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An editorial illustration of Black Diamond, Washington
King County · Washington

Black Diamond, WA

Black Diamond is principally a home base, with 600 jobs for 7,550 residents.

Population
7,550
42% more from 2021 to 2026
Family households
—
±8 points at 90% confidence · too uncertain for ranking or interpretation
Local jobs
600
16% more from 2018 to 2023
Median income
$141,383
±$13,982 at 90% confidence
City overview

The forces shaping Black Diamond now.

01
The city’s regional role

Black Diamond is principally a home base, with 600 jobs for 7,550 residents.

Black Diamond has 0.08 workplace jobs per resident—600 jobs for 7,550 people. Seattle is the largest observed outside destination for resident workers.

Black Diamond can be affluent without being job-rich. With only 0.08 workplace jobs per resident, household fortunes are unusually exposed to outside employers and the routes used to reach them.

Jobs and workplace flows: 2023 · population: 2026
02
The trajectory

Population growth outpaced job growth by 26 points in Black Diamond.

Black Diamond’s population rose 42% from 2021–2026; its workplace job count rose 16% from 2018–2023. The source periods differ because the two series are released on different schedules.

The practical consequence is regional: more households will depend on the trip to Seattle or another job center unless local work catches up.

Population: 2021–2026 · jobs: 2018–2023
03
The local economic engine

Construction / Real Estate leads at 22%, with hospitality close behind at 16%.

Black Diamond contains 600 workplace jobs. Construction / Real Estate accounts for 22% of them. Hospitality is next at 16%.

Land development, interest rates, and the construction pipeline connect Black Diamond’s job story directly to its housing and commercial growth.

Workplace jobs: 2023
04
The commute that shapes the city

Black Diamond sends its largest stream of resident workers to Seattle.

17% of observed resident job destinations are in Seattle, followed by Kent at 13%.

Current GTFS schedules 54 weekday stop departures at 5 stops inside Black Diamond; that supply still needs to be tested against the route to Seattle, the largest outside job destination. Schedule supply is not ridership.

Workplace flows: 2023 · commute modes: ACS 2024
People

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

7,550 residents are counted in the latest official state estimate, 42% more than in 2021. Survey measures appear here only when their uncertainty is small enough to describe the city confidently.

Average household size
2.6

±0.2 people at 90% confidence

Median age
38.1

±3.9 years at 90% confidence

Living alone
17%

±7 points at 90% confidence

Below poverty line
2%

Income alone does not describe wealth or local costs. ±2 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

Estimated share of all Black Diamond residents. Each percentage uses the city’s total population as its denominator.

White, non-Hispanic67% ±7 pts
Asian Indian9.5% ±6 pts
Hispanic / Latino, any race7.9% ±5 pts
Two or more races, non-Hispanic6.4% ±4 pts
Filipino5.0% ±4 pts
Korean1.3% ±1 pts
Thai0.7% ±1 pts
Another race, non-Hispanic0.6% ±0.9 pts
Chinese, except Taiwanese0.4% ±0.6 pts
Black, non-Hispanic0.4% ±0.6 pts
Vietnamese0.3% ±0.5 pts
Two or more Asian groups0.3% ±0.5 pts
Burmese0.2% ±0.4 pts
American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.0% ±0.3 pts
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic0.0% ±0.3 pts

0% published estimate: Hmong, Japanese, Mongolian, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Other East Asian, Cambodian, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Other Southeast Asian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Pakistani, Sikh, Sri Lankan, Other South Asian, Afghan, Kazakh, Uzbek, Other Central Asian, Other Asian, specified, Other Asian, not specified. Zero is not proof that no residents identify with that group.

Some ranges are wide, which is common for smaller populations. Treat small differences as uncertain rather than as a precise ordering.

