Elevation of Seattle
173ft
above sea level · 53 m
Seattle is a city in Washington with 784,777 people, the most populous in the state. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, it’s the 32nd lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 47.61° N · 122.33° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 47° 36′ 22″ N · 122° 19′ 55″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 10T · 550,202 E · 5,272,750 N
- Zone 10 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 784,777 people
- 84.0 sq mi of land · 9,339 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from June 2021: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Seattle had 784,777 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 6.5% more than in April 2020, when it had 737,103. Its 84.0 sq mi of land work out to 9,339 people/sq mi; the state average is 120 people/sq mi.
It’s the most populous of the 639 places the Census counts in Washington (cities, towns and CDPs), and holds 9.8% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within King County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.3 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other big cities
Seattle sits at 173 ft (53 m) above sea level. Of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people, the highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft). The average is 858 ft: Seattle is 685 ft below it.
The state capital, Olympia, is 47 mi away in a straight line and 77 ft lower than Seattle.
The highest point in Washington is Mount Rainier, at 14,411 ft according to the USGS: 14,238 ft above Seattle, 59 mi away in a straight line.
- 60 Seattle 173 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Seattle.
What is the elevation of Seattle?
Seattle is 173 feet (53 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Seattle?
Latitude 47.60621 and longitude -122.33207, in decimal degrees (47° 36′ 22″ N · 122° 19′ 55″ W). In UTM, zone 10: 550,202 E and 5,272,750 N, on NAD83.
How does Seattle rank among the highest big cities?
It’s the 32nd lowest of the 91 US cities with more than 250,000 people. The highest is Colorado Springs (6,009 ft) and the lowest is New Orleans (0 ft).
What county is Seattle in?
King County, Washington.
Which is higher, Seattle or Olympia?
Seattle. Seattle sits at 173 ft and Olympia at 96 ft: a difference of 77 ft, 47 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know