Kent remains the sixth largest city in Washington state with a 2024 population of 136,588, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ranking ahead of Kent are Seattle, 780,955; Spokane, 230,609; Tacoma, 228,202; Vancouver, 198,992; and Bellevue, 154,377, according to a May 15 Census Bureau press release and population chart.
Kent’s population increased from 135,048 in 2023 and 134,806 in 2022. The city had populations of 136,593 in 2021 and 136,608 in 2020.
“Many population growth rates reversed or saw major changes between 2023 and 2024,” said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “Cities in the Northeast that had experienced population declines in 2023 are now experiencing significant population growth, on average. In fact, cities of all sizes, in all regions, showed faster growth and larger gains than in 2023, except for small cities in the South, whose average population growth rate remained the same.”
Other cities over 100,000 population in Washington are Everett, 113,101; Spokane Valley, 108,267; Renton, 105,543; and Federal Way, 100,252. Federal Way was one of seven cities across the nation that crossed the 100,000-population threshold.
The United States continues to be a nation of small towns, according to the Census Bureau. In 2024, 75% of its 19,479 incorporated places — 14,603 cities — had populations under 5,000. Only 4.2% (817 cities) had populations of 50,000 or more, and 1.8% (342 cities) had populations of 100,000 or more.
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