The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of Washington that comprises

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, Snohomish, and Pierce—and is considered part of the greater

Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. ...

. The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

defines the metropolitan area as the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area. With an estimated population of 4,102,400 , it is the 15th largest

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

(MSA) in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and is home to over half of Washington's population.

Definition

Downtown_Seattle_seen_from_Bainbridge_Island

As defined by the

, the Seattle metropolitan area is made up of the following (''see Fig. STB''): *

–

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

– Everett metropolitan division ** King County: Seattle and its immediate vicinity **

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...

: north of Seattle * Tacoma metropolitan division ** Pierce County: south of Seattle Based on commuting patterns, the adjacent metropolitan areas of Olympia,

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

, and

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, along with a few smaller satellite urban areas, are grouped together in a wider labor market region known as the ''Seattle–Tacoma''

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

(CSA) (''See Figure STO''), commonly known as the

. The population of this wider region is 4,686,536—roughly two-thirds of Washington's population—. The Seattle CSA is the 14th largest CSA, and the 13th largest primary census statistical area in the country. The additional metropolitan and micropolitan areas included are: *

– Silverdale metropolitan area **

Kitsap County Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on ...

: west of Seattle, separated from the city by

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

; connected to Seattle by ferry and to Tacoma by the Tacoma Narrows Bridge * Olympia metropolitan area ** Thurston County: southwest of Seattle, at the south end of

– Anacortes metropolitan area **

Skagit County Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Skagit Ind ...

* Oak Harbor micropolitan area ** Island County: northwest of Everett, encompassing Whidbey and

Camano Island Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susa ...

s in Puget Sound * Shelton micropolitan area ** Mason County: west of Tacoma and northwest of Olympia

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there was 4,018,762 people in the area. In 2019 the estimated median income for a household in the Seattle metropolitan area was $94,027. The per capita income was $49,184. Kingcounty-wa

Religion

According to the Pew Research Center's 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, the Seattle metropolitan area's religious affiliation is as follows:

Cities

Everett Station and Everett skyline, April 2020

; Major *

* Tacoma *

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

* Everett ; Other * Arlington * Auburn * Bainbridge Island * Beaux Arts Village * Bonney Lake *

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 resident ...

* Brier * Buckley * Burien * Covington * Des Moines * Duvall * Enumclaw * Edmonds * Federal Way *

Gig Harbor Gig Harbor is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington,. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 census. Gig Harbor is one of several cities and towns that claim to be "the gateway to the Olymp ...

* Gold Bar * Granite Falls *

Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah Al ...

* Kenmore * Kirkland * Lake Forest Park *

Lake Stevens Lake Stevens is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States, that is named for the lake it surrounds. It is located east of Everett and borders the cities of Marysville to the northwest and Snohomish to the south. The city's popula ...

* Lakewood *

Lynnwood Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...

* Maple Valley * Marysville *

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

* Mill Creek * Monroe * Mountlake Terrace *

Mukilteo Mukilteo ( ) is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located on the Puget Sound between Edmonds, Washington, Edmonds and Everett, Washington, Everett, approximately north of Seattle. The city had a population of 20,254 ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

* Normandy Park * Olympia * Orting * Puyallup * Poulsbo * Redmond * Renton *

Sammamish Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resid ...

* SeaTac *

Shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

* Silverdale * Snohomish * Stanwood * Sultan * Sumner * Tukwila *

Woodinville Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. There is also a much larger population with Woodinville mailing addresses in adjacent unincorporated areas of King ( Cottage Lake) and ...

* Woodway

Commerce

The Seattle metropolitan area is home to numerous large scale businesses. Retail giants such as

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

, REI,

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...

, Starbucks, and

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (Trade name, doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only Big-box store, big-box retail stores (warehouse c ...

were founded and continue to be headquartered in the greater Seattle area. Over the past decade, tech companies began expanding their roots into the Seattle metropolitan area and opening offices on both sides of Lake Washington (Seattle and Bellevue, primarily). These companies, traditionally known for their history in Silicon Valley and the bay area, include

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

Salesforce Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, a ...

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

, and

Zynga Zynga Inc. () is an American developer running social video game services. It was founded in April 2007, with headquarters in San Mateo, California. The company primarily focuses on mobile and social networking platforms. Zynga states its missio ...

Transportation

Major airports

The largest airport in the region is

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...

in SeaTac, an International airport that serves as a commercial hub for

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the num ...

and

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...

. The other airports in the area are: * Paine Field (passenger and general) * Boeing Field (passenger and cargo) *

Harvey Airfield Harvey Airfield, also known as Harvey Field , is a privately owned, public-use airport in Snohomish, Washington. The airfield has one asphalt runway, one turf runway, and fourteen hangar bays. It covers an area of approximately . It is home t ...

(general) *

Renton Municipal Airport Renton Municipal Airport is a public use airport located in Renton, a city in King County, Washington, United States. The airport was renamed Clayton Scott Field in 2005 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Clayton Scott. The airport's northern ...

(general)

Major highways

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

State Route 7 * WA-9

State Route 9 * WA-16

State Route 16 * WA-18

State Route 18 * I-90

Interstate 90 * WA-99

State Route 99 * US_101

U.S. Route 101 * WA-202

State Route 202 * I-405

Interstate 405 * WA-520

State Route 520 * WA-522

State Route 522 * I-605

Interstate 605 Interstate 605 (abbreviated I-605, officially known as the San Gabriel River Freeway) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Greater Los Angeles urban area of Southern California. It runs from I-405 and State Route ...

(proposed)'' * I-705

Interstate 705

Mass transit

Sound Transit Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, ...

, trains, buses, light rail in

area *

Community Transit Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, excluding the city of Everett, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish C ...

, buses in Snohomish County except Everett *

King County Metro King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...

, buses in King County *

Pierce Transit Pierce Transit, officially the Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation, is an operator of public transit in Pierce County, Washington. It operates a variety of services, including fixed-route buses, dial-a-ride transportat ...

, buses in Pierce County * Everett Transit, bus service in the city of Everett * Intercity Transit, bus service in Thurston County * Mason Transit Authority, bus service in Mason County *

Seattle Streetcar The Seattle Streetcar is a system of two modern streetcar lines operating in the city of Seattle, Washington. The South Lake Union line opened first in 2007 and was followed by the First Hill line in 2016. The two lines are unconnected, but s ...

, streetcar service in the city of

* Seattle Center Monorail

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seattle Metropolitan Area Metropolitan areas of Washington (state)