ACS 2020–2024 · 5-year estimates
Dataset
U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates · tables B03002 and B02015
Period
2020–2024
Geography
Black Diamond Census place
Definition
Race and Hispanic/Latino origin are self-reported Census concepts. Hispanic/Latino may be of any race; the broad display uses non-Hispanic race categories plus Hispanic/Latino of any race.
Method
Every percentage is shown with its 90% margin of error. Detailed Asian estimates use the Asian-alone universe and are divided by the city population for display.
Open the official source ↗
Work

What powers the local economy—and how dependent is it?

Construction / Real Estate accounts for 22% of jobs located in Black Diamond. The city’s job base changed +74% between 2010 and 2023.

Jobs by sector

Workplace jobs inside the city—not the industries of residents who commute elsewhere.

Construction / Real Estate22%
Hospitality16%
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)14%
Other10%
Retail9%

Historical employer snapshot

Official city business-development finding; no current ranked employer table · Historical employer snapshot · 2019 adopted economic-development element. The source is older than the current employer publication window; headcounts are historical, not current.

The city’s adopted plan sets a business and employment strategy, but does not publish a defensible current ranking of individual employers.

City of Black Diamond Comprehensive Plan economic-development element ↗. Headcounts change faster than Census employment totals.

Housing

What kinds of homes exist—and where is pressure showing?

The firmer current signal is construction intent: 205 homes were authorized in 2025, versus a recent pace of about 140 per year.

Home value profile

What owner-occupied homes are worth

Owner estimates from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey—not listings, recorded sales, or appraisals. The final Census band is open-ended: $2 million and above.

Median estimate$779k±58019.0 at 90% confidence
Middle half of homes$594k–$988kLower to upper quartile of owner estimates
Luxury-home concentration1%≈19 homes · estimated at $2M+
Under $500k12%
$500–749k35%
$750–999k30%
$1–1.49M18%
$1.5–1.99M5%
$2M+1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year tables B25075–B25078. Values cover owner-occupied homes only and do not measure current asking prices or recent purchase prices.

What builders are proposing now

205 housing units across 205 residential buildings were authorized in 2025. 0 were in buildings with five or more units.

Authorizations are not starts or completions, but they are a more current signal of intended construction than an uncertain housing-mix estimate.

Homes authorized, 2025
205

Permit authorizations—not construction starts or completed homes.

Residential buildings, 2025
205

One building can contain one home or many housing units.

2023–2025 annual pace
140 homes

Average housing units authorized per year across the latest three final annual estimates.

Recent pace vs prior 3 years
−49%

2023–2025 average compared with 2020–2022.

Permit activity: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, final annual estimate for 2025. Housing units authorized are not starts or completions.

Mobility

Where do residents need to go—and who has a real alternative to driving?

Current transit schedules include 5 stops and 54 weekday stop departures inside Black Diamond. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures
54

Scheduled stop departures in the current covered-feed snapshot—not riders.

Transit stops
5

Matched inside city limits; nearby cross-border stops are separate.

Top outside workplace
Seattle

17% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Where resident workers go

Top observed workplace destinations.

Seattle17%
Peak drive: 50–100 min
Kent13%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Maple Valley8%
Peak drive: 10–30 min
Renton7%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Bellevue6%

The strongest outside connection is Seattle. Employer or corridor changes there can alter everyday life in Black Diamond, even when nothing changes inside the city boundary.

How residents usually get to work

Citywide ACS 2020–2024 estimates describe workers’ usual commute—not every trip made today.

Work from home
25%

Share of workers usually working from home. ±8 points at 90% confidence

Use public transit
0.2%

Usual commute mode—not all transit trips. ±0.5 points at 90% confidence

For someone choosing a home in Black Diamond, the practical test is the trip to Seattle, the leading outside workplace destination in the published flows. These citywide shares cannot show whether that trip works from a particular address.

Typical drive times

About how long does it take to get where people go?

Work destinations are selected from observed resident job flows. These are broad, reviewed planning ranges from representative parts of Black Diamond—not live-traffic or door-to-door predictions.

