Capitol Hill statistics at a glance
Capitol Hill is one of Seattle’s most data-rich neighborhoods to study because it sits at the intersection of housing, transit, culture, and downtown-adjacent urban life. The numbers below show a neighborhood that is dense, renter-heavy, highly educated, and still changing through transit-oriented development.
Fast facts
- Capitol Hill is in Seattle City Council District 3 (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023).
- The neighborhood snapshot covers Broadway, Madison-Miller, Miller Park, North Capitol Hill, Pike/Pine, and Stevens (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023).
- 34.5% of residents are BIPOC, versus 37.8% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023).
- Median household income is $91,054, versus $105,391 citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023).
- 76.9% of households are renter households, versus 54.8% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023).
- 75.4% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher, versus 65.9% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023).
- First Hill/Capitol Hill had 45,193 residents in 2020 (Urban Center Profile 2023).
- First Hill/Capitol Hill had 34,127 housing units in 2020 (Urban Center Profile 2023).
- Capitol Hill Station drew 6,800 daily boardings in 2016 (Sound Transit Year of Link).
Table of contents
- What Capitol Hill statistics cover
- Demographics and household patterns
- Income, education, and work profile
- Housing and growth
- Transit and development
- Arts and neighborhood identity
- What the numbers suggest
What Capitol Hill statistics cover
The keyword “Capitol Hill statistics” can point in a few directions, but the source data here mostly describes a Seattle neighborhood and a broader urban center that includes First Hill and Capitol Hill. That matters because the numbers do not all come from the same geographic slice. Some facts are from the neighborhood snapshot, others from the urban center profile, and others from transit and cultural district sources.
Capitol Hill is described as part of Seattle City Council District 3 (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023), and the neighborhood snapshot includes Broadway, Madison-Miller, Miller Park, North Capitol Hill, Pike/Pine, and Stevens (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). That helps frame the neighborhood as more than a nightlife district. It is also a residential area, a transit node, a cultural zone, and part of a larger urban system.
Demographics and household patterns
The most visible pattern in the neighborhood snapshot is its demographic mix. Capitol Hill is 65.5% White, 15.3% Asian, 8.4% Two or More Races, 5.9% Latino, 3.4% Black, 0.7% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 0.3% Some Other Race (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). Those percentages show a neighborhood that is still majority White but far more mixed than many dense urban neighborhoods that are built around a single housing type or a single job center.
A separate summary says 34.5% of residents are BIPOC, versus 37.8% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). That means Capitol Hill is close to the citywide figure, but a little lower in BIPOC share than Seattle as a whole. It is a useful reminder that “urban” does not always mean more diverse in every measure.
The age profile is also telling. Only 6.7% of residents are age 65 or older, versus 12.3% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). By contrast, 8.2% of residents are under age 18, versus 14.5% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). That combination points to a neighborhood with fewer children and fewer older adults than the city average, which is consistent with a place shaped by apartments, transit, campuses, and walkable access to services.
The OPCD background description says the area tends to skew younger, with higher proportions of adults in their 20s and 30s (OPCD Background). It also says the area has relatively fewer households with children (OPCD Background). Those two facts line up with the snapshot: Capitol Hill is not just dense, it is structurally oriented toward a younger adult population.
Household and language indicators
Another statistic that stands out is language use. 18.1% of residents age 5+ speak a language other than English at home, versus 22.1% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). That is lower than the city average, so Capitol Hill is not simply an especially multilingual pocket by that measure.
Household structure is where the neighborhood looks most distinct. 76.9% of households are renter households, versus 54.8% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). That is a strong signal of apartment living, mobility, and a housing market where renting remains the dominant tenure. It also fits the urban center profile, which says the area had 84% rent and 16% owned units in 2020 (Urban Center Profile 2023).
Income, education, and work profile
The income figure gives Capitol Hill a middle-to-upper-middle profile without making it an outlier. Median household income is $91,054, versus $105,391 citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). That means the neighborhood sits below the Seattle median even while remaining a relatively high-income urban district by national standards.
Education is one of Capitol Hill’s strongest indicators. 75.4% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher, versus 65.9% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). 97.6% of residents have a high school diploma or higher, versus 95.5% citywide (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023). This is the kind of education profile often associated with neighborhoods that attract professionals, students, institutional workers, and people who value proximity to transit and central-city amenities.
Employment and occupation data in the urban center profile show what kind of place this is economically. Services accounted for 75% of jobs in the urban center, government accounted for 14%, finance, insurance, and real estate accounted for 8%, retail accounted for 6%, education accounted for 2%, manufacturing accounted for 1%, and trade, transportation, and utilities accounted for 1% (Urban Center Profile 2023). Those numbers suggest a place dominated by service-sector activity rather than industrial production. They also reinforce the idea that the area serves multiple functions at once: neighborhood, employment hub, institutional corridor, and mobility corridor.
Education, income, and demographics compared
| Metric | Capitol Hill / First Hill | Citywide or other comparison | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $91,054 | $105,391 citywide | Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023 |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 75.4% | 65.9% citywide | Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023 |
| High school diploma or higher | 97.6% | 95.5% citywide | Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023 |
| Renters | 76.9% | 54.8% citywide | Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023 |
| BIPOC residents | 34.5% | 37.8% citywide | Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023 |
That table shows the neighborhood’s profile in a compact way. Capitol Hill is more renter-heavy and more highly educated than Seattle overall, but it does not have a higher BIPOC share than the citywide baseline in the supplied snapshot. The combination is important because it captures a neighborhood that is dense and professionally oriented without being reducible to a single demographic story.
