimated increase in new residents since 2022. Downtown welcomed more than one in every 10 new Seattle residents last year.
4.2Mattendees

Total estimated attendance at downtown arts and cultural venues in 2023. While 2023 figures represented a post-pandemic high, attendance remains below 2019 levels.
70.3downtown diversity index

Downtown has grown increasingly diverse. In 2023, downtown scored 70.3, according to Esri’s Diversity Index — an increase of nearly 15 points since 2010. This is five points higher than the rest of Seattle.
Sources: CoStar, Esri Community Analyst, Puget Sound Regional Council and the Seattle Cultural Roundtable. All statistics are for the most recent year available from each data source.

Demographic Snapshot

Who Lives Downtown?

106116total population

37.5median age

1.46average household size

$110258median household income

4.4%are unemployed (July 2023)

72.2%have a bachelor’s degree or higher

6.4%are under 18

49.9%are nonwhite

81.1%are renters

Source: Esri Community Analyst
Who Works Downtown?
61.9%are between the ages of 30 and 54
17%identify as Asian, the fastest-growing demographic by race
35.9%have a bachelor’s degree or higher
52.5%are male
45.7%live less than 10 miles away
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (https://onthemap.ces.census.gov/). Note: Examined ZIP codes 98101, 98104,98109,98121, 98134, 98154, 98164 and 98174.
Who Visits Downtown?
True trade area demographics
$98000median household income
56%have a bachelor’s degree or higher
51%are male
42.4%are nonwhite
46%are renters
Source: Placer.ai. The “true trade area” was calculated based on the home locations of the top 60% of visitor home locations among those who live within 50 miles of downtown.

Data last updated March 2024.