Where King County residents have been moving to

As the Seattle area continues to add more and more new residents (tens of thousands from Amazon alone), surrounding communities are absorbing swarms of people leaving King County.

The Kitsap Sun reports that seven Washington state counties are among the top 10 areas where residents are moving out of King County (according to a recent United States Census report).

Snohomish County leads the pack by far with more than 18,000 people moving there between 2012 and 2016. Pierce County is second with more than 16,000. Los Angeles California comes in at third, followed by Whatcom County and Kitsap County to round out the top five.

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Aside from Los Angeles, Maricopa County in Arizona and Multnoma County in Oregon (Portland and its suburbs) are the only other out-of-state areas absorbing King County residents.

The census results align with previous reports. For example, commute times around Seattle have notably grown alongside housing costs in recent years. Some are willing to drive as far as 60 miles into Seattle to escape the crowds and high costs of living.

The top 10 counties that King County residents are moving to: Snohomish; Pierce; Los Angeles; Whatcom; Kitsap; Maricopa, AZ; Spokane; Whitman; Thurston; Multnomah, Ore.

Kitsap, for example

Whereas previous assessments placed Kitsap County at no. 7 on this list, it has risen to the middle of the pack at no. 5 in just a couple years. Kitsap spans Bremerton to Bainbridge Island and Kingston — each with ferry service to Seattle. While Kingston has had ferry service to Edmonds, it recently began fast ferry service for walk-on passengers to Seattle. It is likely that many King County residents are trading sluggish freeway and highway commutes, to a boat ride into town.

With just 2,261 people leaving King to Kitsap between 2012 to 2016, the county has noticed the new residents. Bremerton previously advertised to draw new residents from Seattle. But the town’s new mayor halted that effort this year, hoping to slow the stream of new residents. Current Mayor Greg Wheeler expressed concerns about Seattle’s problems — especially housing costs — crossing Puget Sound to Bremerton.

“I don’t want to speak for everybody, but a lot of folks who are having their rents increased quite a bit, or are being forced out are looking at it as a wave of Seattleites coming in and doing this,” Wheeler told MyNorthwest in May. “…Let’s face it, they left Seattle because they couldn’t afford rents anymore. Or they had no chance at all, ever, of home ownership. They know what it’s like. They were just there … can’t say it’s a black and white that everybody doesn’t want people from Seattle here. That’s not the case. It’s a mixture of emotions.”

While the recent census report covers 2012 to 2016, Kitsap’s real estate industry noted a sharp rise in home prices in 2017.

It’s not just Kitsap, even Boise, Idaho has noticed a lot of newcomers from the Emerald City.

Kitsap is a small example in the region. Pierce County has absorbed far more King County residents (nearly 16,500) during the same time period, according to The Sun. Tacoma, Pierce County’s largest city, has experienced rent rising in line with Seattle. Average Tacoma rent is about $100 behind Seattle. That could be why Pierce County is the second most popular area where people are migrating to Kitsap from (King County is no. 1).

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