Bellingham is a larger medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Washington. With a population of 94,720 people and 28 associated neighborhoods, Bellingham is the 13th largest community in Washington. Bellingham home prices are not only among the most expensive in Washington, but Bellingham real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Bellingham is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Bellingham is a city of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Bellingham who work in management occupations (12.54%), office and administrative support (9.88%), and food service (8.86%). Also of interest is that Bellingham has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in Bellingham telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 14.50% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Combining city textures and college town sensibilities, Bellingham really has a nice blend of characteristics. While not a huge city, Bellingham is big enough to offer a healthy dose of diversion, opportunity, and amenity to its residents and to the thousands of college students who descend on it every fall. Its size and diversity makes Bellingham more than just a college town, but removing the students from the equation would undeniably change Bellingham’s character and quality of life. Bellingham is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities. The education level of Bellingham ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Bellingham, 46.48% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree. The per capita income in Bellingham in 2022 was $42,120, which is upper middle income relative to Washington and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $168,480 for a family of four. However, Bellingham contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Bellingham is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Bellingham home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Bellingham residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Bellingham include German, English, Irish, Norwegian, and European. The most common language spoken in Bellingham is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
