New King County milestone: One-quarter of residents born outside U.S.

Over the last decade, King County’s population grew by about 320,000, the third-largest increase of any U.S. county. Half of that growth — 160,000 people — was from international immigration.

People moving to King County from other countries remain the primary driver of growth in the current decade. Since 2018, King County has been losing population to other U.S. counties, while still gaining new residents from other nations.

In 2022, the county hit a milestone for its foreign-born population, according to new census data: For the first time, foreign-born residents made up more than one-quarter of the county’s total population.

Last year, there were about 580,000 foreign-born people living in King County, representing nearly 26 percent of the population.

Among the more than 800 counties included in the data, King was one of just 40 where immigrants made up at least 25 percent of the total population. Only one county — Miami-Dade in Florida — was majority foreign-born, at 54 percent. Queens County in New York ranked second at 47.5 percent and Hudson County in New Jersey was third at 42 percent.

The tech industry is one of the main reasons for the growth of the foreign-born population in King County. In a previous column, I wrote that around 40 percent of tech workers in the Seattle metro area were born in another country in 2016 — and among those, more than half came from India or China. Census data for 2022 shows more than 90,000 foreign-born residents employed in computer-related occupations in the Seattle metro area, making up roughly 45 percent of tech workers.

But it’s not just tech. Immigrants to King County work in every field, with particularly high numbers in health care and service-sector occupations. For example, census data shows more than 13,000 foreign-born registered nurses worked in the Seattle metro area in 2022, and more than 12,000 chefs and cooks.

Many people also come from abroad for academic opportunities. In the University of Washington system, around 14 percent of students in the 2023 incoming class were international.

From 2010 to 2022, King County’s foreign-born population grew by 186,000, a remarkable 47 percent increase. At the same time, the number of county residents born in Washington only grew by 8 percent, and the number who were born elsewhere in the U.S. increased by 11 percent.

Among all U.S. counties, King had the second-largest numeric growth in foreign-born residents. Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located, had the largest increase, gaining 226,000 residents from other countries between 2010 and 2022.

In King County, India ranked as the No. 1 country of birth for immigrants. There were around 83,000 county residents born in India, making up 14 percent of the county’s foreign-born population. China ranked second at around 80,000, followed by Mexico at 55,000.

Ethiopia was the top African country, the birthplace of nearly 15,000 King County residents. Ukraine ranked first among European countries, at around 12,000. Brazil was No. 1 among South American countries, at nearly 9,000.

While immigrants made up slightly more than a quarter of residents countywide, the percentage in some cities was significantly higher.

Among King County cities with at least 60,000 residents, Redmond had the highest share of the population which was born in another country, at 45 percent. Bellevue ranked second at 43 percent, and Sammamish was third at 34 percent.

Seattle had the lowest percentage, with foreign-born people making up around 20 percent of the population.

Of the nearly 500 census tracts in King County, there were 11 where immigrants made up the majority of the population. The western half of the Crossroads neighborhood in Bellevue had the highest concentration of immigrants, at 64 percent. The lowest percentage was in the eastern part of East Renton Highlands, at 3 percent.

Seattle’s top neighborhood for immigrants was the Chinatown International District/Yessler Terrace area, where 52 percent were born in a foreign country. The city’s lowest percentage was in the North Admiral/Genesee section of West Seattle, where immigrants made up just 4 percent of the population.