METROSCOPE
Explore
All places > King County > Issaquah
An editorial illustration of Issaquah, Washington
King County · Washington

Issaquah, WA

Costco makes Issaquah a headquarters city at a scale its population disguises.

Population
41,590
2% more from 2021 to 2026
Family households
64.9%
±3 points at 90% confidence
Local jobs
31,937
5% more from 2018 to 2023
Median income
$154,669
±$13,820 at 90% confidence
City overview

The forces shaping Issaquah now.

01
The employers behind the economy

Costco makes Issaquah a headquarters city at a scale its population disguises.

Issaquah contains 31,937 workplace jobs. Professional Services accounts for 31% of them. Retail is next at 12%.

Costco’s global headquarters reports 13,000 employees in Central Issaquah, and the city says roughly nine of its ten largest employers sit on the valley floor. That concentration makes Central Issaquah’s office use, transportation, and planned housing central to the whole city’s economy.

Workplace jobs: 2023
02
A split geography of work

39% work from home, while Seattle is Issaquah’s largest outside job destination.

39% of workers report usually working from home. In the separate workplace-flow data, 34% of observed resident jobs are in Seattle and 15% are in Bellevue.

Remote-work policy and the trip to Seattle can therefore change demand for local cafés, office space, roads, and transit even when Issaquah itself adds no new employer.

Work from home: 2024 · job destinations: 2023
03
The trajectory

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

Issaquah’s population rose 2% from 2021–2026; its workplace job count rose 5% from 2018–2023. The source periods differ because the two series are released on different schedules.

The opportunity in Issaquah 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
People

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

The typical household estimate is 2.4 people. 65% are estimated to be family households, while 26% are estimated to be people living alone.

Average household size
2.4

±0.1 people at 90% confidence

Median age
37.5

±0.7 years at 90% confidence

Living alone
26%

±4 points at 90% confidence

Bachelor’s degree+
70%

Among residents age 25 and older. ±5 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

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

White, non-Hispanic56% ±3 pts
Chinese, except Taiwanese9.8% ±2 pts
Asian Indian9.4% ±3 pts
Two or more races, non-Hispanic8.1% ±2 pts
Hispanic / Latino, any race5.7% ±1 pts
Korean2.9% ±1 pts
Black, non-Hispanic2.2% ±1 pts
Filipino1.4% ±0.7 pts
Another race, non-Hispanic1.1% ±0.7 pts
Japanese0.8% ±0.3 pts
Vietnamese0.8% ±0.8 pts
Taiwanese0.4% ±0.3 pts
Pakistani0.4% ±0.4 pts
Two or more Asian groups0.4% ±0.3 pts
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic0.3% ±0.4 pts
American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.2% ±0.2 pts
Laotian0.1% ±0.2 pts
Other Asian, not specified0.1% ±0.2 pts
Malaysian<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Afghan<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Thai<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Cambodian<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Indonesian<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Burmese<0.1% ±<0.1 pt

0% published estimate: Hmong, Mongolian, Okinawan, Other East Asian, Mien, Singaporean, Other Southeast Asian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Sikh, Sri Lankan, Other South Asian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Other Central Asian, Other Asian, 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
Issaquah 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?

Professional Services (partial technology proxy) accounts for 31% of jobs located in Issaquah. 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.

Professional Services (partial technology proxy)31%
Retail12%
Healthcare & Social Assistance10%
Education (includes academia/research)9%
Hospitality9%

Verified employer anchors

Major employers and employment campuses located in Issaquah · Current or recent profile · 2026. The stated employer vintage is within the current two-year publication window.

Costco’s global headquarters reports 13,000 employees in Central Issaquah, and the city says roughly nine of its ten largest employers sit on the valley floor. That concentration makes Central Issaquah’s office use, transportation, and planned housing central to the whole city’s economy.

Costco Wholesale global headquarters13,000
Swedish Issaquah CampusHeadcount not published
Siemens HealthineersHeadcount not published
GE HealthCareHeadcount not published
SanMarHeadcount not published
MicrosoftHeadcount not published
NAESHeadcount not published
Rowley PropertiesHeadcount not published

City of Issaquah Economic Development and Central Issaquah planning ↗. Headcounts change faster than Census employment totals.

