Seattle snags big role in GDP

The Seattle area was the 13th-biggest contributor to gross domestic product among the nation's metropolitan areas in 2005, according to newly released estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Metro Seattle — defined as King, Pierce and Snohomish counties — generated $166.9 billion in goods and services that year, according to the bureau's data.

But in terms of growth, Seattle was far outpaced by two small metro areas to the north.

Skagit County — or as it's known to government statisticians, the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metropolitan area — posted 18.9 percent GDP growth in 2005, the second-fastest pace in the country.

Whatcom County, otherwise known as metropolitan Bellingham, wasn't far behind, in seventh place with 11.1 percent growth.

Seattle, by contrast, recorded 4.6 percent GDP growth in 2005 — still above average, and good enough for 87th place out of the 363 metro areas studied.

The report didn't detail the turbocharged growth in Northwest Washington, other than giving manufacturing credit for most of it.

Manufacturing, specifically durable-goods manufacturing (a category that includes aerospace), also was the major contributor to Seattle's GDP growth in 2005, followed by the trade and information sectors.

The bureau's report underscored just how much the Seattle area dominates the state's economy. The three-county region accounted for just under 70 percent of the $240 million gross state product in 2005.

Within Washington, the next-biggest metro area was Spokane, whose 2005 GDP of $13.4 billion put it in 114th place.

Metropolitan Portland, which includes Vancouver, Wash., came in 24th.

Drew DeSilver: 206-464-3145 or ddesilver@seattletimes.com