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King County · Washington

Renton, WA

Renton Technical College puts a campus population into Renton’s workday.

Population

109,800

3% more from 2021 to 2026

Family households

61.0%

±2 points at 90% confidence

Local jobs

69,222

9% more from 2018 to 2023

Median income

$100,432

±$3,956 at 90% confidence

City overview

The forces shaping Renton now.

A campus city

Renton Technical College puts a campus population into Renton’s workday.

61% of households are estimated to be families. Renton Technical College adds a postsecondary population that is not visible in the public-school count.

Renton Technical College bring students and staff whose housing, transit, and daytime-commerce patterns differ from a conventional Renton office workforce. Enrollment is the missing scale measure.

Households: ACS 2024 · public-school locations: OSPI 2025–26

The commute that shapes the city

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

32% of observed resident job destinations are in Seattle, followed by Bellevue at 12%. Only 13% are inside Renton.

Current GTFS schedules 19,970 weekday stop departures at 327 stops inside Renton; 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

The trajectory

Renton is growing faster as a workplace than as a home base.

Renton’s population rose 3% from 2021–2026; its workplace job count rose 9% from 2018–2023. The source periods differ because the two series are released on different schedules.

With jobs moving 7 points faster than population, Renton is likely to rely more on inbound workers. The practical test is whether those workers can reach—or afford to live near—the expanding workplaces.

Population: 2021–2026 · jobs: 2018–2023

The local economic engine

Healthcare leads at 21%, with manufacturing close behind at 21%.

Renton contains 69,222 workplace jobs. Healthcare accounts for 21% of them. Manufacturing is next at 21%.

Hospital capacity, shift-worker transportation, and health-sector hiring will affect Renton more directly than a conventional office cycle.

Workplace jobs: 2023

The housing divide

Housing costs consume too much income for 54% of Renton’s renters.

54% of measured renter households are cost-burdened, compared with 26% of measured owners. 46% of occupied homes are rentals.

Renton’s 28-point burden gap makes rental availability a distinct question, not a footnote to citywide affordability.

ACS 2024 five-year estimates

People

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

The typical household estimate is 2.6 people. 61% are estimated to be family households, while 29% are estimated to be people living alone.

Average household size

2.6

±0.1 people at 90% confidence

Median age

36.5

±0.9 years at 90% confidence

Living alone

29%

±2 points at 90% confidence

Bachelor’s degree+

39%

Among residents age 25 and older. ±2 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

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

White, non-Hispanic39% ±2 pts

Hispanic / Latino, any race16% ±2 pts

Black, non-Hispanic9.0% ±1 pts

Two or more races, non-Hispanic8.5% ±1 pts

Chinese, except Taiwanese6.0% ±1 pts

Vietnamese5.5% ±0.9 pts

Filipino5.0% ±0.8 pts

Asian Indian3.0% ±0.7 pts

Two or more Asian groups1.8% ±0.6 pts

Korean1.7% ±0.4 pts

Japanese0.9% ±0.2 pts

Another race, non-Hispanic0.8% ±0.4 pts

Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic0.8% ±0.4 pts

Cambodian0.8% ±0.5 pts

Taiwanese0.4% ±0.2 pts

Uzbek0.3% ±0.4 pts

American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.3% ±0.1 pts

Laotian0.3% ±0.2 pts

Mien0.2% ±0.2 pts

Thai0.1% ±0.1 pts

Hmong0.1% ±0.1 pts

Sri Lankan<0.1% ±0.1 pts

Burmese<0.1% ±0.1 pts

Other Asian, not specified<0.1% ±0.1 pts

Sikh<0.1% ±0.2 pts

Pakistani<0.1% ±0.1 pts

Mongolian<0.1% ±<0.1 pt

Afghan<0.1% ±<0.1 pt

Indonesian<0.1% ±<0.1 pt

Malaysian<0.1% ±<0.1 pt

0% published estimate: Okinawan, Other East Asian, Singaporean, Other Southeast Asian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Other South Asian, Kazakh, 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: Renton 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?

Healthcare & Social Assistance accounts for 21% of jobs located in Renton. The city’s job base changed +30% between 2010 and 2023.

Housing

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

54% of occupied homes are estimated to be owner-occupied and 46% rented. The estimates suggest 54% 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$673k±16240.0 at 90% confidence

Middle half of homes$476k–$916kLower to upper quartile of owner estimates

Luxury-home concentration2%≈398 homes · estimated at $2M+

Under $500k27%

$500–749k33%

$750–999k22%

$1–1.49M13%

$1.5–1.99M2%

$2M+2%

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.

Owner-occupied

54%

±2 points at 90% confidence

Renter cost-burdened

54%

Spending 30% or more of income on gross rent. ±6 points at 90% confidence

Owner cost-burdened

26%

Spending 30% or more on selected owner costs. ±3 points at 90% confidence

Homes authorized, 2025

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 327 stops and 19,970 weekday stop departures inside Renton. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures

19,970

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

Transit stops

327

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

Top outside workplace

Seattle

32% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Work inside the city

13%

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

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 Renton; 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.

Civic life

In Renton, voters directly choose who runs City Hall.

Renton 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

Armondo Pavone

The separately elected chief executive.

Council representatives listed

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

Incorporated

1901

Code city under Washington law.

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

109,800

3% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs

69,222

9% more from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024

−1%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places

Local jobs

LODES

69,222

Higher than 87% of places

Long-run job change

LODES

+30%

Higher than only 37% of places

Weekday transit departures

GTFS snapshot

19,970

Higher than 87% 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

Healthcare & Social Assistance21% (14,842)

Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)21% (14,694)

Retail9% (5,892)

Hospitality8% (5,235)

Logistics / Industrial7% (5,127)

Professional Services (partial technology proxy)7% (5,115)

Construction / Real Estate7% (4,886)

Administrative & Support Services7% (4,637)

Education (includes academia/research)5% (3,345)

Other3% (2,097)

Government (Public Administration)2% (1,721)

Finance2% (1,102)

Information (partial technology proxy)1% (529)

Where Renton's workforce lives (inbound)

LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs

Seattle

16.7%

Renton

13.6%

Kent

11.4%

Auburn

5.0%

Bellevue

4.9%

Renton, WA

The forces shaping Renton now.

Renton Technical College puts a campus population into Renton’s workday.

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

Renton is growing faster as a workplace than as a home base.

Healthcare leads at 21%, with manufacturing close behind at 21%.

Housing costs consume too much income for 54% of Renton’s renters.

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

Who lives here

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

Jobs by sector

Historical employer snapshot

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

What owner-occupied homes are worth

The housing mix we can estimate confidently

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

Where resident workers go

How residents usually get to work

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

Community institutions and local activity

Places for everyday needs in Renton

3 public-library branches inside Renton

The schools inside Renton.

Renton supports more retail activity per resident than most regional cities.

In Renton, voters directly choose who runs City Hall.

When does the Renton council meet?

Where to check Renton election results.

What is changing the city’s trajectory?