Where will people live in 2040?

King County keeps growing

King County’s population has grown more than 2 percent per year for 30 years, from 1.3 million people in 1980 to more than 2 million in 2014. This growth rate is more than twice Washington state’s as a whole. We expect another 360,000 people to live in King County by 2040.

South and East King County cities will grow fast

This map shows where the population will grow across the region: the darker shaded areas are expected to have the highest percentage population increase by 2040. The areas where growth is expected to be high include the Overlake area of Redmond, downtown Bellevue, downtown Seattle, Renton, Auburn and Black Diamond.

Population growth will be highest in dense urban cities

With increasing development, these cities will likely experience noticeable changes in traffic that may create opportunities to expand transit. However, when planning transit service, it is important to consider not only percentage changes in population but also whether this growth results in population densities that support transit. Transit demand increases faster than population growth when there are more than 7,400 people per square mile.