Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA

Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA)

2024 Population

116,125

US Senator

Patty Murray

Democratic Party

US Senator

Maria Cantwell

Democratic Party

2024 Poverty Rate

17%

1.7% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$72,369

2.32% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$632,900

8.11% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

Population & Diversity

Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA is home to a population of 116k people, from which 96.3% are citizens.

As of 2024, 8.59% of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA residents were born outside of the country (9.97k people).

In 2024, there were 13.3 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (89k people) in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 6.68k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 6k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

The most common non-English languages spoken as the primary language in households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA are Spanish (6,086 households), Chinese (Incl. Mandarin, Cantonese) (1,592 households), and Russian (689 households).

Population & Diversity

Residents by Gender and Age

RACE/ETHNICITY

58,904

Women

51.1%

56,395

Men

48.9%

The resident population of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA in 2024 was 115,299 inhabitants, with 48.9% men, and 51.1% women.

The visualization shows the distribution of the residents by gender and age in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA.

With the upper buttons you can add a filter by race.

Citizenship

96.3%

2024 Citizenship

96.1%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 96.3% of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was 96.1%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA

White (Non-Hispanic)
89k ± 1.84k
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
6.68k ± 698
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
6k ± 670

9.4%

Hispanic Population

10.9k people

9.4% of the people in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA are hispanic (10.9k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

Most Common Origin

Canada
1,838 ± 1,044 people
Mexico
1,301 ± 881 people
China
855 ± 715 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was Canada, the natal country of 1,838 Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA residents, followed by Mexico with 1,301 and China with 855.

Foreign-Born Population

8.59%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

9.97k people

8.87%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

10.2k people

As of 2024, 8.59% of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA residents (9.97k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was 8.87%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Non-English Households

Most Common Non-English Languages

Spanish
6,086 households (5.45%)
Chinese (Incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)
1,592 households (1.43%)
Russian
689 households (0.617%)

12.1% of the households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language, which is lower than the national average of 22.3%. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

In 2024, the most common non-English language spoken in households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was Spanish. 5.45% of the households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA reported speaking Spanish at home as the primary shared language between all members living in the household.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
2,064 ± 306
Gulf War (2001-)
1,153 ± 340
Gulf War (1990s)
975 ± 248

Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.79 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA.

Health

94.8% of the population of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA has health coverage, with 49.6% on employee plans, 16.9% on Medicaid, 13.9% on Medicare, 13.3% on non-group plans, and 1.06% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Washington see 1,202 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,202 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1152 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 186 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.2% were men and 50.8% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Washington.

1,202 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Washington

Primary care physicians in Washington see an average of 1,202 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,202 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Washington in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 16.8% under 18 years, 32% between 18 and 34 years, 34% between 35 and 64 years, and 17.2% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.2% were men and 50.8% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

5.23%

Uninsured

49.6%

Employer Coverage

16.9%

Medicaid

13.9%

Medicare

13.3%

Non-Group

1.06%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA grew by 9.87% from 4.76% to 5.23%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Economy

The economy of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA employs 59k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA were Restaurants & Food Services (4,344 people), Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges (3,754 people), and Construction (3,695 people), and the highest paying industries were Nondepository credit & related activities ($215,306), Legal services ($140,604), and Car Dealers ($139,494).

Males in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA have an average income that is 1.23 times higher than the average income of females, which is $67,945. The income inequality in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA (measured using the Gini index) is 0.447, which is lower than than the national average.

Employment

Workforce Diversity

Measure

RACE/ETHNICITY

28,656

Women

48.6%

30,319

Men

51.4%

The workforce of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA in 2024 was 58,975 people, with 48.6% woman, and 51.4% men.

The visualization shows the distribution of the workforce by gender and age in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA.

With the upper buttons you can see the distribution of the average salary and add a filter by race.

Occupations

59k

2024 Value

4.6%

1 Year growth

± 4.6%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA grew at a rate of 4.6%, from 56.4k employees to 59k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA, are Other managers (1,548 people), Postsecondary teachers (1,438 people), and Retail salespersons (1,379 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Washington.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Washington (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

59k

2024 Value

4.6%

1 Year growth

± 4.6%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA grew at a rate of 4.6%, from 56.4k employees to 59k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA, are Restaurants & Food Services (4,344 people), Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges (3,754 people), and Construction (3,695 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA, though some of these residents may live in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$50,215

Median earning men ± $2,360

$37,001

Median earning women ± $1,415

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Public Administration ($89,083), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($65,562), and Information ($62,351).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Construction ($67,662), Information ($63,779), and Public Administration ($62,891).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Washington.

Y-Axis

3.62%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 3.58M people employed in Washington. This represents a 3.62% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.3%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Washington.

Education

The student population of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 8,766 male students and 11,700 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA are White (3,511 and 68.3%), Hispanic or Latino (614 and 11.9%), Two or More Races (372 and 7.24%), and Asian (298 and 5.8%).

The largest universities in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA by number of degrees awarded are Western Washington University (3,463 and 66.2%), Whatcom Community College (928 and 17.8%), and Bellingham Technical College (819 and 15.7%).

The most popular majors in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA are Liberal Arts & Sciences (420 and 8.03%), General Psychology (234 and 4.48%), and General Computer & Information Sciences (137 and 2.62%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $3,742 for in-state students and $9,320 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 93.2%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 22.9%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 20,466 (42.8% men and 57.2% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 20,466 students enrolled in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA, 42.8% men and 57.2% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 12,873 records, of which 57% were women and 43% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Psychology
234 degrees awarded
Creative Writing
127 degrees awarded
Sociology
114 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was General Psychology with 234 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Western Washington University
3,463 degrees awarded
Whatcom Community College
928 degrees awarded
Bellingham Technical College
819 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Western Washington University with 3,463 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 2,153 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA, which is 0.7 times less than the 3,075 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 3,511 degrees mean that there were 5.72 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 614 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($3,742) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,342) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($762) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Working Population

Educational Pyramid

Measure

In 2024, 0.702% of men over 25 years of age had not completed any academic degree (no schooling), while 0.328% of women were in the same situation.

This visualization shows the gender distribution of the population according to the academic level reached.

Educational Attainment

Race

The most common educational levels obtained by the working population of Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA in 2024 were Some college (26.8k), Bachelors Degree (25.3k), and High School or Equivalent (16.9k).

This visualization illustrates the percentage distribution of the population according to the highest educational level reached. You can filter the data by race by using the selector above.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was $632,900 in 2024, which is 1.9 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $585,400 to $632,900, a 8.11% increase. The homeownership rate in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA is 50.9%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA have an average commute time of 18.6 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$632,900

Median Property Value 2024

±$17,698

$25,749

Median Property Taxes

±$1,223

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

50.9%

Homeownership

2024

67.7%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 50.9% of the housing units in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 51.2%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$72,369

Median Household Income

± $2,720

50.6k

Number of Households

± 1,923

In 2024, the median household income of the 50.6k households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA grew to $72,369 from the previous year's value of $70,730.

The following chart displays the households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $200k+ range.

Wage Distribution

0.447

2024 Wage GINI in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA

0.44

2023 Wage GINI in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA

In 2024, the income inequality in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was 0.447 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 1.55% growth from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (65.6%)
Worked At Home (14.7%)
Carpooled (7.11%)

In 2024, 65.6% of workers in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (14.7%) and those who carpooled to work (7.11%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

18.6 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA have a shorter commute time (18.6 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.69% of the workforce in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

17% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA (19k out of 112k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Males 18 - 24 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Whatcom County (South)--Greater Bellingham City PUMA, WA is White, followed by Hispanic and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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