Want a snapshot of the region’s changing shape? Look at 2026.
Seattle, once our undisputed growth engine, posted a meager 0.8% population increase last year, according to the state Office of Financial Management. Bellevue was even more sluggish: 0.2%. Meanwhile, the fastest-growing sites in the region were places many Seattleites couldn’t find on a map — Stanwood and Carnation, both topping 4% growth in a single year.
It’s a broad national trend that’s been dubbed the Donut Effect”: remote work pulling growth away from city centers and close-in suburbs and dumping it on the exurbs…