Seattle’s reputation precedes it. We picture a city of coffee-loving young tech workers, politically progressive, highly educated, and increasingly expensive to live in. That portrait isn’t wrong, but it’s incomplete. Who is the Seattleite at the center of the data, and how do they quietly shape the daily life, policies, and culture of the city?  

The Median Seattleite at a Glance

• Age: 35.6 
• Gender: 51% male, 49% female 
• Ethnicity: 62% white 
• Income: $122,000 
• Education: college degree 

Age, Ethnicity, Gender

Seattle is, demographically, a relatively young city compared to other major US metropolitan areas. For comparison, the median San Franciscan is 40.7 years old, and the median New Yorker is 38.8. Seattle attracts and retains many residents in their prime working and family-forming years, with a strong presence of adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s shaping the cultural and economic life of the city. 

Seattle’s population seems evenly split by gender at 51% male and 49% female, yet it stands as the most male-skewed major US city. According to 2023 data, there were about 107 men for every 100 women, whereas in 2010 gender was more evenly distributed, with 97.6 men for every 100 women. 

Seattle’s increase in male population isn’t as surprising considering its rise as a tech hub in recent years. The second and third most male-skewed cities—Austin and San Francisco—are also known as major employers in the technology sector in the U.S. 

While known as a progressive city, it’s interesting to note that the median Seattleite is young, male, and white. The majority of Seattle residents are white (62%), with Asian residents as the largest non-white group (17.2%), and smaller Black (6.6%) and Latino (8.2%) populations. 

Income

The typical Seattle household earns solidly above the national median, with a household income near $122,000, placing Seattle among the higher‑income large metros in the country. Despite its progressive image, the city ranks as the city with the ninth widest racial income gap among major U.S. metros. Asian‑headed households earning around $141,300 at the top, white households earned $126,700, and Black‑headed households around $63,600 at the lower end, a gap of about $77,700 from the largest earning group. 

Washington D.C., a city with a similar population size, had a greater income gap of $105,900, with white-headed households bringing in $165,200 and Black-headed households bringing in just $59,300. 

Education

Education is one of Seattle’s most defining traits. Roughly 70% of adults 25 and older now hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. This places the city at the top among the 50 largest U.S. cities for college-educated residents. Younger adults are particularly well educated, with 77 % of those aged 25–34 holding four-year degrees, while even 58 % of residents 65 and older have completed college. Seattle’s high concentration of degree holders aligns with its job market, which is heavily weighted toward tech, professional services, and other knowledge-based industries.  

Over the past two decades, the city has seen dramatic growth in higher education: just 47% of adults had a college degree in 2000, rising steadily through the 2010s to today’s record level. 

Housing 

The median Seattleite is likely to live compactly, and alone, trading square footage for location, walkability, and proximity to work.  

Seattle now has the smallest newly built apartments of any major U.S. city: units completed in the past decade average about 649 square feet.  

Seattle has hit a new high in solo living, with about 26% of residents 18 and older—living alone in 2024, up 31% since 2019, far outpacing overall adult population growth. Most of the rise comes from renters, while younger adults under 35 make up a large share of solo dwellers. Even among seniors 65 and older, about 35 % live alone.  

Seattleites may live solo in increasingly small apartments, but they pay for it. The city’s median rent reached $2,077 in 2025, according to Apartment List’s December 2025 rent report. For context, the national median is far lower at $1,367. 

The high cost of housing in the city reaches homeowners as well. The median home in Seattle is valued at roughly $900,000 according to Census data. 

Values and Civic Engagement

The median Seattleite skews increasingly progressive and politically engaged. In the Seattle metropolitan area (King and Snohomish counties), about 55.5 % of adults identified as Democrats or leaning Democratic. In the same Nielsen survey, that number rose from 49% in 2010. 

Seattle consistently sees higher voter participation than many other cities. In this year’s mayoral election, 55% of Seattle voters cast ballots, compared with around 43% in New York City and only 22% in Detroit. 

Seattle Stands Out

Generationally, Seattle has the highest number of millennials of any city. That’s 32% of the population that came of age during the Obama administration and the popularity of avocado toast, hyper-local coffee roasters, and ‘hipster’ culture. 

Seattle is also the least religious major city with the second lowest fertility rate, and has the nation’s most expensive Uber rides. Yes, even more expensive than New York City.  

We rank third in the nation for both dollars spent on travel and how many Seattleites are newcomers: 7% of 2024 residents lived in another state in 2023. 

The median Seattleite may stand out as younger, highly educated, well‑paid, and politically engaged, but they also navigate a city of contrasts: high housing costs, small living spaces, and widening income gaps that similarly affect major cities across the nation.  

[NOTE: The Seattle Median typically sources its data from primary sources and not news outlets. Because we are not dealing with public sector data, and because the data is demographic and not political we make an exception in this instance by allowing ourselves to source from the Seattle Times’ FYI Guy.]