Cities in Washington by unemployed people

Seattle, WA had the highest unemployed people of 46 cities in 2022, at 15,271. Bainbridge Island, WA had the lowest, at 370. The median was 1,081. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest15,271Seattle, WA
Median1,08146 cities

All cities, 2022

Seattle, WA: 15,271 personsSeattle, WA15,271Tacoma, WA: 4,950 personsTacoma, WA4,950Spokane, WA: 4,662 personsSpokane, WA4,662Vancouver, WA: 3,855 personsVancouver, WA3,855Kent, WA: 3,093 personsKent, WA3,093Bellevue, WA: 2,681 personsBellevue, WA2,681Everett, WA: 2,492 personsEverett, WA2,492Yakima, WA: 2,314 personsYakima, WA2,314Renton, WA: 2,265 personsRenton, WA2,265Federal Way, WA: 2,241 personsFederal Way, WA2,241Spokane Valley, WA: 2,134 personsSpokane Valley, WA2,134Bellingham, WA: 1,937 personsBellingham, WA1,937Auburn, WA: 1,932 personsAuburn, WA1,932Pasco, WA: 1,908 personsPasco, WA1,908Kirkland, WA: 1,823 personsKirkland, WA1,823Kennewick, WA: 1,765 personsKennewick, WA1,765Marysville, WA: 1,631 personsMarysville, WA1,631Lakewood, WA: 1,320 personsLakewood, WA1,320Redmond, WA: 1,284 personsRedmond, WA1,284Richland, WA: 1,271 personsRichland, WA1,271Shoreline, WA: 1,219 personsShoreline, WA1,219Burien, WA: 1,164 personsBurien, WA1,164Olympia, WA: 1,097 personsOlympia, WA1,097Lacey, WA: 1,064 personsLacey, WA1,064Sammamish, WA: 1,040 personsSammamish, WA1,040Puyallup, WA: 954 personsPuyallup, WA954Bothell, WA: 952 personsBothell, WA952Lynnwood, WA: 870 personsLynnwood, WA870Edmonds, WA: 859 personsEdmonds, WA859Wenatchee, WA: 842 personsWenatchee, WA842Bremerton, WA: 832 personsBremerton, WA832Lake Stevens, WA: 826 personsLake Stevens, WA826Des Moines, WA: 767 personsDes Moines, WA767Longview, WA: 762 personsLongview, WA762SeaTac, WA: 745 personsSeaTac, WA745Mount Vernon, WA: 737 personsMount Vernon, WA737Issaquah, WA: 703 personsIssaquah, WA703University Place, WA: 686 personsUniversity Place, WA686Walla Walla, WA: 651 personsWalla Walla, WA651Moses Lake, WA: 643 personsMoses Lake, WA643Pullman, WA: 607 personsPullman, WA607Maple Valley, WA: 551 personsMaple Valley, WA551Camas, WA: 496 personsCamas, WA496Tumwater, WA: 489 personsTumwater, WA489Mercer Island, WA: 416 personsMercer Island, WA416Bainbridge Island, WA: 370 personsBainbridge Island, WA370Seattle, WA: 15,271 personsSeattle, WA15,271Tacoma, WA: 4,950 personsTacoma, WA4,950Spokane, WA: 4,662 personsSpokane, WA4,662Vancouver, WA: 3,855 personsVancouver, WA3,855Kent, WA: 3,093 personsKent, WA3,093Bellevue, WA: 2,681 personsBellevue, WA2,681Everett, WA: 2,492 personsEverett, WA2,492Yakima, WA: 2,314 personsYakima, WA2,314Renton, WA: 2,265 personsRenton, WA2,265Federal Way, WA: 2,241 personsFederal Way, WA2,241Spokane Valley, WA: 2,134 personsSpokane Valley, WA2,134Bellingham, WA: 1,937 personsBellingham, WA1,937Auburn, WA: 1,932 personsAuburn, WA1,932Pasco, WA: 1,908 personsPasco, WA1,908Kirkland, WA: 1,823 personsKirkland, WA1,823Kennewick, WA: 1,765 personsKennewick, WA1,765Marysville, WA: 1,631 personsMarysville, WA1,631Lakewood, WA: 1,320 personsLakewood, WA1,320Redmond, WA: 1,284 personsRedmond, WA1,284Richland, WA: 1,271 personsRichland, WA1,271Shoreline, WA: 1,219 personsShoreline, WA1,219Burien, WA: 1,164 personsBurien, WA1,164Olympia, WA: 1,097 personsOlympia, WA1,097Lacey, WA: 1,064 personsLacey, WA1,064Sammamish, WA: 1,040 personsSammamish, WA1,040Puyallup, WA: 954 personsPuyallup, WA954Bothell, WA: 952 personsBothell, WA952Lynnwood, WA: 870 personsLynnwood, WA870Edmonds, WA: 859 