Largest Cities in Washington: Ranked by Population

The largest city in Washington in our data is Seattle, WA, with an estimated 3,789,215 people, followed by Spokane, WA (412,275) and Kennewick, WA (240,735). 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 big are the largest cities in Washington?

Of the 197 places with pages, 15 have more than 100,000 residents, 37 have between 25,000 and 100,000, and 145 have fewer than 25,000. The median place has about 13,504 people. The ten largest places account for about 58% of the combined population of all pages, which shows how concentrated the state's population is across communities. King County contributes 17 of the top 50.

Which counties do the top 50 belong to?

The 50 places on this list are spread across 20 counties of Washington. King County has 17 (Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Kirkland, Auburn, Redmond, Sammamish, Shorel); Pierce County has 8 (Tacoma, Lakewood, South Hill, Puyallup, Parkland, University Place, Spanaway, Graham); Snohomish County has 5 (Marysville, Everett, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Lake Stevens). 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 largest city in Washington? Seattle (3,789,215 people).
• 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.