Pioneer Square

Seattle's Downtown district, about 0.65 miles from downtown, in King County.

Researched and written by Ryan Rose · Updated October 29, 2026

Within Seattle, Pioneer Square sits in the Downtown district, about 0.65 miles from downtown, and I found 115 transit stops within a quarter mile. Across its 172 acres I counted 32 restaurants and 21 cafes, with Occidental Square and City Hall Park among the parks. Blocks average 292 ft, and my estimate for sidewalk coverage is 75.4%. Homes are 47.1% apartments and 35.3% condominiums, with a median build year of 1930.

Illustration of mid-rise apartment and condominium buildings above ground-floor storefronts, built mostly in the 1930s.
Illustration
Pioneer Square 2 mi N ↑
I marked Pioneer Square on a map of Seattle, WA drawn from the neighborhood boundaries the city publishes. Downtown is marked for reference.

At a glance

Area
172 acres
Homes
2,258
Median year built
1930
Average home size
1,101 sq ft
Average lot size
11,738 sq ft
Streets steeper than 8%
9.7% of street length Elevation 15–207 ft
In FEMA's 100-year flood zone
None
Within 500 ft of a freeway
None A freeway crosses the neighborhood away from its homes
New homes permitted
77 Since January 2023

Share of residential lots: 35.3% condominium, 47.1% apartment

Getting around on foot

Intersections per sq mile
216
Average block length
292 ft
Sidewalk coverage
75.4% (my estimate)
Transit stops within ¼ mile
115
Everyday categories within ½ mile
8

Parks and recreation

City Hall Park, Occidental Square, Pioneer Square, Prefontaine Place, Union Station Square

Schools in and near this neighborhood

  • IDEAL SCHOOL
  • ONEWORLD NOW
  • PUGET SOUNDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL
  • O'DEA HIGH SCHOOL
  • THE VILLAGE TEACHER
  • Summit Public School: Sierra 9–12 Summit Public School: Sierra
  • Bailey Gatzert Elementary School PK–5 Seattle School District No. 1
  • Interagency Detention School 6–12 Seattle School District No. 1

Food, drink and daily errands

Restaurants
32
Cafes
21
Bars and pubs
29
Grocery
2
Pharmacies
0

Restaurants and coffee I found nearby

  • Zeitgeist Coffee Cafe · Inside the neighborhood Patio
  • Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar Cafe · Inside the neighborhood
  • Super Kim Seafood · Inside the neighborhood
  • Caffè Umbria Coffee · Inside the neighborhood
  • Cookie's Country Chicken Chicken · Inside the neighborhood
  • Gordo Steak Mexican · Inside the neighborhood
  • Un Po Tipsy Pizza · Inside the neighborhood
  • Matsu Sushi · Inside the neighborhood
  • Darkalino's Italian · Inside the neighborhood
  • 13 Coins American · Inside the neighborhood Patio

I pulled these from OpenStreetMap: the nearest named restaurants and cafes, starting inside the neighborhood and measured from its edge. Places marked Patio have outdoor seating, from my research for Outdoor Seating Near Me, my other site; the photos come from that research too.

Housing context

Median home value
$702,200
Median gross rent
$2,245
Owner-occupied
34.9%
Renter-occupied
65.1%

I pulled these from the census tract that covers this neighborhood, so they describe the tract, not the neighborhood itself. I report housing and housing cost only.

Bordering neighborhoods