Washington tattoo statistics
Where Washington’s tattoo shops are
- King172
- Pierce72
- Clark61
- Snohomish58
- Spokane50
- Thurston35
- Benton26
- Kitsap25
- Whatcom22
- Yakima17
- Cowlitz14
- Skagit13
- Chelan11
- Grant8
- Grays Harbor6
Source: Washington State Department of Licensing.
All counties
| County | Shops | Tattoo artists | Piercers | Perm. cosmetics | Artists / shop | In directory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King | 172 | 513 | 47 | 228 | 3.0 | 195 |
| Pierce | 72 | 241 | 35 | 83 | 3.3 | 133 |
| Clark | 61 | 159 | 25 | 49 | 2.6 | 82 |
| Snohomish | 58 | 173 | 30 | 85 | 3.0 | 76 |
| Spokane | 50 | 179 | 27 | 43 | 3.6 | 85 |
| Thurston | 35 | 115 | 14 | 31 | 3.3 | 47 |
| Benton | 26 | 72 | 8 | 17 | 2.8 | 41 |
| Kitsap | 25 | 69 | 8 | 16 | 2.8 | 43 |
| Whatcom | 22 | 80 | 9 | 9 | 3.6 | 37 |
| Yakima | 17 | 40 | 8 | 21 | 2.4 | 25 |
| Cowlitz | 14 | 40 | 3 | 5 | 2.9 | 24 |
| Skagit | 13 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 1.8 | 24 |
| Chelan | 11 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 1.5 | 17 |
| Grant | 8 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 2.0 | 11 |
| Grays Harbor | 6 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 3.2 | 13 |
| Lewis | 6 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 2.8 | 11 |
| Clallam | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1.3 | 10 |
| Mason | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1.2 | 8 |
| Island | 5 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Okanogan | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 2.6 | 7 |
| Walla Walla | 5 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2.0 | 8 |
| Jefferson | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Franklin | 3 | 14 | 2 | 15 | 4.7 | 5 |
| Douglas | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 | 3 |
| Kittitas | 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Asotin | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Whitman | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Klickitat | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 6.0 | 4 |
| San Juan | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Adams | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 | 1 |
| Pend Oreille | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Pacific | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 |
| Stevens | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | — | 8 |
| Wahkiakum | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Lincoln | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Skamania | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Ferry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| Garfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 |
License counts are active Department of Licensing licenses by the licensee’s county; statewide totals also include licensees with out-of-state or unknown addresses, so county rows may not sum to the total. “In directory” counts the 948 studios we map. Free to reuse with attribution to seattle-tattoo.org (CC BY 4.0).
Washington tattoo industry FAQ
How many tattoo shops are in Washington State?
939 licensed tattoo shops, according to Washington State Department of Licensing data for August 2026. The state also had 3,143 licensed tattoo artists, 471 licensed body piercers and 995 licensed permanent cosmetics artists.
How many tattoo shops are in King County and Seattle?
King County has 172 licensed tattoo shops and 513 licensed tattoo artists (WA DOL, August 2026). Our directory lists 115 studios inside Seattle city limits.
Which Washington county has the most tattoo shops?
King County, with 172 licensed shops, followed by Pierce (72) and Clark (61) counties.
Is the number of tattoo shops in Washington growing?
Licensed tattoo shops went from 831 in September 2024 to 939 in August 2026 (+13.0% year over year).
Sources
- 1Washington State Department of Licensing - Professional License Counts (data.wa.gov) — Washington State Department of Licensing
- 2Tattoos, body piercing, body art, and permanent cosmetics — WA DOL
Cite this page
Seattle Tattoo. “Washington Tattoo Statistics (2026).” seattle-tattoo.org/washington-tattoo-statistics, data from WA DOL as of August 2026.