(The Center Square) – Seattle business owners say public safety, taxes, labor costs and homelessness sit atop their concerns in a poll released Monday, showing the business climate score at 39 out of 100.
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Seattle Association surveyed 247 local businesses in late summer, though response counts vary by question in the report. Chamber President and CEO Joe Nguyễn said the poll shows what businesses need to succeed and urged that now is the time to act.
“These findings should be a wake-up call, but they should also be a roadmap,” Nguyễn wrote in a statement announcing the report.
About 34% of respondents had operated in Seattle for more than 30 years, with 18% in the city for 21 to 30 years, 23% for 11 to 20 years, 12% for five to 10 years and 13% for less than that. Nguyễn said Seattle cannot take its economic future for granted if city leadership wants businesses to stick around.
Of those surveyed, 47% reported seriously considering moving their operations out of Seattle.
The poll showed 72% of respondents disagreed when asked whether Seattle is competitive with other regional cities on combined tax, fee and compliance burden; 56% said the business climate has gotten worse in the past year.
However, only 9% of 197 respondents expect to relocate outside Seattle in the next 12 months; 49% expect operations to stay about the same, 17% expect growth, and 19% fear operations could shrink.
The survey found that 91% of 194 respondents support the city reviewing the tax and fee impacts on the climate and job market, 89% support hiring more police, and 84% support targeted public safety in commercial districts and downtown, including with surveillance cameras, which has faced pushback.
“Businesses want to invest here, but we have to create the conditions that give them confidence to do so,” DSA President and CEO Jon Scholes wrote in a statement on Monday. “That means safe and welcoming streets, a vibrant downtown, a competitive business environment and sustained partnership between the public and private sectors.”
Respondents scored the business climate on four factors: the city’s responsiveness to business needs averaged 26 out of 100; whether they would recommend Seattle for business averaged 33; the overall business climate rating averaged 39; and confidence in their business over the next year averaged 53.
About 64% of 201 respondents scored public safety as the biggest challenge facing businesses today, tied with taxes and fees, with homelessness at 61% and labor costs at 59%. The poll reflects another Chamber survey released on Oct. 13, which also showed public safety as a top concern for Seattleites.
Monday’s report showed that 70% of respondents want to see improvements in overall public safety to feel encouraged to invest, expand or remain in Seattle; 56% want stronger downtown recovery, 43% want greater tax/fee predictability, 41% want small business support, and 27% want regulatory reform.
“The question is whether we are willing to listen to what businesses are telling us and translate that into action,” Nguyễn wrote Monday.
Nguyễn is a member of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s recently announced economic task force that has been put together to address issues that businesses in the city face.
“I’m charging this task force with identifying where the City can make connections, remove barriers and provide support within individual industries and across our economy,” Wilson said in a press release earlier this month. “We need to diversify our economy while expanding opportunities for local entrepreneurs and young people.”
Wilson’s office responded to a request for comment on the survey via email.
“Seattle was recently ranked #4 in the world on the Oxford Economics 2026 Global Cities Index – this is something to be proud of,” the statement said.
“The mayor will continue to fight for an affordable and safe city through responsible budgeting and by making it easier for businesses to do what they do best. Rather than raising the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax during a period of economic uncertainty for Seattle’s business community, the mayor’s proposed budget balances primarily through spending discipline, systemic reform, and operational efficiencies.”