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An editorial illustration of Covington, Washington
King County · Washington

Covington, WA

Covington is a regional shopping and medical-services center whose residents mostly work elsewhere.

Population
22,200
6% more from 2021 to 2026
Family households
75.5%
±5 points at 90% confidence
Local jobs
5,054
12% more from 2018 to 2023
Median income
$134,502
±$8,675 at 90% confidence
City overview

The forces shaping Covington now.

01
The employers behind the economy

Covington is a regional shopping and medical-services center whose residents mostly work elsewhere.

Covington contains 5,054 workplace jobs. Retail accounts for 38% of them. Hospitality is next at 18%.

The city names Fred Meyer and Costco as regional retail draws and is deliberately building a larger medical hub. But its plan also records 10,253 residents leaving for work versus 3,922 people arriving in 2020, while local retail and service wages trail resident earnings. The useful story is the mismatch—not a pretend ranking the city does not publish.

Workplace jobs: 2023
02
The trajectory

Both sides of Covington’s day are growing: the people who live there and the jobs located there.

Covington’s population rose 6% from 2021–2026; its workplace job count rose 12% from 2018–2023. The source periods differ because the two series are released on different schedules.

The opportunity in Covington is to connect the two gains: more residents can support local commerce, while more nearby jobs can shorten some trips now led outside the city by Seattle. Housing and mobility decide whether that happens.

Population: 2021–2026 · jobs: 2018–2023
03
The housing choices

87% of Covington’s homes are detached houses.

87% of homes are detached houses; attached homes and two-to-four-unit buildings together make up 1%.

With 87% of Covington homes detached, aging in place or entering the city becomes harder when a full house is the wrong size or price.

ACS 2024 five-year estimates
04
The commute that shapes the city

Seattle matters more to Covington’s workday than its own city line does.

22% of observed resident job destinations are in Seattle, followed by Kent at 13%.

Current GTFS schedules 1,288 weekday stop departures at 29 stops inside Covington; 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?

The typical household estimate is 2.9 people. 76% are estimated to be family households, while 18% are estimated to be people living alone.

Average household size
2.9

±0.1 people at 90% confidence

Median age
36.4

±2.2 years at 90% confidence

Living alone
18%

±4 points at 90% confidence

Bachelor’s degree+
37%

Among residents age 25 and older. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

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

White, non-Hispanic59% ±5 pts
Hispanic / Latino, any race11% ±3 pts
Two or more races, non-Hispanic9.3% ±3 pts
Black, non-Hispanic8.1% ±3 pts
Filipino3.0% ±1 pts
Vietnamese1.9% ±1 pts
Asian Indian1.9% ±1 pts
Chinese, except Taiwanese1.8% ±1 pts
Korean1.2% ±1 pts
Another race, non-Hispanic0.9% ±0.7 pts
American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.8% ±0.9 pts
Two or more Asian groups0.6% ±0.6 pts
Japanese0.3% ±0.2 pts
Burmese0.2% ±0.4 pts
Laotian0.2% ±0.2 pts
Cambodian0.1% ±0.2 pts
Nepalese<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Thai<0.1% ±<0.1 pt
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic0.0% ±0.1 pts

0% published estimate: Hmong, Mongolian, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Other East Asian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Other Southeast Asian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, 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.

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
Covington 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?

Retail accounts for 38% of jobs located in Covington. The city’s job base changed +62% between 2010 and 2023.

Jobs by sector

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

Retail38%
Hospitality18%
Construction / Real Estate13%
Healthcare & Social Assistance10%
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)5%

Verified employer anchors

Commercial anchors named by the city; Covington does not publish a current ranked employer table · Current or recent profile · 2024 comprehensive plan. The stated employer vintage is within the current two-year publication window.

The city names Fred Meyer and Costco as regional retail draws and is deliberately building a larger medical hub. But its plan also records 10,253 residents leaving for work versus 3,922 people arriving in 2020, while local retail and service wages trail resident earnings. The useful story is the mismatch—not a pretend ranking the city does not publish.

