The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
King County is a county of Washington with 2,287,171 residents. Its economy produced $477,154 million in 2024 (ranked #1 of 39 counties) and had 1,449,785 jobs with an average annual pay of $132,279 (#1 for pay). The unemployment rate was 4.8% in 2026M09. It is part of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area (central county).
King County produced about $477,154 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 55.7% of the combined output of the 39 counties of Washington that BEA reports (about 29.3% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 1st of 39 on that measure. Per resident that is $208,622, 90% above the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $109,519. In current dollars output grew 7.9% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 1,449,785 jobs located in King County on average in 2024, spread over 82,150 employer sites (about 18 jobs per site). That is 0.63 jobs for every resident, above the 0.35 of the typical county in Washington, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $132,279, 40% above the average of all counties in the state ($132,279 against $94,174). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs fell 0.4% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are health care and social assistance (12.9% of private jobs, $77,501 a year on average), professional and technical services (11.9% of private jobs, $173,309 a year on average), information (10.1% of private jobs, $350,208 a year on average). Together they hold 34.9% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is information at $350,208 a year, followed by management of companies ($302,335). The county is specialised in several industries: information (4.7 times the US share, 128,749 jobs); management of companies (3.5 times the US share, 86,295 jobs); professional and technical services (1.5 times the US share, 150,811 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: health care and social assistance ($77,501), accommodation and food services ($40,740), retail trade ($58,100). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in King County was 4.8%, 11% above the average of the state's counties (4.8% against 4.3%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 1,373,697. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 4.7% (2026M05) to 5.7% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $124,746 (ACS 2020–2024), 27% above the state median ($124,746 against $98,141). The guide covers 23 cities with this as the main county: Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Kirkland, Auburn, Redmond. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,660 in SeaTac to $2,857 in Sammamish, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to King County in output are Pierce County, Snohomish County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 39 counties of Washington ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,287,171 | 1 of 39 |
| GDP 2024 | $477,154 million | 1 of 39 |
| GDP per resident | $208,622 | 1 of 39 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 1,449,785 | 1 of 39 |
| Average annual pay | $132,279 | 1 of 39 |
| Job change vs 2023 | -0.4% | 30 of 39 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 4.8% | 35 of 39 |
| Median household income | $124,746 | 1 of 39 |
Federal jobs in Washington (1,197) →All cities of WashingtonState guide: Washington
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is King County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 754,195 | $123,860 | $2,030 | $938,600 | 68.5% |
| Bellevue | 151,847 | $165,576 | $2,572 | $1,340,300 | 72.1% |
| Kent | 135,603 | $92,302 | $1,909 | $587,800 | 29.8% |
| Renton | 105,317 | $100,432 | $1,998 | $672,600 | 39.5% |
| Federal Way | 99,493 | $86,909 | $1,797 | $552,800 | 30.8% |
| Kirkland | 92,621 | $150,414 | $2,401 | $1,115,400 | 66.3% |
| Auburn | 85,676 | $97,884 | $1,786 | $547,900 | 25.6% |
| Redmond | 77,353 | $162,560 | $2,409 | $1,167,800 | 75.3% |
| Sammamish | 66,463 | $239,690 | $2,857 | $1,407,300 | 77.1% |
| Shoreline | 61,431 | $112,751 | $1,985 | $811,100 | 52.8% |
| Burien | 51,513 | $91,318 | $1,782 | $638,800 | 33.2% |
| Bothell | 49,610 | $140,427 | $2,346 | $925,100 | 59.8% |
| Issaquah | 39,591 | $154,669 | $2,590 | $963,000 | 70.5% |
| Des Moines | 32,823 | $92,483 | $1,799 | $597,000 | 33.4% |
| SeaTac | 32,414 | $81,104 | $1,660 | $519,700 | 26.4% |
| Maple Valley | 28,287 | $152,885 | $2,304 | $724,700 | 50.2% |
| Mercer Island | 25,307 | $219,069 | $2,502 | $2,000,001 | 81.5% |
| Kenmore | 23,741 | $139,764 | $1,949 | $920,800 | 61.8% |
| Union Hill-Novelty Hill | 23,047 | $185,369 | $2,556 | $1,218,500 | 71.7% |
| Cottage Lake | 22,518 | $213,106 | $2,740 | $1,230,700 | 67.8% |
| Tukwila | 21,451 | $78,381 | $1,898 | $489,000 | 25.3% |
| Covington | 21,233 | $134,502 | $2,232 | $637,300 | 37.3% |
