The Center for Digital Government (CDG) awarded the City of Seattle 4th-place honors in the 25th Annual Digital Cities Survey today. Seattle follows the cities of (#1) San Jose, CA; (#2) Los Angeles, CA; and (#3) San Diego, CA, and tying with Charlotte, NC, in the largest cities category of communities with populations over 500,000 residents.
The Digital Cities Awards are the foremost awards program in local government, requiring a rigorous application process to prove work and impact for judging. For a quarter century, the Awards have recognized cities for their advancements in government services, cybersecurity readiness, and the use of emerging technologies to better serve their residents and businesses. This is the second consecutive year the City of Seattle has placed in the top four cities in the nation.
Seattle was recognized for its innovative use of technology as it faces 21st-century urban challenges, including budget shortfalls, public safety and homelessness crises, and the need to reshape how cities adapt permitting and review processes affecting their built environment. This honor reinforces how Seattle has demonstrated strong strategic focus on the priorities identified by the Mayor and City Council in the City Budget— keeping people safe, addressing the community’s housing and homelessness challenges, creating solutions to health and addition crises, and partnering to create an economy where everyone has a chance to thrive in Seattle.
“Seattle is proud to be recognized as a national leader for innovative uses of technology to tackle the complex challenges facing our cities—from homelessness and housing to public safety and permitting. This honor reflects our One Seattle vision, where we design and promote new technologies to better serve our residents and communities,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. “Seattle is recognized globally for our technology leadership, and not only is it critical to our economy and growth, it’s also at the center of our City efforts to make it easier to access services, streamline processes, and make Seattle a thriving place for all who call it home. We are committed to using technology not only to improve systems, but also to improve lives in a safe and responsible manner. I want to thank our dedicated City employees, community partners, and tech leaders who are helping us build a more inclusive, responsive, and resilient Seattle for all.”
CDG’s survey identifies the top priorities shaping city technology agendas this year, led again by a focus on security, automation, and equity.
“Seattle’s second year being honored in the Digital Cities Award reflects the strength of our people and our commitment to using technology where it matters most,” said Rob Lloyd, Seattle’s Chief Technology Officer. “This is our moment to enable our cities in aspirational ways. We have six generations working together, an engaged community that expects excellence, and a mix of challenges and resource constraints that require departments to be smarter and to act as one team. At the same time, emerging technologies and new partnerships are creating remarkable and novel opportunities. Seattle is using this moment to redesign how government works while keeping alignment with our priorities and values. We will keep delivering the partnership and innovation that Seattle’s community and history are marked by.”
Seattle’s IT Strategic Plan keeps the City’s technology efforts focused and aligned to the direction set by the Mayor and City Council in the Budget Process. After a four-month process that engaged 43 departments and nearly 300 stakeholders, the 2025–2027 IT Strategic Plan launched at the start of 2025. Seattle IT has since been busy reconnecting with departmental missions and executing on the five strategic pillars: (1) Delivering technology and data solutions that support a safe and healthy community; (2) Strengthening secure and resilient services; (3) Optimizing operations amid limited resources; (4) Advancing digital and AI-driven capabilities; and (5) Achieving results through strong partnerships.
Seattle’s Department of Transportation (SDOT) is a noteworthy department in the City’s drive to safe and innovative technologies progressing department missions forward.
“We’re creating tools that provide planners, engineers, and the public with clear insights into traffic volumes, crashes, and real-time conditions,” said Adiam Emery, Interim Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation. “Our dashboards and data systems enhance transparency and help us focus safety investments where they’ll have the greatest impact. This recognition highlights the outstanding work our teams are doing to modernize how we use transportation data in Seattle—a mission made even stronger through our partnership with Seattle IT, whose collaboration is elevating data quality, accessibility, and impact.”
Earlier this year, the City of Seattle received two Center for Digital Government (CDG) awards for delivering accessible, transparent, and engaging digital services for residents. Seattle was recognized for its outstanding achievement in overall service delivery and its Government Experience Project Award for its innovative Winter Weather Response Map. The honors recognize the City’s successful efforts in providing Seattle residents with accessible and innovative digital services. In addition, Seattle IT received a Regional Emmy Award and a Visionary Digital Inclusion Trailblazer award in 2025.
The annual Digital Cities award recognizes cities like Seattle that are finding innovative ways to support solutions for social challenges facing cities today. The top 10-ranking cities in each of five population categories will be honored during the Digital Cities Awards event at the National League of Cities on November 19 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Seattle IT is a trusted partner that provides secure, reliable, and compliant technologies, enabling the City to deliver equitable and responsive services to the public. To learn more about Seattle IT and its innovative programs, visit www.seattle.gov/tech.