General Information

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Living in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest

Greater Seattle excels in livability with a mild climate, affordable housing, a full range of arts, cultural and sporting events, an abundance of shops and restaurants, and easy access to outdoor recreational activities throughout the year. Seattle was recently ranked as the best major US city for kids based on criteria such as health, education and public safety.

Demographics

Population

	Seattle	Greater Seattle Area*	Cascadia Region**
1970	530,844	1,939,000	7,738,635
1980	493,846	2,240,000	9,508,809
1990	516,259	2,748,867	11,000,384
2000	563,374	3,275,847	13,379,320
2010 (est.)	596,292	3,802,230	15,765,119

*King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties.
**Washington, Oregon and British Columbia (Canada)

Population by Race and Ethnic Identification 2000 Census data

Race/Ethnic Group	Seattle	King County	Washington State
White	394,889 (70.1%)	1,315,507 (75.7%)	4,821,823 (81.8%)
African American	47,541 (8.4%)	93,875 (5.4%)	190,267 (3.2%)
American Indian and Alaska Native	5,659 (1.0%)	15,922 (0.9%)	93,301 (1.6%)
American Indian	3,141	9,921	70,646
Alaska Native	967	2,292	6,621
Asian	73,910 (13.1%)	187,745 (10.8%)	322,335 (5.5%)
Asian Indian	2,843	15,287	23,992
Chinese	19,415	45,018	59,914
Filipino	15,867	33,714	65,373
Japanese	8,979	21,455	35,985
Vietnamese	11,943	27,484	46,149
Korean	4,863	20,005	46,880
Other Asian	10,000	24,242	44,042
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	2,804 (0.5%)	9,013 (0.5%)	23,953 (0.4%)
Native Hawaiian	409	1,506	4,883
Guamanian or Chamorro	364	1,028	5,823
Samoan	1,391	4,182	8,049
Other Pacific Islander	640	2,297	5,198
Other Race	13,423 (2.5%)	44,473 (2.6%)	228,923 (3.9%)
Two or More Races	25,148 (4.5%)	70,499 (4.1%)	213,519 (3.6%)
Hispanic/Latino and Country of Origin*	29,719 (5.3%)	95,242 (5.5%)	441,509 (7.5%)
Mexican	17,886	62,369	329,934
Puerto Rican	1,466	4,214	16,140
Cuban	759	1,792	4,501
Other Hispanic or Latino	9,608	26,867	90,934
TOTAL POPULATION	563,374	1,737,034	5,894,121

*Hispanics may be of any race.

Climate

Seattle's mild winters and cool summers enable year-round outdoor activities. High temperatures in July average about 75F (24 C), while low temperatures in winter drop below freezing an average of only 15 days per year. Average yearly rainfall in Seattle is 36.2 inches (92 cm), compared to 19.5 inches (50 cm) in San Francisco, 34.5 (88 cm) in Chicago, 39 inches (99 cm) in Washington, D.C. and 40.3 inches (102 cm) in New York City.

Cost of Living

Housing

Median sales prices of existing single-family homes (1st quarter of 2004 (in US$)

St. Louis	109,800
Dallas	132,800
Chicago	228,100
Seattle	282,500
Washington DC	300,700
Boston	347,100
San Diego	483,000
San Francisco	597,300

Source: 2004 National Association of REALTORS

Rentals

Average monthly cost for 2 bedroom rental units in King County, Spring 2003.

Single family	$1,085
Apartment complex (multiplex)	$893
Apartment complex (5-19 Unit)	$864

Source: Dupre + Scott
(more details and statistics)

Median Family Income
Metropolitan Seattle

1995	$ 51,500
1997	$ 55,100
1999	$ 62,500
2001	$ 72,200

Source: Housing and Urban Development Regional Office

Education

Persons over 25, a comparison of major US cities; percentage completing:

	High school	BA or higher
Seattle	93	36
San Francisco	87	40
Washington, D.C.	90	42
Atlanta	89	31
New York	78	33
Chicago	85	31
Miami	75	23
Detroit	85	26

Source: US Census Bureau, "Educational Attainment in the US, March 2000".

Public and Private Schools

Total enrollment in Seattle public schools as of October 1, 2000, is 46,697. There are more than 300 private and parochial schools in Seattle.