Housing

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

57% of occupied homes are estimated to be owner-occupied and 43% rented. The estimates suggest 39% of renter households and 26% of owner households spend at least 30% of income on housing.

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$963k±50339.0 at 90% confidence
Middle half of homes$627k–$1.5MLower to upper quartile of owner estimates
Luxury-home concentration9%≈903 homes · estimated at $2M+
Under $500k17%
$500–749k16%
$750–999k20%
$1–1.49M22%
$1.5–1.99M16%
$2M+9%

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 houses35%
Attached houses15%
2–4 unit buildings7%
5+ unit buildings43%
Owner-occupied
57%

±4 points at 90% confidence

Renter cost-burdened
39%

Spending 30% or more of income on gross rent. ±7 points at 90% confidence

Owner cost-burdened
26%

Spending 30% or more on selected owner costs. ±5 points at 90% confidence

Homes authorized, 2025
28

Permit authorizations—not construction starts or completed homes.

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 84 stops and 2,500 weekday stop departures inside Issaquah. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures
2,500

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

Transit stops
84

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

Top outside workplace
Seattle

34% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Work inside the city
12%

Share of observed resident job destinations located in the same city in 2023 LODES.

Where resident workers go

Top observed workplace destinations. 12% work inside Issaquah.

Seattle34%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Bellevue15%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Redmond12%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Kirkland3%

The strongest outside connection is Seattle. Employer or corridor changes there can alter everyday life in Issaquah, 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
49%

Share of workers usually driving alone. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Work from home
39%

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

Use public transit
3.3%

Usual commute mode—not all transit trips. ±1 points at 90% confidence

Commute 45+ minutes
13%

Share of workers with a one-way commute of at least 45 minutes. ±3 points at 90% confidence

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

Starting area
Downtown Seattle employment core

Seattle is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Issaquah, representing 32% 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.

Downtown Bellevue employment core

Bellevue is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Issaquah, representing 14% of matched resident jobs from this city.

20–40 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.

Overlake employment core

Redmond is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Issaquah, representing 11% 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.

North Issaquah employment core

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

5–20 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.

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 Issaquah; 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 Issaquah

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

Hospitals1 in cityView all
Swedish Issaquah751 NE BLAKELY DR · ISSAQUAH, WA 98029 · Acute Care Hospitals · Emergency servicesMapExplore all hospitals nearby in MapsOpen
Clinics and urgent care43 listedView 8 places
Airrosti IssaquahMapAllegro PediatricsMapCatherine H. Miele, MDMapCore Injury Management, PllcMapDr. Maurice Doerfler, MDMapDr. Yu DingMapEastside Therapy ServicesMapElizabeth Browder, MD, FAAPMapExplore all clinics and urgent care in MapsOpen
Pharmacies21 listedView 8 places
Bartell Drugs #075700 E LAKE SAMMAMISH PKWY SE · ISSAQUAH, WA 98029-8914MapCostco Wholesale1801 10TH AVE NW · ISSAQUAH, WA 98027-5384MapCostco Wholesale Corporation999 LAKE DR · ISSAQUAH, WA 98027-8990MapCostco Wholesale Corporation1801 10TH AVE NW · ISSAQUAH, WA 98027MapCvs Pharmacy #16388755 NW GILMAN BLVD · ISSAQUAH, WA 98027-5357MapFred Meyer Pharmacy6100 E LAKE SAMMAMISH PKWY SE · ISSAQUAH, WA 98029-8926MapLongs Drug Store735 NW GILMAN BLVD · ISSAQUAH, WA 98027-8941MapMedical Center Pharmacy450 NW GILMAN BLVD · STE 107 · ISSAQUAH, WA 98027-2483MapExplore all pharmacies in MapsOpen
Coffee22 listedView 8 places
12th Avenue CafeMapThe beanstalk IssaquahMapBigFoot Java IssMapCafé 1910MapCafe Samm C 11097482MapCaffe Ladro - IssaquahMapCoffee At The Mud Puddle LlcMapElevate EspressoMapExplore all coffee in MapsOpen
Fitness39 listedView 8 places
1 on 1 Fitness TrainingMap24 Hour FitnessMap425 FitnessMap9Round FitnessMapArise Yoga & WellnessMapBarre3MapConstruction ZoneMapCrossFit IssaquahMapExplore all fitness in MapsOpen
Groceries7 listedView all
Champion Grocery OutletMapPcc Community Markets - Issaquah Co-opMapPike Place Fish MarketMapQFCMapSafewayMapTrader Joe'sMapU-swirl & Rocky Mountain Chocolate FactoryMapExplore all groceries in MapsOpen
Convenience3 listedView all
ampmMapHungry Bear MarketMapJacksons Food StoresMapExplore all convenience in MapsOpen
Restaurants156 listedView 8 places
Agave Cocina & TequilaMapAji Sushi & GrillMapAmarone Ristorante and BarMapAsian StarMapBai Tong Thai RestaurantMapBamiyan Afghani RestaurantMapBangalore Cuisine of IndiaMapBento-ya GoemonMapExplore all restaurants in MapsOpen
Salons and barbers69 listedView 8 places
5th Avenue SalonMapAlice's Beauty SalonMapBeauty Bar by ChloeMapBeauty by AvaleneMapBeing SalonMapBella by christyMapBella Cheri SalonMapBig Lash MoodMapExplore 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

