Downtown Seattle hit 9.2 million visits in August, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 12%
Sep 16, 2026, 5:54 PM
A view of Seattle's downtown office buildings and skyscrapers. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Downtown Seattle has largely rebounded from the pandemic, according to a new report from the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), with August visitor numbers surpassing pre-pandemic levels by double digits.
“The number of people coming downtown continues to be one of the strongest indicators of our progress,” DSA President & CEO Jon Scholes said. “August was our most heavily visited month in more than seven years, with 9.2 million visits and nearly 3.8 million unique visitors to downtown, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.”
August’s downtown Seattle visitor numbers are 12% above where they were in August of 2019, and 3% higher than August 2025. DSA pointed out the numbers include only domestic visitors.
Last month there were 9.2 million visits to downtown, making it the busiest month since July of 2019. Traffic was up 24% compared to August 2025.
Downtown Seattle hotels were also busy last month, with nearly 429,000 downtown hotel rooms sold — 6% higher than August of 2019, and 3% higher than August of 2025.
“Combined with strong hotel demand, these numbers reinforce what we’re seeing on the streets: people are choosing downtown Seattle for its waterfront, arts and culture, restaurants, events and other experiences,” Scholes said. “That momentum is encouraging, and our focus is on building on it throughout the year.”
Downtown Seattle office workers still lag behind pre-pandemic levels
One area where downtown has not recovered since the pandemic is the number of office workers.
According to Wednesday’s DSA report, weekday office worker foot traffic is at 62% of 2019 levels. That is an average of about 150,000 workers a day, roughly where the number has been for the past several months.
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The report also noted that “according to Datafy, consumers spent $164,958,003 downtown in July. That figure is 5% above the previous month,” the DSA said.
In the first eight months of 2026, the DSA/MID Clean Team has collected 731,054 gallons of trash.
“By volume, that’s more than an Olympic-size swimming pool,” the DSA dashboard stated.
DSA released its State of Downtown 2026 report back in March.
For the second straight year, the number of people visiting downtown surpassed pre-pandemic levels. More than 15 million people visited in 2025, according to the report.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
