Downtown Seattle is growing. Last year, downtown Seattle scored a 69.1 on the Esri’s Diversity Index, an increase of nearly 15 points since 2010 and five points higher than the rest of Seattle. This year there is a record high 104,000 residents now call downtown Seattle home. The growth is not fueled by any one demographic.
The Pacific Northwest city is made up of many communities. The downtown area is small. Downtown Seattle, comprising 12 neighborhoods from SODO to South Lake Union, accounts for just over 4% of Seattle’s total land area, but is now home to more than 14% of Seattle residents, according to Downtown Seattle Association’s (DSA) 2023 economic report.
Last year, the most populous downtown neighborhoods were Capitol Hill (west of Broadway) with more than 18,200 residents, followed by South Lake Union (15,100) and First Hill (14,600). South Lake Union and the Denny Triangle grew the fastest, accounting for nearly 45% of downtown’s net residential population increase.
Many businesses have recognized that workers may never fully return to the office the way they did pre-pandemic. Some downtown employers are watching what happens with Amazon. The big tech company is mandating that workers return to the office at least three days a week starting May 1st of this year.
The DSA report shows that downtown Seattle’s resident population has increased by 70% since 2010 and is still trending up. The report also shows downtown had a record 55,639 occupied apartments last year.
