Seattle has the nation’s highest office vacancy rate, a new report found.

Downtown office vacancy has climbed to 36.5%, above the national average of roughly 23% and higher than other major cities, according to the Q1 2026 report from commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Meanwhile, in Q1 2025, Seattle’s vacancy rate was only 31.2%, according to Colliers.

Downtown Seattle office vacancy stands at 36.5%.

Good job, Mayor Katie Wilson.

Socialists seem to have no concept of economics or consequences. pic.twitter.com/7HG5Jsct8b

— Jim Knows Stuff (@BrotherJim3) July 13, 2026

The report comes just months after socialist Democratic Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson took office following a campaign centered on progressive tax proposals — including a tax on vacant commercial properties.

Wilson publicly wants to remove guns, eliminate private grocery stores and established 50 more homeless shelters to hide the city’s large homeless population during the World Cup season.

The left-wing mayor also created barriers throughout a known prostitution zone, off of Aurora, to respond to shooting and sex trafficking.

Wilson has “created this air of uncertainty in the city for businesses,” Mark Harmsworth, Director of the Center for Small Business at the Washington Policy Center told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

He added that these businesses are “voting with their feet” and moving to smaller nearby cities such as Bellevue, Washington.

.@fox13seattle: “Seattle now leads the nation for the highest office vacancy rate in the downtown area. It marks the highest of any major U.S. city, following the loss of tens of thousands of jobs since 2020.

“A business and economic report released by the Downtown Seattle… pic.twitter.com/RDlTJqjRt2

— WA House Republicans (@WaHouseGOP) July 13, 2026

Wilson’s Seattle has “even started talking about removing some of the roads and converting them 100% pedestrian and bike traffic,” Harmsworth said. He noted that his “makes it incredibly difficult for you as a business to get deliveries.”

The Downtown Seattle Association claims that Seattle’s payroll tax had a part to play in the high office vacancy rates.

Mayor Katie Wilson, D-Seattle

Wilson’s office and The Downtown Seattle Association each did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comments.

In the past year, major businesses such as Meta and Amazon vacated 325,000 square feet of office space in downtown Seattle, the report reads. Starbucks, a longtime Seattle institution, abandoned its headquarters for Florida earlier this year.

If the policy trend continues, Seattle could observe an increase of buildings that cannot produce enough revenue to support themselves, commercial real estate experts told the Seattle Times.

“With office vacancies still climbing rather than stabilizing, the city’s commercial core faces an uncertain future,” Ari Hoffman, a Seattle-based conservative talk host for KVI wrote.

“Every empty floor not only represents lost rent for building owners, but also fewer downtown workers supporting restaurants, retailers, transit systems, and the city’s tax base,” Hoffman concluded.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].