Major Universities and Colleges	Number of Students (Fall, 1998)	Internet Home Page
University of Washington (public)	36,139	www.washington.edu
Seattle University (private)	5,851	www.seattleu.edu
Seattle Pacific University (private)	3,491	www.spu.edu
Community colleges, three campuses (public)	25,795	www.sccd.ctc.edu
Art Institute of Seattle	2,255	www.aii.edu
Cornish College of the Arts	702	www.cornish.edu

(Enrollment figures for fall 2000.)

Major research facilities include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Battelle Memorial Institute, and the Washington Technology Center

Community

Health Care

The greater Seattle area is the health care center of the Pacific Northwest. There are 26 general-acute and 4 special purpose hospitals, more than 4,500 beds, and approximately 3,000 physicians. Leading institutions include Swedish Hospital, University of Washington Hospital and School of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, Providence Hospital, Group Health Cooperative Hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Northwest Hospital, Valley General Hospital, and Children’s Hospital. Other important institutions include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Heart attack survival rates for Medic One patients are 30% for those treated by automatic defibrillator and 19% by standard response, which are higher rates than in any other city of comparable size.

Religion

All major religions are represented in the greater Seattle area. In addition to various Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox churches, there are numerous Jewish synagogues and Buddhist temples, as well as two Islamic mosques.

Cultural and Recreational Facilities

Cultural		Recreational
Museums	14	Parks	50 urban/ 20 rural
Historical sites	28	Beaches	12
Community centers	24	Golf courses	5
Public libraries	25	Tennis courts	151
Performing arts centers	27	Swimming pools	10
		Playing fields	38
		Athletic clubs	42
		Maintained trails	5

Economy

The greater Seattle area is a leading center for advanced technology in aerospace, computer software, bioinformatics, genomics, telemedicine, electronics, medical equipment and environmental engineering. The region’s single most important employer is Boeing, which is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world and consistently one of the top three exporters in the United States. Total 1998 payroll for 110,000 aircraft workers in the region was $5.98 billion.

The payroll for the region’s 23,500 software workers was $6.77 billion (including stock options), or an average wage of $287,700. Microsoft, the world’s leading personal computer software company, is one of 2,500 software development firms in the state. Bio and medical technology generate $2 billion annually in the state’s economy and directly account for nearly 13,000 jobs in 140 companies and non-profit organizations. By the year 2005, bio and medical technology are projected to employ 20,000 people in Washington state, account for more than $2 billion in R & D expenditures and generate annual revenues of approximately $5 billion. Other major industries include wood products, transportation equipment, food products, fish-processing, and apparel design.

Seattle has been ranked as one of the best U.S. cities in which to locate a business according to several recent surveys. Key factors are Seattle’s skilled work force, manufacturing capability, education and research, quality transportation and infrastructure, access to international and domestic markets, and government accessibility. Other important factors are cultural diversity, an international perspective and high quality of life. (See also International Commerce, below.) For further information call the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development, (206) 684-8090.

Cascadia Region

Seattle lies near the center of a 400 mile corridor with 8 million residents stretching from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver BC. This region accounts for more than $250 billion in annual economic output and if ranked as a nation-state would be the 10^th largest economy in the world. State and local governments have agreed to cooperate in areas such as transportation planning, trade and tourism promotion, border crossing improvements, economic development, natural resource management and special events. For further information call the City of Seattle’s Office of Intergovernmental Relations, (206) 684-8055.

Total Employment and Projections

Number of full-time equivalent positions (not including resource or construction)

Year	Seattle	King County	Greater Seattle Area
1970	310,286	466,592	740,927
1980	386,684	697,401	1,033,407
1990	469,802	972,567	1,445,243
2000 (est.)	526,051	1,175,762	1,799,203
2010 (est.)	605,505	1,347,245	2,075,608

Source: Puget Sound Regional Council

Travel: Distances to Major Cities(air miles)

	Tokyo	Hong Kong	Chicago	New York	London
Seattle	4,785	6,639	1,726	2,406	4,792
San Francisco	5,135	6,957	1,851	2,571	5,355
Los Angeles	5,570	7,343	1,743	2,456	5,443

Source: Port of Seattle, Aviation Division

Seattle Links

City of Seattle Official Web Site
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Seattle-King County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Internet Seattle
Seattle Community Network
Seattle Datebook
Seattle Insider
Yahoo! Seattle