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The Seattle area has grown by more than 1,000 people per week since 2010

That’s the ninth highest rate in the country

By Sarah Anne Lloyd
A collection of apartment buildings with a view of Mt Rainier above them Peter Vandenbelt/Shutterstock

The Seattle metropolitan area has gained about 1,100 people per week since 2010, according to newly-released census data and some number crunching by American City Business Journals.

The July 2016 population estimate for the area, which includes Tacoma and Bellevue, is 3,798,902.

The Washington State Office of Financial Management estimated Seattle proper’s population as 686,800 in April 2016, compared to 608,660 in 2010—or about 250 people per week. Some have speculated that Seattle may have crossed the 700,000 mark earlier this year.

Between July 2015 and July 2016, according to the census data, King County as a whole was the fourth fastest-growing county in the nation, with 35,714 new people in that year alone.

The area’s growth looks more proportional than many areas. The U.S. Census Bureau crunched a few numbers with the data release, and in just the year between July 2015 and July 2016, and Seattle metro area doesn’t even make the top 25 in percentage growth.

That big jump in King County population accounted for only a 1.6 percent increase, which doesn’t crack the top 10 in percentage increases.

There’s one local-ish surprise in the Bureau’s charts, though: Central Washington’s Kittitas County, home of Ellensburg, just barely made the top ten in percentage growth.