Seattle’s population growth suffered a bit of a bump in the boom as the city fell out the top 10 fastest-growing big cities in the country, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday.
Seattle added about 5,900 residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, to reach a population of 755,078. The growth rate of 0.8% puts the city at 13th among places with a population of at least 250,000.
The growth is certainly acceptable compared to cities that are losing population, such as New Orleans (-1.56%), St. Louis (-1.55%) and Philadelphia (-1.04%). But, as The Seattle Times pointed out, it’s still surprising after Seattle’s consistent 2% growth year after year.
Atlanta, Fort Worth, Texas, and Raleigh, N.C., are the fastest-growing big cities according to the data, which shows significant growth patterns across the South, especially in Texas and Florida.
Seattle is the 18th most populous city in the U.S., just behind San Francisco and ahead of Denver.
The new numbers serve as a contrast to Seattle’s booming decade that saw the city’s population jump 21% from 2010 to 2020.
During those years, as numerous construction cranes dotted the skyline, the tech industry helped transform Seattle, mostly behind the explosive growth of Amazon. Microsoft’s revival, the emergence of cloud computing, and the expansion of Silicon Valley engineering outposts in the region contributed significantly.
Seattle lost about 4,300 residents from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021, during the peak of the pandemic — a period that saw many larger U.S. cities report an exodus of remote workers to the outer suburbs and smaller towns.
But the following year, the city bounced back and was once again the fastest-growing big city in the U.S. from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2022, with a net gain of about 17,750 people.
The tech downturn in 2022 and 2023 resulted in significant job cuts at Amazon, other large tech companies, and startups across the region.
