Compensation costs for private industry workers in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area increased by 4.7 percent for the year ending September 2025, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chris Rosenlund, Regional Commissioner, stated that “one year ago, Seattle experienced an annual gain of 4.4 percent in compensation costs.” Nationwide, compensation costs rose by 3.5 percent during the same period.
Within Seattle, wages and salaries grew by 4.3 percent over the 12 months ending in September 2025. Nationally, wages and salaries saw a rise of 3.6 percent during this timeframe.
Seattle is among 15 metropolitan areas in the United States where locality compensation cost data are available and one of four such areas in the West region. Among these large metro areas, Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale reported the highest increase in compensation costs at 5.7 percent, while Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor had the lowest at 2.1 percent as of September 2025. For wages and salaries specifically, Miami registered a 5.9 percent increase—the largest among surveyed cities—while Washington-Baltimore-Arlington recorded the smallest at 1.9 percent.
Compared to other western metropolitan areas, Seattle’s annual increase in compensation costs was higher than those seen in Los Angeles-Long Beach (3.7 percent), Phoenix-Mesa (3.4 percent), and San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (3.1 percent). The growth rate for wages and salaries in Seattle also outpaced those other western localities.
The data on locality compensation costs are part of the national Employment Cost Index (ECI), which tracks quarterly changes in compensation without being affected by shifts in employment across occupations or industries.
Additional ECI data are available online by industry, occupational group, union status, and government sector through resources provided on the Employment Cost Index website and Western Information Office regional homepage.
The substate area figures reflect definitions from Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 13-01 issued on February 28, 2013; more details about geographic classifications can be found via National Compensation Survey resources.
The Seattle-Tacoma Combined Statistical Area includes Island, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, and Thurston Counties.
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