How Seattle's recent growth compares with the 2010s boom years

During the 2010s, Seattle's explosive population growth was an inescapable topic of conversation. But we don't talk about growth nearly as much these days. Cranes no longer dominate the skyline, and while the city is still gaining population, everybody can sense that the boom is pretty much over.

Which raises the question: Exactly how much has growth slowed down in the 2020s?

We've now passed the midpoint of the decade, and earlier this month, the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2025 population estimates for Seattle and other cities. So I thought this would be a good time to compare our recent growth with the previous decade.

During the first half of the boom, from 2010 to 2015, Seattle added around 79,600 residents, with a population increase of an impressive 13.1%.

During the first five years of our current decade, the picture looks very different. From 2020 to 2025, Seattle added around 47,700 people. That equates to a 6.5% growth rate.

In other words, Seattle's rate of growth has literally been cut in half. That will surely come as welcome news to some readers, who feel the city has grown faster than our infrastructure and housing supply can accommodate. But it also signals that Seattle isn't quite as desirable a destination as it was during the 2010s.

This cooldown isn't just a Seattle phenomenon. It's even more dramatic in Bellevue. Between 2010 and 2015, King County's second-largest city swelled by more than 12,100 residents, a 9.4% increase. But between 2020 and 2025, Bellevue added a mere 2,300 people - a 1.5% growth rate.

In some of the larger South King County cities, growth hasn't just slowed - it's reversed. Between 2010 and 2015, the cities of Renton, Auburn, Kent and Federal Way collectively added about 31,300 residents. Now, these cities are shrinking. In the 2020-2025 period, they collectively lost nearly 5,800 residents.

Sammamish and Issaquah also saw their growth rate slip into the negative.

But among larger King County cities, two are bucking the slowdown trend: Shoreline and Redmond. Thanks to upzoning and the arrival of light rail in 2024, Shoreline added over 8,000 people - a 14% increase, dwarfing its 5% growth in the first half of the 2010s. And Redmond added 9,200 people this half-decade - a 13% jump - outpacing its 2010s growth rate of 12%.

Another suburban city that stands out for increased growth is Mountlake Terrace, which also saw the arrival of light rail in 2024. The Snohomish County city grew by an impressive 19% from 2020 to 2025, compared with 5% from 2010 to 2015.

Outside the Seattle area, one suburban city that's been a growth hot spot is Ridgefield in Clark County, part of the Portland metro area. This small city has been on a tear, growing by a remarkable 55.6% since 2020, adding over 5,700 new residents to its modest base.

A number of smaller cities and towns in more rural areas have experienced rapid growth since 2020. Leavenworth, the quaint Bavarian-style village in Chelan County, added only nine people between 2010 and 2015. And this decade? Around 1,100 people, for a growth rate of 49%. Black Diamond, in eastern King County, and Sultan in Snohomish County have followed similar growth patterns.

One more small city that stands out for growth is Port Orchard in Kitsap County. It has added around 4,300 people this decade for a 27% growth rate, more than double its rate from 2010 to 2015.

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