Starting area
Downtown Seattle employment core

Seattle is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Black Diamond, representing 15% of matched resident jobs from this city.

55–100 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Kent employment area

Kent is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Black Diamond, representing 11% of matched resident jobs from this city.

35–70 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Local arterial-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.40x circuity factor and an assumed 28 km/h peak-effective / 42 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Maple Valley employment area

Maple Valley is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Black Diamond, representing 7% of matched resident jobs from this city.

15–30 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Local arterial-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.40x circuity factor and an assumed 28 km/h peak-effective / 42 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Renton employment area

Renton is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Black Diamond, representing 6% of matched resident jobs from this city.

30–60 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Method, review date, and sources

Planning estimate; actual time varies by departure time, route, traffic, weather, incidents, and closures.

Estimates are derived from reviewed origin/destination coordinates using a documented distance-to-time heuristic (circuity factor and assumed effective speed by corridor type and period), then deliberately widened and rounded to a broad band. No live routing or traffic API was called.

Estimates reviewed 2026-09-10. Starting point: selected representative area.

City boundary and regional context● nearby   ● work destinations
Daily life

Community institutions and local activity

Public schools, libraries, pharmacies, and listed everyday places show part of the local inventory inside Black Diamond; taxable sales show the scale and direction of local commercial activity. Residents also use places across city lines, so a boundary count is not the same as access.

Local field guide

Places for everyday needs in Black Diamond

Care, errands, food, fitness, and personal services gathered into one browsable directory.

Hospitals0 in cityFind nearby
Explore all hospitals near Black DiamondOpen
Pharmacies1 listedView all
Safeway Pharmacy #023332589 MAIN ST · BLACK DIAMOND, WA 98010-5015MapExplore all pharmacies in MapsOpen
Coffee4 listedView all
Farmhouse BrewMapGravity CoffeeMapPalm + Pine CoffeeMapRoast Republic Coffee Co.MapExplore all coffee in MapsOpen
Fitness2 listedView all
Black Diamond Community GymMapCrossfit BasicMapExplore all fitness in MapsOpen
Groceries2 listedView all
India Food MartMapLake Sawyer GroceryMapExplore all groceries in MapsOpen
Convenience2 listedView all
CenexMapCHS Northwest Black Diamond Express & GasMapExplore all convenience in MapsOpen
Restaurants11 listedView 8 places
Black Diamond GrillMapBlack Diamond Sahara PizzaMapBlack Gold Coffee Company, LlcMapChaat N DosaMapEuropaMapItalian Fresh PizzaMapIvy K ManapuaMapKrispy Krunchy ChickenMapExplore all restaurants in MapsOpen
Salons and barbers4 listedView all
4 Elements StudioMapThe Hair SceneMapThe Loft SalonMapSharkey's Cuts for KidsMapExplore all salons and barbers in MapsOpen

Counts reflect current directory records associated with the city, not a complete business census or a measure of access. Large categories show a sample.

Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), snapshot 2026-08-13; Overture Maps Foundation, release 2026-08-19.0; U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (NPPES NPI Registry), snapshot 2026-09-09.

Public library footprint

Black Diamond Library

Floor area shows the scale of the physical branches. Physical circulation is 2024 checkouts—not visits, unique users, or digital borrowing—and people routinely use libraries across city lines.

Branch floor area
5,000 sq ft

All matched branches must report floor area before a city total is shown.

Physical checkouts
41,811

Annual branch activity; not limited to city residents. All matched branches must report before a city total is shown.

Black Diamond LibraryKing County Library System
5,000 sq ft41,811 physical checkouts47 scheduled hours/week

Source: Washington State Library public-library statistics, 2024. System-wide visits, digital circulation, and program attendance cannot be assigned honestly to one branch, so they are not folded into these city totals.

Education footprint

The schools inside Black Diamond.

Institution counts and enrollment will remain separate. A school can serve students from outside the city, and residents may attend a school across the boundary or elsewhere in their district.