Housing and growth
The urban center profile adds a second layer that is especially useful for anyone looking at growth trends. First Hill/Capitol Hill had 34,127 housing units in 2020 and 45,193 residents in 2020 (Urban Center Profile 2023). Housing units grew 33% from 2010 to 2020, and residents grew 34% from 2010 to 2020 (Urban Center Profile 2023). Those are substantial decade-long increases, and the parallel growth rates indicate that the area expanded in both units and population rather than adding one without the other.
Average household size was 1.44 (Urban Center Profile 2023). That is a very small household size, which again fits the renter-heavy and adult-oriented character of the neighborhood. It suggests a large share of one- and two-person households rather than large family households.
The urban center profile also shows the area is not fully built out. It had 130 total activity units per acre, 25 additional activity units per acre available for development, and 19% of zoned capacity available for development (Urban Center Profile 2023). It also had capacity for 19,386 additional residents, 12,754 additional housing units, and 3,481 additional jobs (Urban Center Profile 2023). That means the neighborhood is already highly developed, but not static. There is still room for more residents, more homes, and more jobs inside the planning framework.
Capacity and development at a glance
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units in 2020 | 34,127 | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
| Residents in 2020 | 45,193 | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
| Housing growth, 2010 to 2020 | 33% | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
| Population growth, 2010 to 2020 | 34% | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
| Additional residents capacity | 19,386 | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
| Additional housing units capacity | 12,754 | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
| Additional jobs capacity | 3,481 | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
| Zoned capacity available | 19% | Urban Center Profile 2023 |
The development story matters because Capitol Hill is not only a neighborhood with a fixed identity. It is a place where land use, planning, and transit investment continue to shape what comes next. The numbers suggest that growth has already been significant, but there is still residual capacity in the system.
Transit and development
Transit is one of the defining forces behind Capitol Hill statistics. The OPCD background says First Hill and Capitol Hill sit directly east of Interstate 5, adjacent to Downtown and South Lake Union to the west and Little Saigon to the south (OPCD Background). It also says the center has a Link light rail station and a streetcar line reaching into Little Saigon and Pioneer Square (OPCD Background). That is a strong connectivity profile for a neighborhood that combines daily life, nightlife, and institutional campuses.
The same background says residents can walk, bike, and take transit to work and basic needs (OPCD Background). That is not just a lifestyle claim. It connects directly to why the housing market, density, and job profile look the way they do.
Transit-oriented development is visible in the station-area projects. Station House at Capitol Hill Station opened with 110 affordable homes for households earning 30% to 60% of area median income (Sound Transit Capitol Hill Station TOD). Connection on Broadway includes 319 homes and 67 affordable homes, plus 3,500 square feet of retail (Sound Transit Capitol Hill Station TOD). The plaza at Connection on Broadway is now home to the Capitol Hill Farmers Market (Sound Transit Capitol Hill Station TOD). That is a good example of how transit investment can shape not only transportation patterns but also the public realm and neighborhood retail life.
Ridership data reinforces the station’s importance. Capitol Hill Station drew 6,800 daily boardings in 2016 (Sound Transit Year of Link). Sound Transit also said Link light rail grew 89% year over year after service opened to Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium (Sound Transit U Link anniversary), and reported Link ridership grew 14.5% as more riders used the University Link stations at Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium (Sound Transit Q2 ridership release). Overall second-quarter ridership increased 6.8% over 2016 (Sound Transit Q2 ridership release). The point is not just that the station is busy. It is that the neighborhood participates in a wider travel network that supports both regional movement and local access.
Arts and neighborhood identity
Capitol Hill statistics are not only demographic and transportation data. They also describe a cultural district with a long-running identity. Capitol Hill was the first Seattle arts district named in the Arts & Cultural Districts program, in November 2014 (Seattle Arts & Cultural Districts). That status matters because it places the neighborhood in a formal cultural framework, not just an informal nightlife map.
Pike/Pine is described as the densest arts neighborhood in Washington State (Seattle Arts & Cultural Districts). It is home to over 40 arts and cultural organizations (Seattle Arts & Cultural Districts). The Capitol Hill Arts District has been active for 35 years of re-occupying a formerly light-industrial area known as auto row (Seattle Arts & Cultural Districts). That timeline captures how the neighborhood evolved from industrial reuse into a recognized cultural district.
The area’s identity also extends beyond the arts program. The OPCD background says the neighborhood has long been connected to the LGBTQIA+ community (OPCD Background). That kind of social and cultural continuity often matters as much as any single numerical measure. It helps explain why Capitol Hill retains a distinctive reputation even as development intensifies and transit access improves.
Reading the neighborhood through its source labels
- The neighborhood snapshot is best for demographic and household comparisons (Seattle Neighborhood Snapshot 2023).
- The urban center profile is best for housing, jobs, and capacity data (Urban Center Profile 2023).
- The arts district source is best for cultural history and place identity (Seattle Arts & Cultural Districts).
- The Sound Transit sources are best for station-area development and ridership context (Sound Transit Capitol Hill Station TOD; Sound Transit Year of Link; Sound Transit U Link anniversary; Sound Transit Q2 ridership release).
- The OPCD background is best for geographic orientation and land-use character (OPCD Background).
That source separation is useful because Capitol Hill is not a one-dimensional topic. The neighborhood’s statistics only make sense when the cultural, transportation, housing, and planning layers are read together.
What the numbers suggest
Capitol Hill stands out as a dense Seattle neighborhood with a high renter share, a strong education profile, a comparatively younger adult population, and a transit-linked development pattern. The numbers show steady growth, room for additional development, and a cultural identity that has been formalized through arts-district recognition. Just as importantly, the neighborhood’s data resists oversimplification: it is not only about nightlife, not only about housing, and not only about transit. It is all of those at once, which is why the statistics are so useful when viewed together.