Seattle metro grows faster than U.S., driven by foreign immigration
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The Seattle metro area is growing faster than the country overall, driven largely by foreign immigration, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Why it matters: An exodus of city dwellers rocked many U.S. metros during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some — including Seattle — are now clawing back residents (and their tax dollars).
Driving the news: The number of people living in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area increased by 66,666 from 2023 to 2024 — a gain of about 1.6% — the Census Bureau said last week.
- By comparison, the total U.S. population rose by 1% during that time, while all U.S. metro areas combined grew by about 1.1%.
State of play: The bulk of the Seattle area's population growth last year was driven by foreign immigration, a pattern also seen in other U.S. metros, per the Census Bureau.
By the numbers: The Seattle metro gained nearly 64,000 people from international migration last year, while losing about 11,000 residents who moved to other parts of the U.S.
- By comparison, the area gained 14,172 people from "natural change" last year, a figure calculated by subtracting the number of deaths (28,960) from the number of births (43,132).
Between the lines: Some metros hit hard by pandemic population loss — think New York, Los Angeles. and San Francisco — grew from 2023 to 2024, but are still down relative to 2020.
- The Seattle area, by contrast, has fully rebounded, gaining more than 126,000 people since 2020 (despite a brief population dip in 2021).
What's next: Demographers and other researchers will keep a close eye on how Trump administration policies might affect immigration levels.