Best Web Design in Burien, WA (2026)

Web Design for Burien, Washington

Burien is a diverse city of about 52,000 on Puget Sound just south of Seattle and immediately west of Sea-Tac Airport, known locally as "B-Town." Settled in the 1860s and named for German immigrant Gottlieb Burian, it stayed an unincorporated community for over a century before residents voted to become a city in 1993, largely to gain a stronger voice against airport expansion. Its walkable Olde Burien core, saltwater parks, and increasingly international food scene define its identity today.

AppWT works with Burien, WA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Burien

Also known as. B-Town. Sunnydale (historic early name).

History. European settlement dates to 1864, when French-Canadian George Ouellet acquired homestead land patents in the area. The area was first nicknamed "Sunnydale" after early settler Mike Kelly reportedly emerged from the trees declaring, "This is truly a sunny dale." In 1884 Gottlieb Burian and his wife Emma, German immigrants who ran two Seattle taverns, arrived and built a cabin on the southeast corner of Lake Burien. The community was renamed to honor Burian after his death, though the spelling shifted from "Burian" to "Burien" for reasons never recorded. Burien incorporated as a city on February 28, 1993, after residents sought more responsive government amid Sea-Tac runway-expansion and overdevelopment concerns. A 2010 annexation of the North Highline area added 14,292 residents, helping push the population to 52,066 by the 2020 census, the 25th-largest city in Washington.

Local economy. Burien's location immediately west of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport ties much of its economy to the airport and aerospace-adjacent Highline corridor. Proximity to the Port of Seattle and Sea-Tac shapes both jobs and land-use politics. The 2017 Burien Town Square development added downtown retail, housing, a senior living center, and a King County Library branch over underground parking. Small-business retail and dining anchor the historic Olde Burien commercial district. A rapidly growing immigrant population supports a dense concentration of independent international restaurants and markets.

Culture and community. The Burien Wild Strawberry Festival, a longstanding community event, fills Burien Town Square Park each June with vendors, live music, a kids' area, and a Father's Day car show. The compact Olde Burien district is known for locally owned shops, bars, and restaurants. The city's food scene reflects sharp demographic change, with the Hispanic/Latino share rising to about 24.5% and the Asian share to about 14% by 2020. Seahurst Park's restored shoreline is a hub for beach walks, tide-pooling, and community events on Puget Sound.

What makes Burien distinct. Lake Burien is a public, state-owned body of water with essentially no public access because private lots surround it entirely, a long-running local controversy. No historical record explains how the town's namesake "Burian" became "Burien" with an e. Alice in Chains musicians Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney are associated with Burien; Cantrell has kept a home in the city since 2012. True-crime author Ann Rule, who wrote about Ted Bundy, is among Burien's notable residents. The city exists in large part because residents organized to push back against Sea-Tac Airport expansion in the early 1990s.

Burien Landmarks and Local Life

• Seahurst Park (Ed Munro Seahurst Park) - a major Puget Sound waterfront park with restored beach and shoreline
• Three Tree Point - a historic point where early-1900s Seattle visitors arrived by ferry
• Lake Burien - a state-owned lake ringed entirely by private property
• Burien Town Square - the 2017 mixed-use downtown development with a King County Library branch