Largest and Most Notable Cities in Washington State

Washington's population is concentrated in the Puget Sound lowlands — the Seattle metropolitan area — with Spokane as the dominant city east of the Cascades.

Seattle — 750,000 (metro: 4.1 million)
The economic capital of the Pacific Northwest and the global headquarters of Amazon and Microsoft (Redmond, adjacent). Boeing's commercial airplane manufacturing (though moving some production to South Carolina) remains a major employer. The Port of Seattle handles enormous container and cruise ship traffic. Seattle's neighborhoods — Capitol Hill, Fremont, Ballard, Beacon Hill, West Seattle — each have distinct identities; the city is one of the most neighborhood-differentiated in the US. The music scene (grunge emerged here in the early 1990s: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden) and coffee culture (Starbucks, Seattle's Best, dozens of independent roasters) are globally exported cultural products.

Spokane — 230,000 (metro: 590,000)
The largest city in the Inland Northwest (a region covering eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana). Spokane's economy is based on healthcare, education (Gonzaga, Washington State's Spokane campus, Whitworth), and government. The Spokane River runs through downtown, with Riverfront Park (site of the 1974 World's Fair) at its center. Spokane is the gateway to the Palouse wheat country and the recreation areas of northern Idaho.

Tacoma — 225,000 (metro: shared with Seattle)
Washington's third-largest city, immediately south of Seattle along Puget Sound. The Port of Tacoma is the sixth-busiest container port in the US. Tacoma's downtown has revitalized significantly, anchored by the Museum of Glass (Dale Chihuly's home-town museum — the famous Bridge of Glass connects it to the waterfront) and the Washington State History Museum.

Bellevue — 155,000
The most affluent large city in Washington, Bellevue sits across Lake Washington from Seattle and is the headquarters or major campus of Microsoft, T-Mobile, Expedia, and dozens of other tech companies. The Bellevue Collection (a major urban mall complex) and Bellevue's emerging downtown are increasingly metropolitan in character.

Olympia — 55,000
Washington's capital, at the southern tip of Puget Sound. The State Capitol building — a landmark domed structure with a large rotunda — and the Capitol Lake area are the focal points. Olympia's Farmers Market (open May–October on the waterfront) is one of the finest in the Pacific Northwest.