Fred MeyerHeadcount not published
CostcoHeadcount not published

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

Housing

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

79% of occupied homes are estimated to be owner-occupied and 21% rented. The firmer current signal is construction intent: 130 homes were authorized in 2025, versus a recent pace of about 72 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$637k±16171.0 at 90% confidence
Middle half of homes$510k–$783kLower to upper quartile of owner estimates
Luxury-home concentration1%≈63 homes · estimated at $2M+
Under $500k23%
$500–749k49%
$750–999k22%
$1–1.49M5%
$1.5–1.99M0%
$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.

The housing mix we can estimate confidently

This describes the existing stock. It does not imply that one building type is preferable.

Detached houses87%
Attached houses<1%
2–4 unit buildings1%
5+ unit buildings10%
Other2%
Owner-occupied
79%

±7 points at 90% confidence

Owner cost-burdened
27%

Spending 30% or more on selected owner costs. ±6 points at 90% confidence

Homes authorized, 2025
130

Permit authorizations—not construction starts or completed homes.

Residential buildings, 2025
96

One building can contain one home or many housing units.

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 29 stops and 1,288 weekday stop departures inside Covington. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures
1,288

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

Transit stops
29

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

Top outside workplace
Seattle

22% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Usually drive alone
69%

Workers age 16+; ACS 2020–2024 estimate. ±6 points at 90% confidence

Where resident workers go

Top observed workplace destinations.

Seattle22%
Peak drive: 40–80 min
Kent13%
Peak drive: 10–30 min
Renton8%
Peak drive: 25–50 min
Bellevue7%
Peak drive: 35–70 min
Auburn5%

The strongest outside connection is Seattle. Employer or corridor changes there can alter everyday life in Covington, 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.

Drive alone
69%

Share of workers usually driving alone. ±6 points at 90% confidence

Work from home
19%

Share of workers usually working from home. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Use public transit
0.8%

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

Commute 45+ minutes
25%

Share of workers with a one-way commute of at least 45 minutes. ±4 points at 90% confidence

For someone choosing a home in Covington, 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 Covington—not live-traffic or door-to-door predictions.

Starting area
Downtown Seattle employment core

Seattle is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Covington, representing 19% of matched resident jobs from this city.

40–80 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 Covington, representing 11% of matched resident jobs from this city.

15–40 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 Covington, representing 7% of matched resident jobs from this city.

30–60 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.

Downtown Bellevue employment core

Bellevue is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Covington, representing 7% of matched resident jobs from this city.

35–70 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 Covington; 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 Covington

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

Hospitals1 in cityView all
Multicare Covington Medical Center17700 SE 272ND ST · COVINGTON, WA 98042 · Acute Care Hospitals · Emergency servicesMapExplore all hospitals nearby in MapsOpen
Clinics and urgent care10 listedView 8 places
Covington Clinic NorthMapCovington Clinic South - Urgent Care - Valley Medical CenterMapDiabetes, Thyroid & Endocrinology - Covington - Valley Medical CenterMapGayathri Rao, MdMapMary Bridge Children's Pediatrics - CovingtonMapmulticare ERMapPodiatry Clinic - Covington - Valley Medical CenterMapRheumatology Clinic - Covington - Valley Medical CenterMapExplore all clinics and urgent care in MapsOpen
Pharmacies9 listedView 8 places
Costco Pharmacy27520 COVINGTON WAY SE · COVINGTON, WA 98042-9100MapCovington Multicare Clinic17700 SE 272ND ST · STE 100 · COVINGTON, WA 98042-4951MapFred Meyer Pharmacy16735 SE 272ND ST · COVINGTON, WA 98042-4942MapQfc Pharmacy17411 SE 272ND ST · COVINGTON, WA 98042-5311MapRite Aid Pharmacy 0519817051 SOUTHEAST 272ND STREET · COVINGTON, WA 98042-7353MapSafeway Pharmacy #079217023 SE 272ND ST · COVINGTON, WA 98042-4948MapSafeway Pharmacy #079217023 SE 272ND ST · COVINGTON, WA 98042-4948MapWalgreens #0790827130 172ND AVE SE · COVINGTON, WA 98042-4940MapExplore all pharmacies in MapsOpen
Coffee5 listedView all
Beauty And The BeansMapCafé EliteMapRelax Mode CoffeeMapStarbucksMapStarbucks Coffee CompanyMapExplore all coffee in MapsOpen
Fitness9 listedView 8 places
Barre3MapCODE AthleticsMapEat The Frog FitnessMapHot YogaMapLA FitnessMapLegerity Sports PerformanceMapOmni Fight Club CovingtonMapPlanet FitnessMapExplore all fitness in MapsOpen
Groceries3 listedView all
Foss' Grocery and EspressoMapFred MeyerMapSafewayMapExplore all groceries in MapsOpen
Convenience3 listedView all
ampmMapRite AidMapRocketMapExplore all convenience in MapsOpen
Restaurants31 listedView 8 places
Applebee'sMapBenjarong Thai CuisineMapChipotle Mexican GrillMapChoke Dee Thai StreetMapCovington TeriyakiMapDickey's Barbecue PitMapDomino'sMapDon Taco CovingtonMapExplore all restaurants in MapsOpen
Salons and barbers28 listedView 8 places
Arie’s HairdesignMapAttitudes Hair SalonMapBriar Haven Hair LLCMapCara Marie HairMapChi Beauty BarMapCrucial cutsMapCurls & TwirlsMapDaniel Ross Salon & Skin CareMapExplore 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

