Seattle is not a US state. It is a city in Washington. The state is Washington, the state code is WA, and the state capital is Olympia, not Seattle.
Seattle and Washington, side by side
| Is Seattle a state? | No, it is a city |
|---|---|
| State it belongs to | Washington |
| USPS state code | WA |
| State capital | Olympia |
| Largest city in the state | Seattle |
| Region | West (Pacific) |
| Admitted to the Union | 1889 |
| State nickname | Evergreen State |
| Time zone | Pacific |
| Electoral votes | 12 |
Why people ask if Seattle is a state
The confusing half of "Seattle, Washington" is the second word, not the first. Washington already names the federal capital on the other side of the country, so a reader who meets "Washington" expects government news and has nowhere left to file Seattle. Promoting the city to state level is the tidy way out.
Three things make that mistake easy:
- Two Washingtons, one word. Washington is the only one of the 50 states named after a US president, and the district that holds Congress carries the same name. Residents say "Washington State" out loud for exactly this reason, which teaches outsiders that plain "Washington" means something else.
- The famous companies are filed under the city. Starbucks began at Pike Place in Seattle, Amazon is headquartered in the city and Microsoft sits nearby in Redmond. Business coverage names Seattle constantly and skips the state.
- Seattle is the state's largest city but not its capital. Olympia is a much smaller city to the south, so nothing in the news cycle keeps the real capital in front of people.
The near answers people give instead
- "Seattle is the capital of Washington." Olympia is. Seattle is the population center, which is a separate job.
- "Seattle is in Washington, D.C." The District of Columbia is a federal district on the Atlantic side of the country. Seattle is on the Pacific coast, about as far from D.C. as the mainland allows.
- "Seattle is in Oregon." Portland is the Oregon city people are thinking of. Oregon's capital is Salem, and Seattle sits a state further north.
- "Washington is in the Midwest." It is a West region state in the Pacific subregion, on Pacific time, sharing a border with Canada.
What Washington actually is
Washington is a Pacific coast state admitted to the Union in 1889. It ranks 18th of the 50 states by area, runs on Pacific time and carries 12 electoral votes. The nickname is the Evergreen State, the motto is "Alki", the state flower is the coast rhododendron and the state tree is the western hemlock. It is also one of the states that charges no state income tax.
Mount Rainier, at 14,411 feet, is an active volcano whose last eruption was in 1894, and Olympic National Park packs rainforest, alpine and coastal ecosystems into one park. The state grows more than two thirds of all US apples and leads the country in cherries, raspberries and pears.
Quick reference for forms and quizzes
- City: Seattle
- State: Washington
- State abbreviation (USPS): WA
- State capital: Olympia
- Not to be confused with: Washington, D.C.
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Is Seattle a state?
No. Seattle is a US city located in Washington, not a state. Seattle is the largest city in Washington State, home to Amazon and Microsoft's HQ region. Note: the state of Washington is different from Washington, D.C. (the federal capital).
What state is Seattle in?
Seattle is in Washington. The USPS code is WA.
What's the capital of Washington?
The capital of Washington is Olympia. Seattle is the largest city but holds no state government role.
Is Seattle near Washington, D.C.?
No. Seattle is on the Pacific coast in the northwest corner of the country, and Washington, D.C. is on the Atlantic side. They share a name and nothing else.