Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census. The population was estimated at 134,871 in 2025, making it the fourth-most populous municipality in greater Seattle and the sixth-most populous in Washington. The city is connected to Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma via State Route 167 in addition to Interstate 5, Sounder commuter rail, and commuter buses.
Incorporated in 1890, Kent is the second-oldest incorporated city in the county, after the county seat of Seattle. It is generally divided into three areas: West Hill (mixed residential and commercial along Interstate 5), Valley (primarily industrial and commercial with some medium-density residential; significant parkland along the Green River), and East Hill (primarily residential with retail).
History The Kent area was first permanently settled by European Americans in the 1850s along the banks of what was then the White River. The first settler was Samuel Russell, who sailed the White and Duwamish Rivers until he claimed a plot of land southeast of modern-day downtown Kent in the spring of 1853. Russell was followed by several other settlers, who quickly staked claims around the area. The settlements were originally known as "White River" and later the town was called "Titusville" after an early settler by the name of James Henry Titus. (There is still a "Titusville Station" sign on Gowe Street near First Avenue.)
In 1861, a post office was established under the name White River and was located at the farm of David and Irena Neely, who settled in modern-day Kent in 1854. In 1855, their farm was attacked by Native Americans when David Neely served as a lieutenant in the territorial army. Another settler was Henry L. Yesler, who was the first sawmill operator in Seattle. By 1870, the population was 277 and all of the quality bottomland had been claimed.
Throughout the 1860s and '70s, grain and forage crops such as wheat, barley, oats, hay, and timothy accounted for much of the annual return of farmers in the valley. During the late 1870s, the town discovered hops production as a major source of income. Due to an aphid invasion, which affected hops crops in Europe, hops from the Puget Sound area began to command high prices. Hops were shipped from Titusville either by the river or rail. In 1889, the town was renamed for the County of Kent, the major hops-producing region in England. Ezra Meeker was asked by the Northern Pacific Railroad to name its station. Meeker suggested that it be known as Kent as it was "Hop Capitol of the West". Hops production in the White River Valley came to an end soon after its own invasion of aphids in 1891. Kent was officially incorporated on May 28, 1890, with a population of 793, the second city incorporated in King County (after Seattle).
After the turn of the 20th century, the area turned to dairy farming and was home to a Carnation condensed milk plant. Flooding from both the Green and the White Rivers was a constant problem. In 1906, flooding changed the course of the White River, which reduced the flood hazard by half. The Green River continued to present problems until the Howard A. Hanson Dam was built at Eagle Gorge in 1962. During and after the Great Depression, Kent was known as the "Lettuce Capital of the World". After World War II, the city began to grow more rapidly. From 1953 to 1960, its size grew 12-fold. In 1965, Boeing began building in Kent, followed a few years later by other aerospace and high-technology companies.
In keeping with the King County Annexation Initiative, which seeks to annex large urban unincorporated areas into city limits or incorporate new cities out of those areas, the Panther Lake area (known officially as the Kent Northeast Potential Annexation Area)Kent Northeast annexation information – King County Official site was proposed for annexation to the city of Kent. The annexation was voted on by residents of the potential annexation area on November 3, 2009; the area was officially annexed on July 1, 2010. The city grew in area by approximately and 24,000 residents.
Geography
Kent is located in southern King County and is part of Seattle's metropolitan area. The city is divided into three geographic sections: West Hill, the Kent Valley, and East Hill. Downtown Kent is located on the east side of the valley, about 16 miles from downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue. Adjoining cities are Renton to the north, Covington to the east, Auburn to the south, Federal Way to the southwest, Des Moines to the west, SeaTac to the northwest, and Tukwila to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (1.71%) is covered by water.
Major waterways include the Green River, which flows north through Kent on its way to Puget Sound. The largest lake is Lake Meridian on the city's East Hill. Clark Lake and Lake Fenwick are both surrounded by city parks. Mount Rainier is a prominent geographical landmark to the southeast.
Climate Kent has a warm/cool-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb).
Economy The economy of Kent consists of commuters traveling to the main urban centers of the Seattle metropolitan area (particularly downtown Seattle), extensive manufacturing and warehousing within the city, and retail/personal services catering to residents. The manufacturing and distribution industry in Kent and the surrounding area ranks 4th among markets in the United States.
Kent is a hub for the space industry with the corporate headquarters of Blue Origin and Stoke Space, as well as facilities for Cowboy Space. Other corporate headquarters in Kent include Oberto Sausage Company, Seattle Bicycle Supply, and Omax Corporation. Amazon, Boeing, Whirlpool, and General Electric operate sizable facilities in the city. Due to its central location within the metropolitan area, Kent is home to a large and growing warehouse district. Honoring the 100th anniversary of Oberto Sausage Company's presence there, the city designated a section of South 238th Street as Oberto Drive in May 2018.