| Fairwood | 17,856 | $122,134 | $2,233 | $733,200 | 50.3% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 164,374 | 12.9% | $77,501 | 0.79 |
| Professional and technical services | 150,811 | 11.9% | $173,309 | 1.50 |
| Information | 128,749 | 10.1% | $350,208 | 4.74 |
| Accommodation and food services | 109,111 | 8.6% | $40,740 | 0.83 |
| Retail trade | 103,571 | 8.1% | $58,100 | 0.72 |
| Manufacturing | 92,007 | 7.2% | $114,538 | 0.77 |
| Management of companies | 86,295 | 6.8% | $302,335 | 3.53 |
| Administrative and waste services | 71,549 | 5.6% | $85,591 | 0.84 |
| Construction | 70,851 | 5.6% | $99,592 | 0.93 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 61,931 | 4.9% | $97,771 | 1.01 |
| Wholesale trade | 59,780 | 4.7% | $137,247 | 1.05 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 45,619 | 3.6% | $67,837 | 1.05 |
| Finance and insurance | 39,136 | 3.1% | $172,122 | 0.67 |
| Real estate and rental | 30,300 | 2.4% | $91,133 | 1.35 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 27,450 | 2.2% | $60,543 | 1.13 |
| Educational services | 25,165 | 2.0% | $54,759 | 0.84 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 2,138 | 0.2% | $84,116 | 0.18 |
| Utilities | 2,069 | 0.2% | $152,045 | 0.38 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 297 | 0.0% | $88,853 | 0.05 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 1,373,697 |
| Employed residents | 1,308,133 |
| Unemployed residents | 65,564 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.8% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 1,449,785 |
| Employer sites | 82,150 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King County | 2,287,171 | $477,154 million | $208,622 | 1,449,785 | $132,279 | 4.8% |
| Pierce County | 930,319 | $64,941 million | $69,805 | 333,492 | $70,395 | 5.1% |
| Snohomish County | 844,430 | $61,970 million | $73,387 | 297,617 | $79,940 | 4.9% |
| Spokane County | 549,056 | $40,044 million | $72,933 | 243,161 | $65,488 | 3.2% |
| Clark County | 516,959 | $33,425 million | $64,656 | 181,713 | $72,700 | 3.6% |
| Thurston County | 299,067 | $21,563 million | $72,102 | 128,824 | $72,043 | 3.4% |
| Kitsap County | 277,881 | $18,349 million | $66,032 | 93,571 | $71,579 | 3.5% |
| Yakima County | 257,152 | $13,348 million | $51,908 | 116,547 | $52,108 | 4.0% |
| Whatcom County | 230,503 | $20,640 million | $89,542 | 93,430 | $65,174 | 3.5% |
| Benton County | 212,905 | $16,919 million | $79,468 | 98,668 | $70,807 | 3.5% |
| Skagit County | 131,328 | $9,574 million | $72,903 | 53,884 | $65,374 | 3.7% |
| Cowlitz County | 112,360 | $7,231 million | $64,353 | 41,235 | $67,600 | 4.0% |
| Grant County | 101,799 | $8,583 million | $84,311 | 43,158 | $63,558 | 4.0% |
| Franklin County | 98,902 | $5,777 million | $58,415 | 37,554 | $57,266 | 3.7% |
| Island County | 86,836 | $4,664 million | $53,714 | 18,271 | $58,929 | 3.4% |
| Lewis County | 85,154 | $5,122 million | $60,154 | 27,148 | $58,706 | 4.3% |
| Chelan County | 80,172 | $7,132 million | $88,957 | 44,962 | $57,540 | 3.1% |
| Clallam County | 77,813 | $3,825 million | $49,155 | 24,680 | $55,860 | 3.4% |
| Grays Harbor County | 77,053 | $3,829 million | $49,698 | 23,816 | $56,803 | 4.3% |
| Mason County | 67,982 | $2,458 million | $36,156 | 14,840 | $57,899 | 4.2% |
| Walla Walla County | 62,161 | $4,583 million | $73,726 | 29,090 | $55,812 | 3.2% |
| Stevens County | 48,067 | $1,754 million | $36,496 | 11,512 | $53,211 | 3.8% |
| Kittitas County | 47,172 | $2,641 million | $55,991 | 16,775 | $54,172 | 3.7% |
| Whitman County | 47,003 | $3,378 million | $71,878 | 19,125 | $64,512 | 3.4% |
| Douglas County | 44,366 | $2,850 million | $64,232 | 12,545 | $51,441 | 3.5% |
| Okanogan County | 43,425 | $2,353 million | $54,178 | 17,034 | $48,554 | 3.4% |
| Jefferson County | 33,577 | $1,866 million | $55,570 | 9,107 | $58,601 | 3.5% |
| Pacific County | 23,994 | $1,033 million | $43,071 | 6,498 | $50,311 | 4.6% |
| Klickitat County | 23,411 | $2,329 million | $99,488 | 7,194 | $64,979 | 3.5% |
| Asotin County | 22,467 | $985 million | $43,834 | 6,817 | $54,510 | 2.4% |
| Adams County | 20,800 | $1,443 million | $69,368 | 9,436 | $52,291 | 3.4% |
| San Juan County | 18,478 | $1,233 million | $66,750 | 6,097 | $53,170 | 2.7% |
| Pend Oreille County | 14,050 | $768 million | $54,642 | 3,194 | $63,126 | 4.1% |
| Skamania County | 12,402 | $432 million | $34,866 | 2,197 | $55,276 | 3.6% |
| Lincoln County | 11,489 | $685 million | $59,631 | 2,662 | $54,315 | 4.0% |
| Ferry County | 7,387 | $279 million | $37,712 | 1,713 | $52,738 | 5.5% |
| Wahkiakum County | 4,658 | $133 million | $28,502 | 726 | $45,092 | 5.6% |
| Columbia County | 4,014 | $498 million | $124,091 | 1,495 | $67,059 | 3.2% |
| Garfield County | 2,353 | $221 million | $93,771 | 652 | $60,868 | 3.1% |
2,287,171 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$477,154 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
4.8% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
1,449,785 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $132,279 (BLS QCEW).