Median household income and CPI by geography and year

What this dataset measures

Built to check whether Seattle's typical household income has kept pace with inflation, as reported by The Seattle Times on November 2, 2026. The city is the claim's subject; the metro area and the national CPI are included as cross-checks.

Geography

Seattle, Washington, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area

Unit of observation

Geography-year

Update cadence

Annual, after each September ACS 1-year release

Curator

FactHub Research Team

Curated data tables

Median household income and CPI by geography and year

One row per geography and year. Nominal values are as published by the Census Bureau; 2025-dollar values are derived.

Unit of observation: Geography-year

seattle-income-cpi.csv text/csv · 1.5 KB (1,511 bytes)

All 14 rows 11 columns Download the file

All 14 rows

geography_id	geography	year year	median_nominal dollars	moe_nominal dollars	seattle_cpi_annual index, 1982-84=100	us_cpi_annual index, 1982-84=100	median_2025_seattle_cpi 2025 dollars	moe_2025_seattle_cpi 2025 dollars	median_2025_us_cpi 2025 dollars	moe_2025_us_cpi 2025 dollars
seattle-city	Seattle city	2015	80349	2572	249.364	237.017	116655	3734	109139	3494
seattle-city	Seattle city	2019	102486	3231	277.984	255.657	133475	4208	129058	4069
seattle-city	Seattle city	2021	110781	4229	295.56	270.97	135698	5180	131620	5025
seattle-city	Seattle city	2022	115409	5426	322.167	292.655	129692	6098	126959	5969
seattle-city	Seattle city	2023	120608	4116	340.845	304.702	128107	4372	127432	4349
seattle-city	Seattle city	2024	118745	5861	353.488	313.689	121617	6003	121869	6015
seattle-city	Seattle city	2025	122809	4877	362.039	321.943	122809	4877	122809	4877
seattle-metro	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area	2015	75331	871	249.364	237.017	109369	1265	102323	1183
seattle-metro	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area	2019	94027	1540	277.984	255.657	122458	2006	118406	1939
seattle-metro	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area	2021	101721	1148	295.56	270.97	124601	1406	120856	1364
seattle-metro	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area	2022	106909	1271	322.167	292.655	120140	1428	117608	1398
seattle-metro	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area	2023	110744	1836	340.845	304.702	117630	1950	117010	1940
seattle-metro	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area	2024	112388	2026	353.488	313.689	115107	2075	115345	2079
seattle-metro	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area	2025	120018	1755	362.039	321.943	120018	1755	120018	1755

11 field definitions

Field	Type	Meaning	Units	Value type
geography_id	string	seattle-city or seattle-metro.	—	observed
geography	string	Census geography name.	—	observed
year	integer	ACS 1-year survey year.	year	observed
median_nominal	integer	Median household income in that year's dollars (B19013_001E).	dollars	estimated
moe_nominal	integer	90% margin of error of median_nominal (B19013_001M).	dollars	estimated
seattle_cpi_annual	number	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue CPI-U annual average.	index, 1982-84=100	observed
us_cpi_annual	number	U.S. city average CPI-U annual average.	index, 1982-84=100	observed
median_2025_seattle_cpi	integer	Median in 2025 dollars using the Seattle CPI.	2025 dollars	derived
moe_2025_seattle_cpi	integer	Margin of error in 2025 dollars using the Seattle CPI.	2025 dollars	derived
median_2025_us_cpi	integer	Median in 2025 dollars using the U.S. CPI.	2025 dollars	derived
moe_2025_us_cpi	integer	Margin of error in 2025 dollars using the U.S. CPI.	2025 dollars	derived

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2015 1-year estimates, table B19013 (median household income) Median household income and 90% margin of error for Seattle city, WA (place 5363000) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area (CBSA 42660), 2015, in 2015 inflation-adjusted dollars. Retrieved through the Census Data API (dataset acs/acs1, variables B19013_001E and B19013_001M).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; the Census Bureau asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The American Community Survey samples about 3.5 million addresses a year; 1-year estimates are published only for areas with 65,000 or more people. Every estimate carries a 90% margin of error.

