Japanese Population in Washington by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Japanese population in Washington totals 94,908, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Leading cities include Seattle (17,517), followed by Bellevue (5,156) and Tacoma (3,817), each hosting visible segments of the community. While these urban centers anchor much of the population, the statewide total points to a broader presence in unincorporated areas and smaller towns beyond major city boundaries. The analysis below explores how Japanese residents are distributed across Washington''s urban and rural landscape.

Top 5 cities with the largest Japanese population in Washington

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  • 1
    Seattle
    Japanese population in Seattle is 17,517
    2.36% of Seattle population is Japanese
  • 2
    Bellevue
    Japanese population in Bellevue is 5,156
    3.41% of Bellevue population is Japanese
  • 3
    Tacoma
    Japanese population in Tacoma is 3,817
    1.73% of Tacoma population is Japanese
  • 4
    Spokane
    Japanese population in Spokane is 2,286
    1.00% of Spokane population is Japanese
  • 5
    Renton
    Japanese population in Renton is 2,000
    1.90% of Renton population is Japanese

Overview of Japanese population in Washington

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey documents Washington with 94,908 Japanese residents (1.2% of 7.7 million total state population), ranking the state at the 97th percentile nationally among U.S. jurisdictions for Japanese demographic representation.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate Washington's Japanese population of 1.2% exceeds the national average of 0.49% by a factor of 2.5.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey records show Washington hosts 94,908 Japanese residents, representing 5.8% of the nation's total Japanese population of 1.6 million, establishing the state as a significant demographic concentration center within national boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data indicates Washington's density of 1.4 Japanese Americans per square mile exceeds the national average of 0.46 per square mile by just over triple, establishing the state as a significant concentration center for Japanese demographic communities.
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238 Cities in Washington Ranked by Japanese Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show Japanese population in Washington present in Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma, along with several other incorporated cities reporting non-zero populations. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Washington ranked by Japanese population count
Rank by Japanese Population
City
Japanese Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Washington Japanese Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Seattle 17,517 2.36% 18.46%
2 Bellevue 5,156 3.41% 5.43%
3 Tacoma 3,817 1.73% 4.02%
4 Spokane 2,286 1.00% 2.41%
5 Renton 2,000 1.90% 2.11%
6 Vancouver 1,658 0.86% 1.75%
7 Redmond 1,473 1.95% 1.55%
8 1,412 1.54% 1.49%
9 1,312 0.97% 1.38%
10 1,120 2.84% 1.18%
11 1,115 2.29% 1.17%
12 1,090 1.18% 1.15%
13 1,063 4.20% 1.12%
14 1,054 1.67% 1.11%
15 1,035 0.93% 1.09%
16 977 1.65% 1.03%
17 935 2.19% 0.99%
18 853 2.08% 0.90%
19 820 0.78% 0.86%
20 805 1.21% 0.85%
21 798 0.80% 0.84%
22 710 0.83% 0.75%
22 710 1.28% 0.75%
23 670 4.09% 0.71%
24 644 1.45% 0.68%
25 590 4.56% 0.62%
26 560 0.98% 0.59%
27 540 1.69% 0.57%
28 513 2.46% 0.54%
