SeattleCity

Downtown Seattle skyline

Space Needle and the then-Key Arena, with the Olympic Mountains in the background

Seattle Great Wheel

Pike Place Market

Amazon Spheres

SealNickname(s): The Emerald City, Jet City, Rain CityMotto(s): The City of Flowers, The City of Goodwill

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Show the United StatesCoordinates: 47°36′35″N 122°19′59″W / 47.60972°N 122.33306°W / 47.60972; -122.33306CountryUnited StatesStateWashingtonCountyKingFoundedNovember 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'ahlGovernment • TypeMayor–council • BodySeattle City Council • MayorBruce Harrell (D)Area[1] • City142.07 sq mi (367.97 km2) • Land83.99 sq mi (217.54 km2) • Water58.08 sq mi (150.43 km2) • Metro8,186 sq mi (21,202 km2)Elevation[source?]175 ft (53 m)Highest elevation520 ft (158 m)Lowest elevation0 ft (0 m)Population (2020)[2] • City737,015 • Estimate (2024)[2]780,995 • Rank58th in North America18th in the United States1st in Washington • Density8,775.03/sq mi (3,387.95/km2) • Urban[3]3,544,011 (US: 13th) • Urban density3,607.1/sq mi (1,392.7/km2) • Metro[4]4,018,762 (US: 15th)DemonymSeattleite[5] or Seattlite[6]GDP[7] • Seattle (MSA)US$479.966 billion (2021)Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific (PST)) • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)ZIP Codes
ZIP Codes[8][9]
98101–98119, 98121–98122, 98124–98127, 98129, 98131, 98133–98134, 98136, 98138–98139, 98141, 98144–98146, 98148, 98154–98155, 98158, 98160–98161, 98164–98166, 98168, 98170, 98174–98175, 98177–98178, 98181, 98185, 98188, 98190–98191, 98194–98195, 98198–98199
Area code206FIPS code53-63000GNIS feature ID1512650[10]Websiteseattle.gov

The Space Needle
Seattle (/siˈætəl/ (
listen) see-AT-əl) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the home of the Space Needle and a monorail, both of which were built for the 1962 World's Fair. It is also the American headquarters of Boeing, Starbucks coffee, Amazon.com and Nordstrom. In the 1960s and 1990s, music artists like Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and others from the city became popular. It is also the setting of the TV shows Here Come the Brides, Frasier, and Grey's Anatomy.
Seattle has many sports teams, including the Seattle Mariners (baseball), the Seattle Seahawks (American football), the Seattle Kraken (ice hockey), the Sounders FC (soccer), and the Seattle Storm (women's basketball). Seattle has a lot of water around it, with Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean to the west and Lake Washington to the east. About 750,000 people live in the city. More than 4,000,000 (4 million) people live in the city or near it.
Seattle is home to many colleges and universities. The most notable of these are, University of Washington, and Seattle University.
Seattle has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb in the Köppen climate classification).
Notes[change | change source]
↑ November 13, 1851 is often referred to as the unofficial date of Seattle's founding, when much of the Denny Party arrived at Alki Point. However, the first White settlers to inhabit the area had already arrived in September, which included some members of the Denny clan. The modern city did not take shape until the following spring after much of the party abandoned Alki to move across the bay. The name "Seattle" didn't become official until May 23, 1853.
References[change | change source]
↑ "2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Washington". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
↑ 2.0 2.1 "QuickFacts: Seattle city, Washington". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
↑ "List of 2020 Census Urban Areas". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
↑ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
↑ 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.
↑ Wilson-Codega, Lily. "About Seattle: Sister Cities". City of Seattle. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
↑ "GDP by county in 2021" (PDF). www.bea.gov.
↑ "Zip Code Lookup". USPS. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015.
↑ "Zip Code Lookup". USPS. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015.
↑ "Seattle". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
Other websites[change | change source]

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vteMunicipalities and communities of King County, Washington, United StatesCounty seat:
SeattleCities
Algona
Auburn‡
Bellevue
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Burien
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Issaquah
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Union Hill-Novelty Hill
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Krain
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White
Indian reservation
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Christopher
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Franklin
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vteSeattle metropolitan areaMajor cities
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vteThe 100 most populous cities of the United States
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