2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019 1-year estimates, table B19013 (median household income) Median household income and 90% margin of error for Seattle city, WA (place 5363000) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area (CBSA 42660), 2019, in 2019 inflation-adjusted dollars. Retrieved through the Census Data API (dataset acs/acs1, variables B19013_001E and B19013_001M).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; the Census Bureau asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The American Community Survey samples about 3.5 million addresses a year; 1-year estimates are published only for areas with 65,000 or more people. Every estimate carries a 90% margin of error.

3. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2021 1-year estimates, table B19013 (median household income) Median household income and 90% margin of error for Seattle city, WA (place 5363000) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area (CBSA 42660), 2021, in 2021 inflation-adjusted dollars. Retrieved through the Census Data API (dataset acs/acs1, variables B19013_001E and B19013_001M).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; the Census Bureau asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The American Community Survey samples about 3.5 million addresses a year; 1-year estimates are published only for areas with 65,000 or more people. Every estimate carries a 90% margin of error.

4. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year estimates, table B19013 (median household income) Median household income and 90% margin of error for Seattle city, WA (place 5363000) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area (CBSA 42660), 2022, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars. Retrieved through the Census Data API (dataset acs/acs1, variables B19013_001E and B19013_001M).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; the Census Bureau asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The American Community Survey samples about 3.5 million addresses a year; 1-year estimates are published only for areas with 65,000 or more people. Every estimate carries a 90% margin of error.

5. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 1-year estimates, table B19013 (median household income) Median household income and 90% margin of error for Seattle city, WA (place 5363000) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area (CBSA 42660), 2023, in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars. Retrieved through the Census Data API (dataset acs/acs1, variables B19013_001E and B19013_001M).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; the Census Bureau asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The American Community Survey samples about 3.5 million addresses a year; 1-year estimates are published only for areas with 65,000 or more people. Every estimate carries a 90% margin of error.

6. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, table B19013 (median household income) Median household income and 90% margin of error for Seattle city, WA (place 5363000) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area (CBSA 42660), 2024, in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars. Retrieved through the Census Data API (dataset acs/acs1, variables B19013_001E and B19013_001M).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; the Census Bureau asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The American Community Survey samples about 3.5 million addresses a year; 1-year estimates are published only for areas with 65,000 or more people. Every estimate carries a 90% margin of error.

7. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates, table B19013 (median household income) Median household income and 90% margin of error for Seattle city, WA (place 5363000) and the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area (CBSA 42660), 2025, in 2025 inflation-adjusted dollars. Retrieved through the Census Data API (dataset acs/acs1, variables B19013_001E and B19013_001M).

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; the Census Bureau asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The American Community Survey samples about 3.5 million addresses a year; 1-year estimates are published only for areas with 65,000 or more people. Every estimate carries a 90% margin of error.

8. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, All items in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (series CUURS49DSA0) Annual-average consumer price index for the Seattle area, 2015-2025, used to convert incomes to 2025 dollars.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; BLS asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. BLS collects Seattle-area prices every other month. The October 2025 collection was cancelled by the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

9. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, All items in U.S. city average (series CUUR0000SA0) Annual-average national consumer price index, used as an alternative deflator.

   Retrieved November 2, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Allowed; BLS asks to be cited.

   Reliability: Government. The headline national CPI-U. The October 2025 value was not collected because of the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

Limitations and reproducibility

Reproducible from public sources: Every input is a published Census ACS or BLS CPI value listed in the table. Real values are nominal median × (2025 CPI annual average ÷ that year's CPI annual average), rounded to the dollar.

• ACS 1-year values are sample estimates. Year-to-year changes in the city median are often smaller than the margin of error.
• The Census Bureau did not release standard 2020 ACS 1-year estimates because of pandemic data-collection problems; 2020 is missing, not zero.
• A city median reflects who lives in the city each year. Households moving in or out (for example, higher earners moving to suburbs) change it even if no household's income changes.
• The BLS Seattle-area CPI covers the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, not the city alone. The October 2025 Seattle CPI was not collected because of the 2025 lapse in federal appropriations; BLS still published a 2025 annual average.
• Margins of error for differences use the Census approximation sqrt(MOE1² + MOE2²), which ignores sample overlap between years and treats the CPI as exact.