personsEdmonds, WA859Wenatchee, WA: 842 personsWenatchee, WA842Bremerton, WA: 832 personsBremerton, WA832Lake Stevens, WA: 826 personsLake Stevens, WA826Des Moines, WA: 767 personsDes Moines, WA767Longview, WA: 762 personsLongview, WA762SeaTac, WA: 745 personsSeaTac, WA745Mount Vernon, WA: 737 personsMount Vernon, WA737Issaquah, WA: 703 personsIssaquah, WA703University Place, WA: 686 personsUniversity Place, WA686Walla Walla, WA: 651 personsWalla Walla, WA651Moses Lake, WA: 643 personsMoses Lake, WA643Pullman, WA: 607 personsPullman, WA607Maple Valley, WA: 551 personsMaple Valley, WA551Camas, WA: 496 personsCamas, WA496Tumwater, WA: 489 personsTumwater, WA489Mercer Island, WA: 416 personsMercer Island, WA416Bainbridge Island, WA: 370 personsBainbridge Island, WA370
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022
persons
Change on 2021
1Seattle, WA15,271-19.1%
2Tacoma, WA4,950-21.6%
3Spokane, WA4,662-20%
4Vancouver, WA3,855-23.5%
5Kent, WA3,093-30.2%
6Bellevue, WA2,681-15.5%
7Everett, WA2,492-32.6%
8Yakima, WA2,314-18.4%
9Renton, WA2,265-29.6%
10Federal Way, WA2,241-29.8%
11Spokane Valley, WA2,134-21.9%
12Bellingham, WA1,937-20%
13Auburn, WA1,932-25.2%
14Pasco, WA1,908-14.6%
15Kirkland, WA1,823-15.7%
16Kennewick, WA1,765-21%
17Marysville, WA1,631-27.5%
18Lakewood, WA1,320-21.1%
19Redmond, WA1,284-14.1%
20Richland, WA1,271-13.7%
21Shoreline, WA1,219-21.3%
22Burien, WA1,164-28.6%
23Olympia, WA1,097-20.3%
24Lacey, WA1,064-17.7%
25Sammamish, WA1,040-12.9%
26Puyallup, WA954-20.9%
27Bothell, WA952-19.4%
28Lynnwood, WA870-28%
29Edmonds, WA859-17.1%
30Wenatchee, WA842-18.4%
31Bremerton, WA832-24.8%
32Lake Stevens, WA826-23.8%
33Des Moines, WA767-29.9%
34Longview, WA762-22.8%
35SeaTac, WA745-36.6%
36Mount Vernon, WA737-22.2%
37Issaquah, WA703-17.2%
38University Place, WA686-12.7%
39Walla Walla, WA651-15.7%
40Moses Lake, WA643-19.4%
41Pullman, WA607+21.2%
42Maple Valley, WA551-18.7%
43Camas, WA496-10.1%
44Tumwater, WA489-15.4%
45Mercer Island, WA416-11.7%
46Bainbridge Island, WA370-14.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 1 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2022 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Cities in Washington by unemployed people, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Washington by unemployed people, 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/washington-cities?period=2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Cities in Washington by unemployed people, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/washington-cities?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in Washington by unemployed people, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/washington-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_washington_by_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Washington by unemployed people, 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/washington-cities?period=2022. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in Washington by unemployed people, 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/washington-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/washington-cities?period=2022.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Seattle, WA, with 15,271 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Bainbridge Island, WA, with 370 in 2022.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 cities have no value for 2022 and are not ranked.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in Washington: more rankings