Survey: 47% of Seattle businesses are ‘seriously considering’ leaving the city

The Seattle Metro Chamber and Downtown Seattle Association shared the results of their 2026 business climate survey, hearing from dozens of business owners who are pessimistic about the future.

The survey, conducted in August and September, saw 247 businesses respond. The chamber gave Seattle’s overall business climate a score of 39 out of 100.

Pessimistic outlook

The survey asked businesses whether Seattle’s business climate has improved over the past 12 months.

An overwhelming 56% of respondents believe it has worsened, compared to just 12% that feel it has improved. Looking ahead to the future, 61% of respondents are pessimistic about Seattle as a place to operate, grow, or invest over the next 12 months, while just 23% are optimistic.

Business owners called for a lower tax burden. Meanwhile, 72%  of respondents believe the overall burden of taxes, fees, and compliance costs in Seattle is not competitive with comparable locations.

Nearly half of all respondents feel strongly about these costs as a major obstacle.

Should I stay or should I go?

Overall, 47% of all business owners surveyed by the Seattle Metro Chamber have “seriously considered” moving operations, jobs, or investment out of Seattle in the past 12 months.

The survey wanted to know the biggest factors pushing them out. The most common responses were public safety concerns, taxes or fees, and labor costs. When asked what the city needs to do better, the most common responses were: improve public safety, stronger downtown recovery, and greater tax and fee predictability.

Despite dozens of businesses exploring the possibility of leaving, only a fraction actually plan to follow through. 19% of those surveyed expect to shrink their Seattle operations, and 9% expect to relocate out of Seattle entirely. On the other side, 17% of businesses plan to grow operations.

Public safety concerns

The survey asked business owners a simple question: “Does the area around your business feel safe?”

The answers paint an unclear picture: 41% of respondents said they feel safe. Only 18% said the area around their business was unsafe.

However, 42% were stuck in the middle. They chose the most common response, “depends.”

This shows a large number of business owners who are concerned about public safety and want to see change, even if it has not directly impacted them.

When asked whether they support certain policies, 89% of respondents want to see the city hire additional SPD officers and stabilize SPD leadership.

Meanwhile, 84% want the city to use CCTV and the Real Time Crime Center to target public safety in commercial districts and downtown.

Response bias

While the survey reflects a pessimistic outlook, it’s important to remember the businesses that skipped the survey. On the final page of Seattle Metro Chamber’s report is an important caveat regarding who they heard from.

“Respondents chose to take part, so the results reflect the businesses that responded rather than a random sample of all Seattle businesses,” the report stated.

It is unclear how many Seattle businesses were contacted and declined to fill out the survey. Response bias suggests business owners who are happy with the current climate are less likely to respond. The businesses that are frustrated, threatening to relocate, and calling for change are often more likely to respond.

Joe Nguyen, CEO of the Seattle Metro Chamber, pointed to a significant number of businesses actively planning to shrink operations or relocate.

“These findings should be a wake-up call, but they should also be a roadmap,” Nguyen said. “We need to act with urgency to make this a city where businesses want to stay, grow and invest.”

The entire business climate survey is available here.

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