King County · Washington
Seattle, WA jobs and wages
Who works here, what they earn, and which industries carry the local economy — Census ACS estimates for the city itself, not the wider metro.
Quick answer
Workers in Seattle, WA earn a median of $73,320 a year, 64% above the national median of $44,587. Unemployment is 4.2% against 5.2% nationally, and professional, scientific & management is the largest employer at 24.2% of jobs.
- Median earnings
- $73,320#2 of 94 metros
- Unemployment rate
- 4.2%US 5.2%
- Labor force participation
- 74.1%US 63.5%
- People employed
- 458,840Civilian employed, age 16+
What Seattle does for a living
Share of the civilian employed population by industry, largest first.
- Professional, scientific & management24.2%
- Education, health care & social assistance21.7%
- Retail trade12%
- Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation & food8.7%
- Manufacturing6.3%
- Information5.7%
- Finance, insurance & real estate5.7%
- Other services, except public administration4.4%
- Transportation, warehousing & utilities3.7%
- Construction3.1%
- Public administration2.7%
- Wholesale trade1.5%
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting & mining0.4%
Related data for Seattle
Earnings only mean something next to what things cost.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates
Tables B23025, B20002 and C24030, 2019-2023 ACS 5-year. Industry shares combine the male and female columns of C24030 and are rounded, so they may not total exactly 100%.