County profile

King County

Washington · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
2,287,171
Median household income
$124,746
People below poverty
8.6%
Median home value
$859,900

Income

The median income of households in King County, Washington was $124,746. An estimated 3.6% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 29.8% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.6
$10,000 to $14,999 2.3
$15,000 to $24,999 3.6
$25,000 to $34,999 3.8
$35,000 to $49,999 6.2
$50,000 to $74,999 11.1
$75,000 to $99,999 10.4
$100,000 to $149,999 17.2
$150,000 to $199,999 12.2
$200,000 or more 29.8

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 109330
Female 84587

An estimated 84% of households received earnings. An estimated 21.3% of households received Social Security and an estimated 18.5 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $27,025. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 84
Social Security 21.3
Retirement income 18.5
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 3.2
Cash public assistance income 3.2

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 8.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 9.7% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 9.3% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 8.1% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 8.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 9.7
People 65 years old and over below poverty 9.3
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 8.1

In 2020-2024, 8.2 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 39.5% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 42% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 24.7% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in King County, Washington in 2020-2024, 94.8% had health insurance coverage and 5.2% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 76.7% and public coverage was 27.5%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 2.5%.


In 2020-2024, King County, Washington had a total population of 2,287,171 - 1,127,866 (49.3%) females and 1,159,305 (50.7%) males. The median age was 37.4 years. An estimated 19.5% of the population was under 18 years, 40.2% was 19 to 44 years, 24% was 45 to 64 years, and 14 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for King County, Washington in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 61158 58117
5 to 9 64409 60150
10 to 14 63975 62292
15 to 19 62991 61455
20 to 24 68398 66230
25 to 29 103668 95158
30 to 34 116203 104076
35 to 39 103590 93733
40 to 44 88398 81289
45 to 49 76061 72014
50 to 54 74951 70562
55 to 59 67056 64061
60 to 64 63243 63034
65 to 69 51156 54738
70 to 74 39835 45705
75 to 79 24838 30485
80 to 84 14792 19707
85 and over 14583 25060

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 54.7% were White; 6.6% were Black or African American; 5.5% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 20.7% were Asian; 2.5% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 11.6% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 11% of the people in King County, Washington were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 52.9% of the people in King County, Washington were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 941,054 households in King County, Washington. The average household size was 2.39 people.

Married-couple households made up 46.4% of the households in King County, Washington while cohabiting couple households made up 8.6% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 23.9% of all households, while 21.1% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 15.8% of households were male householders living alone, and 15.9% were female householders living alone, for a total of 31.7% of all households.

In King County, Washington, 26.8% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 23.9% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 46.4
Cohabiting Couples 8.6
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
21.1
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
23.9

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 50.1% of males and 48.4% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 39.9 33.3
Now married, except separated 50.1 48.4
Separated 0.9 1.3
Widowed 1.7 5.8
Divorced 7.5 11.1

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In King County, Washington, 33,861 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 21.2% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 74.2% of the people living in King County, Washington were U.S. natives. 38.9% of the King County, Washington population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 25.8% of King County, Washington residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 47.8% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 56.1 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of King County, Washington come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for King County, Washington.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 16.5
Asia 57.5
Europe 12.7
Africa 8.2
Northern America 3.2
Oceania 1.8

Language

Among people at least five years old living in King County, Washington in 2020-2024, 31.1 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 7.1% of people at least five years old; 11.3% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 7.1
Other Indo-European languages 7.8
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 13.3
Other languages 2.9

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 83.3 % of the people at least one year old living in King County, Washington were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 83.3
Different house, same county 10.2
Different county, same state 1.7
Different state 3.5
Abroad 1.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 93.8 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 56.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 6.2% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in King County, Washington was 506,039 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 33,058 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 321,834. College or graduate school enrollment was 151,147.

Educational Attainment of People in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 6.2
High school diploma or equivalency 14.1
Some college, no degree 15.3
Associate's degree 7.6
Bachelor's degree 32.6
Graduate or professional degree 24.2

Disability

In King County, Washington, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 10.3 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3.7% of people under 18 years old, to 8.1% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 30.3% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In King County, Washington, 66.4 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 30.1% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 82.7% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 11.7% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 1,038,747 82.7
Federal, state, or local government workers 147,499 11.7
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 68,254 5.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in King County, Washington worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.5
Construction 5.1
Manufacturing 7.9
Wholesale trade 1.7
Retail trade 11.8
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.2
Information 4.8
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 5.9
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 22.1
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 20
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8
Other Services, except public administration 4
Public administration 2.8

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 734,901 58.5
Service occupations 159,382 12.7
Sales and office occupations 193,721 15.4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 62,190 4.9
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 106,408 8.5

Commuting to Work

An estimated 50.4% of King County, Washington workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 27.6 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 50.4
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 6.8
Walked 4.3
Other means 2.4
Worked from home 29.2

In 2020-2024, King County, Washington had a total of 1,003,284 housing units. Of these housing units, 55.4% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 43% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 1.4% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 55.4
Apartments in multi-unit structures 43
Mobile homes 1.4
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.1

16.3% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 10.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in King County, Washington was 5 rooms, and of these housing units 50.2% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, King County, Washington had 941,054 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 62,230 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 55.4% while renters occupied 44.6%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.65 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.06.

6.5% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 6.4% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 11.2% and another 17.9% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in King County, Washington:

House Heating Fuel Used in King County, Washington in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 41.3
Electricity 54.5
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 2.2
All other fuels 1.2
No fuel used 0.9

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in King County, Washington was $859,900.

Of the owner-occupied households, 69.5 % had a mortgage. 30.5% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $3,273 and for owners without a mortgage it was $1,116.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for King County, Washington was $2,092. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.