King County, WA (FIPS 53033): A Data Professional's Profile

King County, Washington (FIPS 53033) is the most populous county in Washington state, the 13th most populous county in the United States, and the economic core of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA 42660). With a population of approximately 2.3 million and home to the headquarters of Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and Starbucks, it's one of the most economically dynamic counties in the country — and a frequent subject of data analysis.

The FIPS code 53033 breaks down as: state 53 (Washington) + county 033. This code appears in virtually every federal dataset that covers county-level geography — Census ACS population and income estimates, BLS QCEW employment and wage data, EPA air quality monitoring records, HUD Fair Market Rents, USDA rural classifications (King County is firmly metro, code 1 on the Rural-Urban Continuum), and HMDA mortgage data. It's one of the most-used county FIPS codes in economic research.

In the BLS OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics), King County's data is typically presented at the MSA level as part of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue MSA. The metro's technology sector wages are consistently among the highest in the country, which makes this geography frequently cited in compensation benchmarking and economic development research. In Census ACS data, King County's median household income and educational attainment rank among the top counties nationally.

For researchers working with this geography, the full data profile — including FIPS breakdown, MSA membership, Congressional districts, and links to federal datasets — is on the King County FIPS page. Neighboring counties in the metro include Snohomish (53061) and Pierce (53053). For a broader look at Washington state geography, see the Washington state FIPS page.