Seattle area leads nation in economic growth
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The Seattle area had the fastest economic growth among large U.S. metros last year, according to new federal data.
Why it matters: Although Seattle's central business district has been slower to recover from the pandemic than some cities' downtowns, the numbers released last week show the region's economy as a whole has been booming.
By the numbers: The Seattle metro area's gross domestic product increased by 6.2% from 2022 to 2023, hitting $487.8 billion last year, per the data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
- That was the highest growth rate among metro areas with a population over 1.5 million.
Zoom in: The tech and information industry drove much of the growth in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, generating $133.7 billion in the region last year — up from $115.8 billion in 2022, per BEA data.
- The retail industry also made gains, rising from $44.3 billion in economic output in 2022 to over $50 billion last year.
What they're saying: Josh Brown, executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council, said the numbers reflect not only the region's strong tech industry, but also the ripple effects of several years of record-high housing construction in the area.
- Though the pandemic and government shutdown orders disrupted some of the region's economic growth, "now we're coming out on the other side," he told Axios.
Between the lines: Commercial real estate vacancies remain a "real and concerning" issue in the Seattle area, as does the performance of the retail sector downtown, Rachel Smith, president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, told Axios.
- Still, the positive annual growth numbers "should serve to dispute any false narrative about the health of our region," Smith said.
Zoom out: Behind Seattle, Houston saw the next-highest economic growth among large metros — a GDP increase of 5.4% from 2022 to 2023.
- Charlotte, San Antonio, Austin, Denver, and four metro areas in Florida rounded out the top 10.
What we're watching: Whether recent struggles at Boeing, including a workers' strike that temporarily shut down airplane production, will dampen the Seattle area's economic growth figures for this year, which have yet to be released.