Bellingham, WA population, income and ZIP codes

Bellingham city is a small city in Washington, with 92,367 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #12 of 639 ranked by population — larger than 98% of them. The median age here is 34.5 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. At this size the Census also publishes one-year estimates; the five-year values used here are steadier and let you compare against smaller neighbours on the same basis.

Households in Bellingham city earn a median of $65,821 a year, 16.2% below the national figure of $78,538 and 27% below the $90,592 median for the 393 Washington cities we cover. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 18.3% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Bellingham city is valued at $577,400, 90.3% above the national figure and 23% above the $468,400 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,478 a month, 5.1% above the national figure, or roughly $17,736 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 26.9% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 8.8×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 45.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.

Home values sit at 8.8× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.