Public elementary1
  • Black Diamond Elementary SchoolEnumclaw School District
Public middle0

None in the current OSPI city-boundary match.

Public high0

None in the current OSPI city-boundary match.

Other public programs0

None in the current OSPI city-boundary match.

Public-school names and levels come from OSPI. Private schools, complete IPEDS college coverage, enrollment by level, and graduate destinations are active additions; absence here should not yet be read as “none.”

Retail role

Black Diamond records relatively little retail activity for its population.

Retail sales per resident fall below 85% of the cities tracked by Metroscope. That may mean residents rely more on nearby cities for shopping, but sales records alone cannot prove where they shop.

Retail sales per resident, 2024
$5,924

Higher than 15% of 82 tracked cities.

Change from 2023
+2%

Nominal retail-sales change; inflation can account for some or all of an increase.

See the underlying sales totals
Retail trade, 2024
$44.7M

Sales reported by businesses classified in retail trade.

All taxable sales
$157.4M

Includes taxable activity outside retail trade.

Retail share
28%

Retailing industries’ share of all taxable sales.

Tracked-city median
$10,670

Median retail sales per resident across cities with comparable data.

Civic life

In Black Diamond, voters directly choose who runs City Hall.

Black Diamond voters elect the mayor separately from the council. The mayor leads city administration, while the council adopts laws, policy, and the budget—so executive accountability sits directly with an elected office.

Government form
Mayor–Council

The mayor is separately elected to lead administration.

Mayor listed
John Adler

The separately elected chief executive.

Council representatives listed
7

Current directory entries; vacancies or updates can make this differ from authorized seats.

Incorporated
1959

Code city under Washington law.

Where decisions happen

When does the Black Diamond council meet?

Regular meeting schedule listed in the current municipal directory:

1st & 3rd Thu - 7:00pm2nd Thu - 6:00pm Work Session

Schedules change and special meetings are separate. Check the city site for the live agenda, staff reports, public-comment rules, and video.

Official city site ↗Current officials directory ↗
Election record

Where to check Black Diamond election results.

Regular municipal offices generally return in 2027. Special measures can appear earlier, and charter provisions can differ.

The next data step is city-specific turnout, contested-seat share, ballot measures, and campaign money. Until those are normalized, Metroscope links the official record instead of guessing from partisan elections.

Structure, meetings, and current officials: Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC), checked 2026-09-08. Election administration and certified results: the county election offices listed above. Confirm live agendas and officeholders at the source.

Change

What is changing the city’s trajectory?

Population and jobs do not always move together. Reading both helps distinguish a growing employment center from a city whose households are increasingly tied to opportunities elsewhere.

Residents
7,550

42% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs
600

16% more from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024
+2%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places
Local jobs
LODES
600
1,506656,821
Higher than only 0% of places
Long-run job change
LODES
+74%
−3%+166%
Higher than 84% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
54
19256,385
Higher than only 4% of places
Multifamily permitting
Census BPS
Near a 15-year low
Recent annual pace compared with this city's own 2010–2025 record
2BR Fair Market Rent
HUD, county-level
$2,549
FY2027 HUD program benchmark; chart shows FY2020–FY2027 history. Shared across this HUD metro area—not a place-specific market rent.
Work — sector breakdown
Share of local jobs by sector · LODES · workplace location, not resident industry
Construction / Real Estate22% (132)
Hospitality16% (96)
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)14% (83)
Other10% (57)
Retail9% (55)
Government (Public Administration)7% (43)
Logistics / Industrial6% (34)
Administrative & Support Services4% (26)
Information (partial technology proxy)4% (23)
Finance3% (19)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)3% (15)
Healthcare & Social Assistance2% (13)
Education (includes academia/research)1% (4)
Where Black Diamond's workforce lives (inbound)
LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs
Maple Valley
16.0%
Black Diamond
13.7%
Enumclaw
7.5%
Kent
6.5%
Seattle
6.2%