Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in the U.S. state of Washington between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 108 miles (180 km) south of the United States-Canadian border in King County, of which it is the county seat.

Economy

Companies

Five companies on the 2004 Fortune 500 list of the United States' largest companies, based on total revenue, are currently headquartered in Seattle: financial services company Washington Mutual (#103), insurance company Safeco Corporation (#267), clothing merchant Nordstrom (#286), Internet retailer Amazon.com (#342) and coffee chain Starbucks (#425).

Related Topics:
Fortune 500 - Washington Mutual - Insurance - Safeco Corporation - Nordstrom - Internet - Amazon.com - Coffee - Starbucks

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Many Seattle residents work for companies based outside of Seattle proper. Airplane manufacturer Boeing (#21) was the largest company based in Seattle before its 2001 move to Chicago. Because several production facilities remain in the region, Boeing is still a major Seattle employer.

Related Topics:
Airplane - Boeing - 2001 - Chicago

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Other Fortune 500 companies popularly associated with Seattle are based in nearby Puget Sound cities. Warehouse club chain Costco Wholesale Corp. (#29), the largest company in Washington state, is based in Issaquah. Microsoft (#46) is based in Redmond. So was the cellular telephone pioneer McCaw Cellular, which in 1994 became AT&T Wireless (#120), before being absorbed in 2004 into Cingular. Weyerhaeuser, the forest products company (#95), is based in Federal Way. And Bellevue is home to truck manufacturer PACCAR (#250) and international mobile telephony giant T-Mobile's U.S. subsidiary T-Mobile USA.

Related Topics:
Puget Sound - Costco Wholesale Corp. - Issaquah - Microsoft - Redmond - McCaw Cellular - AT&T Wireless - Cingular - Weyerhaeuser - Federal Way - Bellevue - PACCAR - T-Mobile - T-Mobile USA

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Mayor Greg Nickels has announced a desire to spark a new economic boom driven by the biotechnology industry. Major redevelopment of the South Lake Union neighborhood is underway in an effort to attract new and established biotech companies to the region, joining current biotech companies such as Corixa, Immunex (now part of Amgen), and ZymoGenetics. The effort has public support and some financial backing from Paul Allen.

Related Topics:
Greg Nickels - Biotechnology - South Lake Union - Corixa - Amgen - ZymoGenetics - Paul Allen

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See List of companies based in Seattle for a more detailed compilation.

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