29 512 2.40% 0.54%
30 468 3.50% 0.49%
31 454 1.61% 0.48%
32 453 1.69% 0.48%
33 422 1.30% 0.44%
34 412 0.43% 0.43%
35 400 0.78% 0.42%
36 369 0.60% 0.39%
37 366 1.18% 0.39%
38 360 1.03% 0.38%
39 341 1.50% 0.36%
40 333 0.78% 0.35%
41 316 1.67% 0.33%
42 315 1.50% 0.33%
43 306 1.43% 0.32%
44 297 1.92% 0.31%
45 294 1.15% 0.31%
45 294 1.21% 0.31%
46 266 0.37% 0.28%
47 250 0.94% 0.26%
48 249 1.85% 0.26%
49 238 2.18% 0.25%
50 237 0.67% 0.25%
51 234 0.28% 0.25%
52 226 0.96% 0.24%
53 211 2.12% 0.22%
54 203 0.83% 0.21%
55 200 1.45% 0.21%
56 198 2.39% 0.21%
57 194 0.49% 0.20%
58 187 1.47% 0.20%
59 179 0.91% 0.19%
60 175 2.00% 0.18%
61 171 1.91% 0.18%
62 168 1.31% 0.18%
63 161 0.75% 0.17%
64 157 2.35% 0.17%
65 156 1.11% 0.16%
66 148 2.22% 0.16%
67 140 0.87% 0.15%
68 128 0.72% 0.13%
69 125 1.05% 0.13%
70 118 0.15% 0.12%
71 117 0.55% 0.12%
72 116 1.09% 0.12%
73 111 1.71% 0.12%
74 110 1.12% 0.12%
75 103 0.31% 0.11%
76 101 1.30% 0.11%
76 101 0.28% 0.11%
77 98 1.38% 0.10%
78 97 0.57% 0.10%
79 94 1.66% 0.10%
80 86 0.68% 0.09%
81 83 3.25% 0.09%
82 82 0.76% 0.09%
83 81 1.53% 0.09%
84 78 2.47% 0.08%
85 73 0.57% 0.08%
86 70 0.99% 0.07%
87 67 1.32% 0.07%
87 67 1.72% 0.07%
88 66 0.52% 0.07%
88 66 0.39% 0.07%
89 64 2.06% 0.07%
90 59 2.46% 0.06%
91 57 0.47% 0.06%
91 57 1.22% 0.06%
91 57 0.15% 0.06%
92 52 1.87% 0.05%
92 52 0.26% 0.05%
93 51 0.50% 0.05%
94 50 0.24% 0.05%
95 46 3.56% 0.05%
96 44 0.68% 0.05%
97 40 0.87% 0.04%
97 40 3.50% 0.04%
97 40 0.48% 0.04%
98 38 0.39% 0.04%
99 34 0.39% 0.04%
100 33 0.55% 0.03%
101 31 0.95% 0.03%
101 31 0.29% 0.03%
102 30 1.19% 0.03%
103 27 0.85% 0.03%
104 26 1.04% 0.03%
104 26 0.32% 0.03%
105 24 0.74% 0.03%
106 20 0.20% 0.02%
106 20 0.79% 0.02%
107 18 0.43% 0.02%
107 18 4.42% 0.02%
108 17 0.59% 0.02%
109 16 0.83% 0.02%
110 14 1.22% 0.01%
110 14 0.20% 0.01%
110 14 0.13% 0.01%
111 13 0.48% 0.01%
111 13 1.11% 0.01%
112 11 0.96% 0.01%
113 10 0.55% 0.01%
113 10 0.35% 0.01%
113 10 0.71% 0.01%
113 10 0.08% 0.01%
113 10 0.11% 0.01%
113 10 1.00% 0.01%
114 9 0.11% 0.01%
114 9 0.58% 0.01%
114 9 0.70% 0.01%
114 9 0.98% 0.01%
115 8 0.35% 0.01%
115 8 0.06% 0.01%
115 8 0.59% 0.01%
116 7 0.28% 0.01%
116 7 0.06% 0.01%
116 7 0.14% 0.01%
116 7 0.72% 0.01%
117 6 0.36% 0.01%
117 6 1.15% 0.01%
117 6 0.42% 0.01%
117 6 0.74% 0.01%
118 5 0.03% 0.01%
118 5 0.27% 0.01%
118 5 0.56% 0.01%
118 5 0.25% 0.01%
119 4 0.11% 0.00%
119 4 0.63% 0.00%
119 4 0.27% 0.00%
119 4 0.16% 0.00%
119 4 0.24% 0.00%
120 3 0.31% 0.00%
120 3 0.10% 0.00%
120 3 0.28% 0.00%
120 3 0.48% 0.00%
121 2 0.27% 0.00%
121 2 0.25% 0.00%
121 2 0.29% 0.00%
122 1 0.12% 0.00%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Washington by their Japanese population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Japanese population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Japanese ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Japanese alone, while others identify as Japanese along with another race (such as Japanese and German).
  • We’ve used the “Japanese alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Japanese population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Japanese alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Japanese .
  2. % of Total Washington Japanese Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Japanese population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Japanese populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Japanese population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Japanese populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.