Sep 22, 2026 - News

6 Seattle census tracts have 0 kids

Christine Clarridge

Wide urban plaza between modern white-gray buildings on both sides. A large black X sculpture sits before a purple wall on hexagonal tiled pavement; a few people walk under a clear blue sky. — Missing little feet. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios

Some Seattle neighborhoods are decidedly grown-up.

Why it matters: Seattle has roughly the same number of children today as it did more than 75 years ago, even as the city's overall population has grown dramatically, the Seattle Times reports.

Driving the news: Six Seattle census tracts recorded zero residents under 18 in 2024, according to the Times' analysis of Census Bureau data.

The tracts are in Capitol Hill, South Lake Union, Belltown and the University District; another 23 of Seattle's 177 tracts had fewer than 100 children.
Citywide, about 109,500 residents — 14% of Seattle's population — were under 18, about the same number as in 1950, per the Times.

The other side: A Rainier Beach tract had the city's highest share of children, at 31%.

Worth noting: The tract figures are five-year census estimates covering 2020–2024, meaning a small number of children could have gone uncounted.

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6 Seattle census tracts have 0 kids

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