Boeing
The Boeing Kent Space Center was opened with a public dedication ceremony on October 24, 1964. Keynote speakers at the event were William "Bill" Allen, chairman and CEO of the Boeing Company; future Washington Governor Dan Evans; and Alex Thorton, mayor of the City of Kent. The event featured public tours of the laboratories and facilities used to build the Lunar Roving Vehicles used in the Apollo program.
Steel Kent is home to a large steel industry dating back to the early 20th century. Steel and metal manufacturers include:
Salmon Bay Steel Company operated in Kent for 50 years before closing. Birmingham Steel purchased Salmon Bay in 1991. Salmon Bay went on to buy Bethlehem Steel (Seattle Steel) in West Seattle. Years after the purchase, complaints were made of pollution in the Green River Valley about pollution from the Salmon Bay melting facility, and the facility was shut down. Puget Sound Steel is an independently owned and operated-unique specialty fabricator of reinforcing steel and a supplier of related reinforcement products since 1961. It has been the Northwest's select supplier of fabricated rebar and steel reinforcement to commercial, highway, industrial, and residential building contractors. Works include large-scale projects, including bridges and skyscrapers. Pacific Metal Company (PMC) in Seattle in 1947 opened a 19,000-square-foot plant. The business and facilities continued to grow for 30 years to meet local needs, as well as the emerging markets of Alaska. Even the expanded 40,000 sq ft warehouse and sales office was deemed insufficient, and in 1979, an 80,000 sq ft facility was built south of the city of Seattle in the Kent Valley at Tukwila. In September 2010, PMC moved to a new location just 3 miles southeast in the city of Kent. PMC is a stocking distributor of nonferrous metals, specializing in stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and brass products, as well as ferrous products specializing in cold=rolled, coated (zinc and aluminum), and painted coils and sheets. TMX Aerospace, a division of ThyssenKrupp Steel North America, provides materials including steel, brass, and copper, as well as exclusive supply-chain management support for the Boeing Commercial Airplanes group.
Largest employers According to the city's 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees 1 Amazon.com LLC 3,073 2 Kent Public Schools 2,970 3 The Boeing Company 2,522 4 Blue Origin, LLC 1,600 5 Exotic Metals Forming Company 1,047 6 Taylor Farms NW 850 7 City of Kent 719 8 King County Maleng Regional Justice Center 630 9 Coho Distributing LLC 628 10 Carlisle Interconnect Industries 615
Other companies Diamondback Bicycles - a major bicycle brand Door to Door Storage - self-storage company, introduced portable, containerized storage to the industry Fenwick is a pioneer in fiberglass and graphite fishing rods. They were founded in 1952 and named after Fenwick Lake in Kent, Washington. They were bought and moved to Columbia, South Carolina. Novara - REI's brand of bicycles and cycling clothing Oberto Sausage Company - family-owned, makes beef jerky, pepperoni, and other snack sausages Omax Corporation - 2nd largest water jet manufacturer in the U.S. Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company - manufactured and marketed food products including Carnation evaporated milk, with its famous slogan that it is from "Contented Cows" Pay 'n Pak - home improvement chain, operated 112 stores on the West Coast Powerlight Technologies (formerly LaserMotive) - engineering firm developing technologies for efficiently transmitting power via lasers, a form of wireless energy transfer commonly called "laser power beaming" Puget Sound Electric Railway - interurban railway that ran between Tacoma and Seattle Puget Systems - custom computer business operating primarily through their website, sells custom and preconfigured computers, including laptops, desktops, and servers Raleigh Bicycle Company USA - U.S. headquarters of one of the oldest manufacturers of bicycles, motorcycles, and three-wheel cars Redline - manufacturer of BMX, freestyle, cyclocross, mountain, and road bicycles and components REI - retail corporation organized as a consumers' co-operative, selling outdoor recreation gear, sporting goods, and clothing Seattle–Tacoma Box Company - manufacturer of shipping containers, crates, boxes, and other wooden products Stoke Space - private spaceflight company Tazo - tea and tisane manufacturer specializing in New Age-style marketing and product labeling ThyssenKrupp Aerospace - engineers and manufactures carbon fiber for a variety of Boeing products, including commercial aviation aircraft, military aircraft, and space and communications systems Torker - brand of bicycles, unicycles, strollers, and trailers, as well as cycling clothing X10 Wireless Technology - manufactures and markets wireless video cameras
Demographics
As of the 2024 American Community Survey, an estimated 46,607 households were in Kent, with an average of 2.6 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $92,497. About 14.4% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Kent has an estimated 65.3% employment rate, with 30.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 87.8% holding a high-school diploma. The 49,952 housing units had an average density of . The median age in the city was 37.6 years.
Racial and ethnic composition