Nearly Half of Surveyed Seattle Businesses Have Weighed Leaving Over Public Safety and Taxes

Nearly half of the Seattle businesses that answered a new survey say they have seriously considered packing up jobs, operations or investment and taking them out of the city. Their top reasons: public safety and taxes.

The 2026 Business Climate Survey comes from the Seattle Metro Chamber and the Downtown Seattle Association, the city's two biggest business groups, which released it Monday. Of the 197 businesses that answered the question, 92 (47%) said they had seriously considered moving out in the past year, according to the full results.

A failing grade

Businesses were asked to rate the city on a scale of 0 to 100. The results read like a report card nobody wants to bring home:

Seattle's business climate: 39 out of 100.

Would you recommend Seattle for business? 33.

City of Seattle's responsiveness to business needs: 26.

Confidence in their own business over the next year: 53, the only score above the midpoint.

More than half, 56%, said the climate has gotten worse over the past year; just 12% said it improved. And 61% are pessimistic about the year ahead.

Why they'd leave

Among those who had thought about leaving, public safety concerns and taxes or fees tied at the top, each named by 59%. Labor costs came next at 44%.

Safety shows up everywhere in the results. Only 40% of businesses said the area around them feels safe always or most of the time. Asked about the biggest challenges overall, 64% picked public safety, 64% taxes and fees, and 61% homelessness and behavioral health.

On taxes, the verdict was lopsided: 72% disagreed that Seattle's tax, fee and compliance burden is competitive with comparable places. Only 13% agreed.

How many will actually go

Thinking about leaving isn't the same as leaving. Over the next 12 months, 9% expect to relocate outside Seattle and 19% expect to shrink. That's 27% heading smaller or out, against 17% who expect to grow.

What would keep them

Businesses were clear about the fix. Asked what would make them more likely to stay, invest or expand, 70% said improved public safety, 56% a stronger downtown recovery and 43% more predictable taxes and fees.

The policy ideas that won the most support were about cops and costs. 89% back hiring more Seattle police officers and stabilizing police leadership, 91% back reviewing city taxes and fees for their effect on jobs, and 84% back targeted public safety in business districts, including CCTV cameras and the city's Real Time Crime Center. No proposal drew more than 7% opposition.

"These findings should be a wake-up call, but they should also be a roadmap," the Seattle Metro Chamber's president and CEO said in the groups' announcement. "Businesses are telling us very clearly what they need to succeed: safer neighborhoods and commercial districts, greater predictability around taxes and fees, and a city that recognizes that a strong business environment is fundamental to jobs, investment and opportunity."

"Businesses want to invest here, but we have to create the conditions that give them confidence to do so," said Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association. "That means safe and welcoming streets, a vibrant downtown, a competitive business environment and sustained partnership between the public and private sectors."

City Hall's move

Mayor Katie Wilson announced a task force on building a "more resilient Seattle economy" in September. The businesses in this survey gave the city's responsiveness its lowest score of all.

One caveat the groups themselves note: businesses chose whether to take part, so the results reflect those that answered rather than a random sample of every business in Seattle. About three in four have been operating for more than a decade.