Seattle, Washington

American Life Inc. Regional Center

Seattle, Washington is the economic and cultural capital of the northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area/Puget Sound region is the largest concentration of population north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. Seattle is the leading financial center of the Pacific Northwest and several major corporations base their headquarters in or near the city. Seattle possesses a modern port located on an excellent deep-water harbor and has good transportation connections to the outside world.

The growth of the Pacific Northwest helped propel Seattle to its current stature, and the economic expansion of the Pacific Rim is likely to sustain Seattle's growth well into the future. This section describes the Seattle metropolitan area, its historical development and its future growth prospects. It focuses upon general economic and population trends and emphasizes the relationship between these forces and real estate development in the Seattle market.

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Geography

The Seattle metropolitan area lies in the northwest corner of the continental U.S., on Puget Sound in western Washington state. Puget Sound is a saltwater arm of the Pacific Ocean, 110 miles to the west.

Demographics

As of 2010, Seattle's population is 602,560 people. Since 2000, its population has grown annually at 6.87 percent. The median home cost in Seattle is $361,940. Home appreciation in the last year has been -8.83 percent. Compared to the rest of the country, Seattle's cost of living is 42.60% Higher than the U.S. average.

Economy

The Puget Sound region is the economic heartland of Washington State and the Pacific Northwest. Seattle dominates this region and contains approximately two-thirds of the state's total employment. The economic base of a city or region consists of those industries that bring income into the city and region by selling their products or services outside the area. Historically, the aerospace, forest products, and shipping industries, along with the military, have formed the economic base of the Puget Sound region, and these activities are still the critically important.

Seven companies on the 2010 Fortune 500 list of the United States' largest companies, based on total revenue are headquartered in the Puget Sound region: warehouse membership club Costco, computing giant Microsoft, Internet retailer Amazon.com, coffee chain Starbucks, department store Nordstrom, heavy-duty truck manufacturer PACCAR, and paper company Weyerhaeuser. Emerging industries include software, retail, biotechnology, tourism, Internet services, clean technology, and telecommunications. Economic and employment growth drives the expansion of population, incomes, and the demand for real estate.

Education

A U.S. Census Bureau survey showed that Seattle had the highest percentage of college and university graduates of any major U.S. city. Seattle is home to one of the United States' most respected public research universities, the University of Washington, as well as its professional and continuing Education unit, University of Washington Educational Outreach.

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