Since 2017, the number of cars in the city has stayed roughly the same, even as the population continues to grow.
While Seattle’s human population is growing rapidly, the number of cars in the city has stalled.
According to an article by Doug Trumm in The Urbanist, “Between 2017 and 2023, Seattle added 35,000 households, but just 3,300 cars, new Census data has revealed — in news that is music to urbanist ears.” The number of vehicles in the city has stayed relatively unchanged even as the population grew, signaling the city’s success in offering the possibility for residents to go car-free.
“In fact, the rate of car ownership appears to be down about 10% in just six years time, and the share of households that are carless grew 25%, reaching 20% of all Seattle households, according to Census data.” About 90 percent of car-free households were renters.
In 2023, a record 20 percent of Seattle households did not own cars. The city had 127 vehicles for every 100 households. In the 2017 to 2023 time range, the city added about 80,000 residents and only 3,300 cars.
Read the full story: While Seattle Population Spikes, Car Population Stalls Out
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