Downtown Seattle Foot Traffic is Up, Thanks to Amazon

Amazon’s return-to-office mandate resulted in a measurable increase among downtown Seattle office workers in January, but the numbers still aren’t anywhere near where they were six years ago.

The Downtown Seattle Association’s Revitalization Dashboard shows foot traffic in neighborhoods where Amazon’s offices are located (South Lake Union and Denny Regrade) at 74% of that of January 2019. Overall, downtown-area foot traffic was 9% higher than it was a year ago, though only 57% of the pre-pandemic average.

“In January we saw an immediate difference in the amount of people who are downtown during the week and that’s continued into February,” says Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes, noting that returning workers are just one part of downtown’s continued revitalization. “Coffee shops are full, lunch spots are buzzing, and there’s more activity in the area.”

Amazon last year said all workers must return to their offices five days a week, starting in January. That brought 55,000 more people to company offices in Seattle alone. Excluding the New Year’s Day and MLK Day holidays, the downtown core averaged nearly 95,000 daily workers, the second highest since March 2020.

Nearly 2 million unique visitors came downtown in January, or 94% of visitors six years ago and 14% higher than last January.

Several coming attractions promise to boost downtown numbers even more, including The Northwest Flower and Garden Show from Feb. 19-23 (an estimated 60,000 people and a $14 million boost to the economy): the opening game of Seattle Sounders FC on Feb. 22; and the 2025 Emerald City Comic Con from March 6-9, an event expected to bring 25,000 people to the Seattle Convention Center. Last year’s economic impact was estimated at more than $21 million.

The Downtown Seattle Association takes an expansive view of downtown, and includes these neighborhoods: Uptown; South Lake Union; West Capitol Hill; Belltown; Denny Triangle; West Edge; the retail core; First Hill; Waterfront; Pioneer Square; SODO; and the Chinatown-International District.