AnswerIn Seattle, the median household income is $121,984. To rank in the top 20%, you need to earn more than $365,000. Top 5%: $1,500,000.
Median: $121,984 · Top 20%: $365,000 · Top 5%: $1,500,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates
Seattle income percentile [2026]
Where Seattle, Washingtonhouseholds rank by income — sourced from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates, covering roughly 741,440 residents.
In Seattle, WA, the median household income is $121,984. The bottom 20% earns under $46,021; the top 20% threshold is $365,000; the top 5% starts at $1,500,000. Median rent is $1,998/month and the median home value is $912,100. A $100,000 household income ranks at roughly the 42th percentile locally.
Key stats for Seattle
Income percentile breakpoints
- 20th percentile (bottom quintile)
- $46,021
- 40th percentile
- $92,695
- Median (≈ 50th–60th percentile)
- $153,717
- 80th percentile (top 20%)
- $365,000
- 95th percentile (top 5%) — estimated
- $1,500,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. City-level p60 is used as the “median-ish” row because ACS quintile upper limits bracket the household median near p60 for most big US cities. The Census Bureau top-codes its top-5% figure at $250,001 for high-income cities, so the 95th-percentile value here is estimated by fitting a Pareto tail to Seattle's lower (un-top-coded) quintile breakpoints. Treat it as a modeled upper-tail benchmark, not a published ACS figure.
Local economic context
Seattle's income story is two companies and their gravity. Amazon's downtown campus reshaped the entire South Lake Union neighborhood and pulled tens of thousands of six-figure engineers and corporate staff into the city core; Microsoft, across the lake in Redmond, anchors the Eastside along with its alumni-founded startups. Around them orbit Boeing's commercial operations (Everett and Renton), Starbucks' headquarters in SoDo, Expedia's waterfront campus, Costco in Issaquah, T-Mobile in Bellevue, and a deep cloud-and-AI engineering bench that keeps senior comp competitive with the Bay Area. The decisive financial fact about Seattle is what it lacks: Washington has no state income tax. For a high earner, that is worth more than almost any other lever — a $300K household keeps roughly $25K–$30K more here than in California at the same gross. The state claws some of it back through a high sales tax and, since 2022, a 7% capital-gains tax on large stock gains, but on ordinary wage income the advantage is real and permanent. Housing absorbed the windfall: the median single-family home runs around $850K–$900K, and a 3BR in a good neighborhood — Ballard, Wallingford, Queen Anne, or the Eastside school districts — clears $1M–$1.5M. Commute reality is the chronically jammed I-5 spine, the SR-520 and I-90 floating bridges (both tolled), and an expanding Link light rail that finally reached Northgate and the Eastside. The cost-of-living caveat: BEA RPP for the Seattle metro sits near 110–113% of national, real but well below the Bay Area — and the no-income-tax structure means take-home stretches further than the sticker COL implies. The honest downside is the weather and a tech-monoculture job market that wobbles hard whenever Amazon does a hiring freeze.
What this income feels like
Top 20% in Seattle feels solidly upper-middle in a way the Bay Area no longer does — you own a 3BR in Ballard or Columbia City, or rent a nice 1BR in Belltown for around $2,200 while you save a real down payment. No state income tax means your bonus actually shows up in your account. You own good rain gear, you complain about I-5 and the months of gray, and you ski or hike to justify staying. Childcare runs $2,000–$2,600/month. The risk is concentration: when Amazon freezes hiring, the whole city's job market and condo prices feel it at once.
Top 20% reality check
- Washington's zero state income tax is the headline — a $300K household keeps roughly $25K–$30K more here than in California at the same gross.
- A single strong tech income can still buy a 3BR in Ballard or Columbia City — a statement that's effectively false in San Francisco or San Jose at the same comp.
- The job market is an Amazon/Microsoft duopoly; a hiring freeze at either ripples through condo prices and rents within a quarter.
Cost-of-living reality
The median gross rent in Seattle is $1,998/month, or roughly 19.7% of the median household income on an annualized basis. The national rent-burden average is about 30%, and anything north of that is treated as rent-burdened by HUD. Seattle's median home value is $912,100, a price-to-income ratio of 7.5× — healthy markets run 3–4×, expensive coastal markets routinely exceed 6×. Mean one-way commute is 26.6 minutes, which compounds the real cost of living here for anyone not working remote.
Nearby cities
Seattle community discussions
Local subreddits where cost-of-living and income questions get answered by residents. External links, open in a new tab.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good income in Seattle?
In Seattle, WA, the median household income is $121,984. Earning above $153,717 puts you in the top 40%, and clearing $365,000 places you in the top 20%. A "good" income depends on household size and housing choice, but $365,000 is a useful upper-middle-class threshold for this city.
How does Seattle's median income compare to the US?
Seattle's median household income of $121,984 is about 55.3% higher than the US median of $78,538 (ACS 2023 5-year, matched to the city vintage). Raw comparisons understate local cost-of-living; Seattle's median rent of $1,998 and median home value of $912,100 are the relevant offsets.
What percentile is $100K in Seattle?
A household income of $100,000 ranks at roughly the 42th percentile in Seattle. That is interpolated from the local ACS quintile breakpoints: p20 $46,021, p40 $92,695, p60 $153,717, p80 $365,000, p95 $1,500,000.
Is Seattle expensive to live in?
Median gross rent in Seattle is $1,998/month, which is 19.7% of the median household income on an annualized basis — compared to the national rent-burden average of about 30%. The median home value is $912,100, a price-to-income ratio of 7.5× (healthy markets run 3-4×, expensive markets 6×+).
How is this calculated?
Figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-year estimates for Seattle, Washington. Income percentiles are city-level approximations derived from ACS B19080 household income quintile upper limits, interpolated from the local median and distribution. Rent burden uses B25071 (median gross rent as % of household income) and mean commute uses B08303.
Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use published benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between published cells. Figures are in current-year USD unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.