Covington 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
23,000 sq ft

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

Physical checkouts
232,289

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

Covington LibraryKing County Library System
23,000 sq ft232,289 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 Covington.

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 elementary4
  • Cedar Valley Elementary School (Covington)Kent School District
  • Covington Elementary SchoolKent School District
  • Crestwood Elementary School (Covington)Kent School District
  • Jenkins Creek Elementary SchoolKent School District
Public middle2
  • Cedar Heights Middle School (Covington)Kent School District
  • Mattson Middle SchoolKent School District
Public high1
  • Kentwood High SchoolKent School District
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

Covington has an unusually large retail economy for its population.

Retail sales per resident rank among the 84% highest of the cities tracked by Metroscope. That is consistent with a city serving shoppers from beyond its borders, although sales records do not reveal where customers live.

Retail sales per resident, 2024
$20,415

Higher than 84% of 82 tracked cities.

Change from 2023
−0.3%

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

See the underlying sales totals
Retail trade, 2024
$453.2M

Sales reported by businesses classified in retail trade.

All taxable sales
$718.5M

Includes taxable activity outside retail trade.

Retail share
63%

Retailing industries’ share of all taxable sales.

Tracked-city median
$10,670

Median retail sales per resident across cities with comparable data.

Civic life

Covington only became a city in 1997.

Covington voters elect the council, which hires a professional city manager to run administration. The mayor is selected from the council, so executive oversight works through the council rather than a separately elected chief executive.

Government form
Council–Manager

The elected council hires and oversees the city manager.

Mayor listed
Sean Smith

Generally selected from the council—not a separately elected executive.

Council representatives listed
7

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

Incorporated
1997

Code city under Washington law.

Where decisions happen

When does the Covington council meet?

Regular meeting schedule listed in the current municipal directory:

2nd & 4th Tue - 7:00pm

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 Covington 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
22,200

6% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs
5,054

12% more from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024
−0.3%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places
Local jobs
LODES
5,054
1,506656,821
Higher than only 11% of places
Long-run job change
LODES
+62%
−3%+166%
Higher than 75% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
1,288
19256,385
Higher than only 29% of places
Multifamily permitting
Census BPS
Faster than usual
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
Retail38% (1,906)
Hospitality18% (911)
Construction / Real Estate13% (644)
Healthcare & Social Assistance10% (506)
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)5% (260)
Other5% (253)
Government (Public Administration)3% (143)
Administrative & Support Services2% (120)
Logistics / Industrial2% (87)
Finance1% (73)
Education (includes academia/research)1% (60)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)1% (52)
Information (partial technology proxy)1% (39)
Where Covington's workforce lives (inbound)
LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs
Kent
15.1%
Covington
10.5%
Auburn
8.8%
Maple Valley
6.3%
Federal Way
5.6%