According to career advice website Zippia.com, Burien is one of the top ten "fastest growing small cities in America. They state "This Washington city has undergone huge growth in the past several years, jumping from a population of 32,743 in 2010 to 49,291 in 2014. That’s an increase of over 16,500 people!

So what’s the big deal about this city? Well, it’s charming—whether you’re in the (relatively newly) renovated downtown, or Olde Burien. It’s surrounded by some of the most beautiful nature in the country. And it’s just a short commute to all that Seattle has to offer. It’s the ideal not-too-big and not-terribly-expensive Pacific Northwest home base."

The city of Burien's Communications Director, Katie Whittier said, "Looking at the methodology Zippia uses, the author missed an important factor which contributed to both Burien and Kirkland making his list: he failed to note a difference between organic growth (people flocking to a small city for various reasons) and annexation (people already living in the area but suddenly incorporating into a city). This is definitely true for both Burien’s and Kirkland’s population estimates between 2010 and 2014. That’s not to say Burien isn’t growing: we are and we have lots of new development to show for it. What’s more, Zippia is absolutely right in characterizing Burien as it does: “…charming—whether you’re in the (relatively newly) renovated downtown, or Olde Burien. It’s surrounded by some of the most beautiful nature in the country. And it’s just a short commute to all that Seattle has to offer. It’s the ideal not-too-big and not-terribly-expensive Pacific Northwest home base.” But the Zippia article is a bit misleading by not acknowledging annexation as a major factor in our population change since 2010."