Issaquah 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
15,000 sq ft

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

Physical checkouts
253,060

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

Issaquah LibraryKing County Library System
15,000 sq ft253,060 physical checkouts51 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 Issaquah.

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 elementary3
  • Clark Elementary SchoolIssaquah School District
  • Grand Ridge Elementary SchoolIssaquah School District
  • Issaquah Valley Elementary SchoolIssaquah School District
Public middle2
  • Cougar Mountain Middle School (Issaquah)Issaquah School District
  • Issaquah Middle SchoolIssaquah School District
Public high2
  • Gibson Ek High SchoolIssaquah School District
  • Issaquah High SchoolIssaquah School District
Other public programs3
  • Holly Street Early Learning CenterIssaquah School District
  • Issaquah Preschool AcademyIssaquah School District
  • Issaquah Special ServicesIssaquah School District

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

Issaquah has an unusually large retail economy for its population.

Retail sales per resident rank among the 88% 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
$23,061

Higher than 88% of 82 tracked cities.

Change from 2023
−5%

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

See the underlying sales totals
Retail trade, 2024
$959.1M

Sales reported by businesses classified in retail trade.

All taxable sales
$2.0B

Includes taxable activity outside retail trade.

Retail share
47%

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 Issaquah, voters directly choose who runs City Hall.

Issaquah 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
Mark Mullet

The separately elected chief executive.

Council representatives listed
7

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

Incorporated
1892

Code city under Washington law.

Where decisions happen

When does the Issaquah council meet?

Regular meeting schedule listed in the current municipal directory:

1st & 3rd Mon - 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 Issaquah 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
41,590

2% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs
31,937

5% more from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024
−5%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places
Local jobs
LODES
31,937
1,506656,821
Higher than 73% of places
Long-run job change
LODES
+62%
−3%+166%
Higher than 73% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
2,500
19256,385
Higher than only 49% 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
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)31% (10,000)
Retail12% (3,923)
Healthcare & Social Assistance10% (3,197)
Education (includes academia/research)9% (3,003)
Hospitality9% (2,944)
Logistics / Industrial7% (2,365)
Administrative & Support Services4% (1,405)
Construction / Real Estate4% (1,182)
Finance4% (1,169)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)3% (918)
Other2% (736)
Government (Public Administration)2% (600)
Information (partial technology proxy)2% (495)
Where Issaquah's workforce lives (inbound)
LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs
Seattle
12.9%
Issaquah
10.4%
Sammamish
10.3%
Bellevue
7.9%
Renton
7.9%