Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in  Washington State between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 96 miles south of the United States–Canadian border in King County, of which it is the county seat.

Seattle was first settled November 14, 1851, by Arthur A. Denny. Its first name was New York, then Duwamps, then finally it was renamed Seattle after Chief Noah Sealth who was chief of the two tribes living in the area ("Seattle" is an anglicized rendition of his last name). As of 2006, the city had an estimated population of 582,454 and an estimated metropolitan area population of approximately 3.3 million. Its official nickname is the Emerald City, the result of a contest by a civic-minded association in the early 1980s to designate a pleasant nickname for the city, the name alludes to the lush evergreen trees in the surrounding area. It is also referred to informally as the Gateway to Alaska, Queen City, and Jet City.

Seattle is often regarded as the birthplace of grunge music, and has a reputation for heavy coffee consumption; coffee companies founded in Seattle include Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Tully's. There are also many successful independent artisanal espresso roasters and cafes. Seattle was the site of the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization, and the attendant demonstrations by anti-globalization activists. Researchers at Central Connecticut State University ranked Seattle the most literate city in America in 2005. Moreover, a United States Census Bureau survey showed that Seattle has the highest percentage of college graduates of any major U.S. city.  A survey done by Sperling's Bestplaces listed Seattle as the number 1 video game city in the US. Based on per capita income, Seattle ranks 36th of 522 studied areas in the state of Washington.

As of the census of 2000, there were 563,374 people, 258,499 households, and 113,400 families residing in Seattle. The racial makeup of the city was 67.1 percent White, 16.6 percent Asian, 9.7 percent African American, 2.38 percent from other races, 1.00 percent Native American, 0.50 percent Pacific Islander, and 4.46 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.3 percent of the population.11.3% were of German, 9.1% Irish, 8.1% English and 5.0% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000. Seattle has seen a major increase in legal and illegal immigration in recent decades. The foreign-born population increased 40 percent between the 1990 and 2000 censuses.  Hispanics are believed to be the most rapidly growing ethnic group in Washington, with an estimated increase of 10 percent just from 2000 to 2002, though they have tended to settle outside the city, in rural areas where agricultural jobs are abundant.  The percentage of Seattle's population that identifies as gay or lesbian is estimated to be 12.9 percent, the second highest among the largest 50 cities in the U.S. behind San Francisco, California.

The median income for a household in the city is $45,736, and the median income for a family is $62,195. Males have a median income of $40,929 versus $35,134 for females. The per capita income for the city is $30,306. 11.8 percent of the population and 6.9 percent of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 13.8 percent are under the age of 18 and 10.2 percent are 65 or older.

It is estimated that King County has 8,000 homeless on any given night, and many of those live in Seattle. Up to 14 percent of Seattle's homeless are children and young adults. Despite many blemishes in Seattle's treatment of homeless citizens, local charities have made attempts to lower the ballooning homeless population. In September 2005, King County adopted a "Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness", one of the near-term results of which is a shift of funding from homeless shelter beds to permanent housing.

The religious affiliations of Washington's population are:

• Christian – 60%
  • Protestant – 29%
    • Lutheran – 6%
    • Baptist – 6%
    • Methodist – 4%
    • Presbyterian – 3%
    • Other Protestant or general Protestant – 10%
  • Catholic – 20%
  • Other Christian – 11%
  • Latter-day Saint; 3%
• Other Religions – 5%
• Refused – 6%
• No religion – 25%

As with many other Western states, the percentage of Washington's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is higher than the national average. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state, and its Christian population is the lowest of any state.