Most Densely Populated Cities in Washington: Ranked by People per Square Mile

The densest city in Washington in our data is Seattle, WA, with about 8,985 people per square mile, followed by North Lynnwood, WA (7,552) and White Center, WA (7,009). This list ranks the top 50 places among the 197 Washington communities with at least 5,000 residents.

What are the top 50 in Washington?

How dense are the cities in Washington?

The densest place is about 3 times as dense as the median place in the state, which has about 2,642 people per square mile. At the other end, Vashon, WA has about 277. Under our scale, 15 places are an urban core (over 5,000 per square mile), 155 are suburban, and the rest are small towns or rural. King County contributes 18 of the top 50.

Which counties do the top 50 belong to?

The 50 places on this list are spread across 10 counties of Washington. King County has 18 (Seattle, White Center, Bryn Mawr-Skyway, Kirkland, Burien, Des Moines, Shoreline, Maple Va); Snohomish County has 13 (North Lynnwood, Lake Stickney, Bothell East, Mill Creek East, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell W); Pierce County has 6 (Tacoma, Parkland, Fircrest, University Place, Spanaway, Lakewood). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.

How does Washington compare with the rest of the country?

The median Washington place with a page has about 13,504 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is about the same size as the national typical place. Seattle, WA ranks 12th among all US places by estimated population in our data. The state has 609 communities in total, of which 197 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.

Quick answers about Washington cities

• Which is the densest city in Washington? Seattle (8,985 per square mile).
• How many Washington cities have more than 100,000 people? 15 in our data.
• How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 37.
• What is the typical size? About 13,504 residents for a place with a page.

How is this ranking made?

The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.

Where to go next

Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.