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 93,896 people and 28 associated neighborhoods, Bellingham is the 13th largest community in Washington.

Housing costs in Bellingham are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Washington.

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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 12.56% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.

Bellingham is a nice balance between life in a moderately big city and the interesting diversions and culture that come from having a big college student population. The thousands of students who arrive on campus every fall will find that Bellingham has plenty of amenities and opportunities for them, while residents of Bellingham enjoy the lectures, music, art, and economic trickle-down that colleges typically provide. "Town and Gown" complement each other in Bellingham.

Not only is Bellingham a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, creating a very large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. That’s because Bellingham is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Bellingham a pretty good place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

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 citizens of Bellingham are among the most well-educated in the nation: 46.12% of adults in Bellingham have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Bellingham in 2022 was $40,287, which is upper middle income relative to Washington and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $161,148 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, European, and Norwegian.

The most common language spoken in Bellingham is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.