These increases came despite the elderly and retired population that makes up around a quarter of the CID’s residents. Before around 30% inflation, the three census tracts all recorded near or more than doubling of median income between 20. A major decrease in the number of children living in the tract also made the jump in young professionals have no effect on the average age of the tract.Ī major jump in income has also occurred over the 10-year period in Chinatown. Tract 91 didn’t see this dramatic drop due to the senior housing in the area that stabilized the senior population.

The other two tracts saw average age drop by around 10 years over the 10-year period. The change has led to this age group becoming the most populous in the CID, a title formerly held by 75-84 year-olds. Tract 91, which best represents Chinatown, didn’t see much change in median age, but a major shift in age group segmentation occurred with 25-34 year-olds that increased from under 7% of the population in 2010 to over 21% of the population in 2020. However, a closer look at age, income, and race reveals major changes.įrom left to right, Census tracts 92, 91, and 90. A cursory look at the number shows that the number of Asian residents has grown in the CID between 20. The neighborhood is predominantly represented by King County census tracts 90, 91, and 92, which also include parts of Pioneer Square, Yesler Terrace, and Central District. Census DataĬensus data reflects this shift with the evolution of the CID’s demographics. The U District is building faster and is more inundated with boba. Though, this similarity ends with the scale of the transformation. As I remarked in a piece focused on the U District, a very similar change is happening in the University District. Trends seen through the city and region like Boba proliferation and upscaled and modern Asian restaurants have also made their way into the CID. Congee and youtiao from Mike’s Noodle House (Photo by Author) The lunch special from KauKau (Photo by author) The displace case at Cake House (Photo by author) This has shaken up both the race and class composition of the neighborhood. In the past decade, new cuisines and treats that also fall under the broad brush of Asian have entered the CID.

They make up the rest of the CID with their respective businesses and cuisines, though there’s plenty of intermixing of shops and residents. Walking north and east, you’ll find yourself in Japantown and Little Saigon, respectively. You’ll hear their regional dialects as you wander the streets and enter older shops. Their cuisines form the backbone of our Chinatown’s old commercial core with dim sum, congee, wonton noodles, Chinese barbeque, and egg tarts. This shift is interesting to observe in such a long established Asian American community, signaling a demographic shift in the community at large.Ĭhinatowns like Seattle’s have historically been home to peoples originating from Southeast China, as they were the first major Asian population to migrate the continental US. This change has been either a replacement in kind like with lailai, or an intra-Asian shift like with China Gate’s dim sum to Bambu’s Vietnamese desserts. This trend is not isolated to those two restaurants since the Chinatown-International District (CID) has seen a fair amount of flux in its business composition. The old China Gate (Dragon gate) restaurant in 2008 below and Bamboo and Golden Hong Market that opened in 2016 above.

Chinatown seattle dim sum king