230,503 people live in Bellingham, WA, which places it 204th of the 387 metropolitan areas. This page lays out the income and housing picture and a trade-by-trade look at the competition.
The metropolitan statistical area is centered on Bellingham, Washington.
The typical owner-occupied home is valued at $585,800, 76 percent above the national figure. Households here bring in a median of $81,784, in line with the national figure.
Who lives here matters as much as how many. Median age 38.4, 0.5 years below the national median. 63.7% of homes are lived in by their owners, 2 points below the US share. Work: 121,265 in the labor force, 4.8% unemployed (about the same as the US share). 39.3% of adults over 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 4 points above the US share.
Against the state as a whole, the median income is 17 percent lower than the Washington figure, the median home value is 4 percent higher than the Washington figure, and the number of businesses per resident is 20 percent denser than the Washington figure; see the Washington page for the full figures.
How crowded is the market overall? Bellingham, WA has 7,146 employer establishments. Relative to population, 31 per 1,000 residents, 24 percent above the national figure. 329 of them are home-services contractors, 4.6% of everything, about the same as the US share.
| Category | Locations | Per 100k people | Local ÷ US share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 34 | 14.8 | 1.70× |
| Self-storage facilities | 20 | 8.7 | 1.26× |
| Landscaping services | 111 | 48.2 | 1.10× |
| General freight trucking | 107 | 46.4 | 1.07× |
| Roofing contractors | 23 | 10 | 1.05× |
| Electrical contractors | 72 | 31.2 | 1.01× |
| Personal care services (all) | 132 | 57.3 | 0.96× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 108 | 46.9 | 0.93× |
| General automotive repair | 65 | 28.2 | 0.90× |
| Beauty salons | 64 | 27.8 | 0.89× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 7 | 3 | 0.88× |
| Dentists | 99 | 42.9 | 0.85× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 73 | 31.7 | 0.85× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 446 | 193.5 | 0.84× |
| Legal services | 115 | 49.9 | 0.74× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 66 | 28.6 | 0.69× |
| Automobile dealers | 27 | 11.7 | 0.67× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 23 | 10 | 0.63× |
| Child day care services | 44 | 19.1 | 0.63× |
| Physicians' offices | 113 | 49 | 0.61× |
Ratio above 1.00: the trade holds a bigger share of the local business base than it does nationally; below 1.00, a smaller one.
Against the US mix, concrete contractors and self-storage operators are over-represented. At the top of that list, concrete contractors number 34, 1.7 times the US share. Where the base is lighter: physicians' offices, specialty trade contractors, child day care services and automobile dealers. Physicians' offices: 113 establishments, about 61% of the national share. Roughly where the national mix would put them: roofing contractors, electrical contractors and landscaping services.
Per resident the densest are restaurants at 193.5 per 100,000 people, then personal care services and legal services. Counted by establishments, the order is restaurants (446), personal care services (132), legal services (115). Across the groups, trucking, storage, real estate and road construction run about the same as the US share and medical and dental practices about 70% of.
For concrete contractors and self-storage operators, expect the Google Ads auction to be contested: more advertisers per search means higher cost per click and a real premium on ad relevance, landing-page quality and call tracking that proves which keywords produce jobs. With physicians' offices, specialty trade contractors and child day care services in short supply, the map pack often has room; a complete listing and a handful of recent reviews can put a business in it. A median age 0.5 years below the national median tilts the audience toward people who find businesses through maps, social feeds and AI assistants as much as through classic search.
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Bellingham, WA has 230,503 residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 204th of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Bellingham, WA is $81,784 (ACS 2024 5-year), above the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 7,146 employer establishments in Bellingham, WA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 31 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Bellingham, WA is $585,800, and 63.7% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), concrete contractors and self-storage operators have more establishments per resident than the US average; physicians' offices, specialty trade contractors and child day care services have fewer in Bellingham, WA.
We will look at your Business Profile, your site and your current ads, then say plainly what to fix first.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.