Exploring the Boeing Everett Factory: What to Know About Life Near the World’s Largest Factory

If you’re preparing for a move to Everett Washington or are just relocating to an area closer to Fairmont or Mukilteo, you may have heard about “the Boeing plant” which is located right on Paine Field Boulevard.

What you heard about is actually one of the most remarkable buildings on the planet. 

The Boeing Everett Factory holds the Guinness World Record for the largest building in the world by volume, and it has shaped the local economy, job market, and neighborhoods for more than half a century. 

If you are new to the area or thinking about relocating here, understanding this landmark is your first step toward understanding Everett itself.

The History Behind the World’s Largest Factory

Boeing chose Everett as the site for its new factory in 1966, when the company needed a facility large enough to build the 747, the first jumbo jet ever made. 

Construction moved fast. Crews cleared the wooded site that would become Paine Field, built a railroad spur to haul in materials, and had the first workers on the job by January 1967. The factory officially opened just four months later, in May 1967.

The building has grown substantially since then. It expanded by about 45 percent in the late 1970s to make room for 767 production, then grew another 50 percent around 1990 to accommodate the 777 program. 

Today the main assembly building covers 98.3 acres and holds more than 472 million cubic feet of interior space, enough room to fit all of Disneyland or about 75 football fields. 

More than 5,000 widebody aircraft have rolled out of this factory since it opened, including the 747, 767, 777, and 787.

How Do Goods Reach the Factory Today?

The railroad built over 50 years ago is still in use today but a few new means of transportation are also helping to bring freight to the manufacturing hub.

Here are all of the ways Boeing moves parts and other manufacturing equipment to and from their facility.

The Railroad Spur: This rail line runs through the Japanese Gulch Conservation Area which is a bit north of the production facility. It handles transportation of bulk materials and select fuselage sections, including 737 fuselages.

Air Freight via the Dreamlifter: Boeing used their own modified version of the 747 cargo plane to transport composite fuselage sections and even wings from partners in Japan, Italy and Wichita much more efficiently than ship or rail.

Truck and Marine Shipping: For moving smaller components, trucks and boats are used very often. 

Here at Lincoln Moving and Storage, we have had the pleasure of serving many manufacturing companies like Boeing with our fleet of climate-stable vehicles, great for keeping heat sensitive items safe during humid Washington summers.

What’s the Boeing Everett Factory Like Today?

Boeing remains the largest employer in Everett and Snohomish County, with tens of thousands of workers scheduled across multiple shifts. 

That single fact says a lot about the local economy. A significant share of housing demand, school enrollment, and small business activity in south Snohomish County connects back to jobs at this factory in some way.

For visitors and residents alike, the factory is also a genuine tourist attraction. 

The Boeing Future of Flight Aviation Center, located next to the factory in Mukilteo, offers guided tours of the assembly lines along with exhibits on aerospace history and a rooftop Sky Deck with views of Paine Field and the North Cascades.

Tours have drawn millions of visitors since they began in the late 1960s, and they remain one of the most popular attractions in the Puget Sound region.

Neighborhoods Near the Factory

Because so many people work at or near Paine Field, certain Everett-area neighborhoods have become especially popular with aerospace employees looking for a shorter commute. 

Mukilteo: A bedroom community with an average home cost of $932,510. Popular for restaurants and waterfront access. Living here gives the shortest commute to the Boeing Everett Factory as Plaine Field borders this city directly. Some employees even walk to work from Mukilteo. Drivers can take the Washington State Highway from 525 to 526.

Silver Lake: As the name suggests, this city is near a lake. But it’s also near the Everett shopping mall which makes it great for families. The property value is also slightly lower at an average of $700,627. The commute by car to Boeing is about 15 minutes. Just take the Bothell-Everett Highway from 527 until you get to 526.

Lake Stevens: East of Everett and across the Snohomish River, offers more space and a lower price point than Mukilteo at an average home value of $707,767. 4% of Everett’s workforce commutes from Lake Stevens, but this city is the furthest away from Boeing. It can take around 25-30 minutes to get there taking the highway 204 to route 5 and getting off at 526.

If you are relocating to the area for an aerospace job or any position connected to the industry. Commute times, housing availability, and even school district boundaries can shift noticeably depending on which side of Everett you choose, so it is worth researching neighborhoods carefully before settling on a home.

Tips for Folks Moving to the Everett Aerospace Corridor

If your move to Everett is tied to a job at Boeing or one of the many suppliers and contractors that support the aerospace industry here, a little local knowledge goes a long way. 

• Ask your future coworkers about commute patterns during shift changes, since traffic around the factory can be heavier at certain times of day. First shift often ends around 2:00pm so there can sometimes be a slightly earlier rush hour in the area.
• Try to avoid moving in the middle of summer if possible. Washington summers are known for being very humid and you won’t want to be walking back and forth from a moving truck in that kind of weather. 
• The Mukilteo ferry terminal creates a unique traffic pattern roughly every 30 minutes during the day when it lets off travellers from Clinton. This starts at around 4:40am and can end around 1pm. If you have an early shift at the factory make sure you move somewhere this won’t impact your commute.

Working with movers who are familiar with the Everett area can make the transition easier, especially if you are coordinating a move around a new job’s start date or dealing with company relocation timelines.

We can help you plan your move and save you the trouble of having to bake in a historically hot summer here in Washington with our local and long distance moving services.