Seattle Releases Independent Economic Assessment; Cleantech Named a Priority

On September 9, Mayor Katie Wilson signed an executive order on economic resilience and the Seattle Office of Economic Development released Seawall: Building a Resilient Seattle Economy, an independent assessment the office commissioned from the economic strategy firm Formation in 2025. The City states that the report's findings and recommendations are independent and are not City policy, and that the assessment is intended as a shared foundation for sector leaders, policymakers and labor leaders developing long-term strategy.

The assessment finds that Seattle's growth over the past decade delivered broad wage gains but left the economy concentrated in a small number of large employers. Firms with 100 or more employees accounted for 74.5 percent of net job growth in the Seattle metro between 2014 and 2023, compared with 68.5 percent nationally. Mid-sized firms accounted for 16.6 percent, below the national rate of 22.7 percent and below every peer region measured, including San Diego at 32.9 percent and Austin at 28.5 percent. The report also documents rising costs for families and businesses, including energy, noting Seattle City Light's projected need for 1,825 MW of new generation and storage capacity by 2033 against a projection of 400 MW made two years earlier.

Cleantech is one of five priority industries the report identifies, alongside artificial intelligence, maritime, life sciences and commercial space. It recommends the broadest set of interventions for cleantech of any sector, spanning startup support, scale-up support, and deployment. The reasoning is that clean energy generation, storage and efficiency are the precondition for growth across the rest of the economy, and that the City holds unusual leverage here through its ownership of Seattle City Light along with building codes, transportation policy, port operations and land. Specific recommendations include a central entity deploying at least $5 million a year in startup investment and programmatic support, market-making procurement modeled on New York's Clean Heat for All Challenge, and directing more Climate Commitment Act revenue toward later-stage cleantech manufacturing.

The executive order takes four initial steps: convening a Resilient Seattle Economy Task Force to hold industry-specific roundtables, developing a proposal for a Seattle Strategic Initiatives Fund, directing capital departments to align City assets toward innovation and emerging businesses, and improving permitting pathways. Office of Economic Development Director Beto Yarce will lead the task force. The CleanTech Alliance will serve on the task force and keep members informed as it develops.

Learn more

Mayor's press release

Press conference recording

Seawall: Building a Resilient Seattle Economy (full report)

Report media fact sheet

Executive Order 2026-06

Seawall slide deck