The Census Bureau estimated that Bellingham's population was 75,750 in 2008. The boundaries of the city encompass the former towns of Fairhaven (now home to the southern ferry terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System), New Whatcom, and others. Nearly half of all residents of Whatcom County live within Bellingham.
As of the census of 2000, there were 67,171 people, 27,999 households, and 13,999 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,619.3 people per square mile (1,011.5/km²). There were 29,474 housing units at an average density of 1,149.3/sq mi (443.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.88% White, 0.98% Black or African American, 1.48% Native American, 4.25% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 2.16% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. 4.63% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 27,999 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.0% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average familyunder the age of 18, 23.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,530, and the median income for a family was $47,196. Males had a median income of $35,288 versus $25,971 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,483. About 9.4% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
See the urban populations at the right.
The Bellingham International Airport offers regularly scheduled commuter flights to and from Seattle and Friday Harbor, Washington, and regularly scheduled jet service to Las Vegas, Nevada; Reno, Nevada; San francisco; Mesa, Arizona and seasonal service to Palm Springs, California. The airport is home of the first Air and Marine Operations Center, to assist the US Department of Homeland Security with border surveillance.
Amtrak Cascades provides Bellingham with regularly scheduled passenger rail service to Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Whatcom Transportation Authority offers regular scheduled bus service throughout the Bellingham area, including service to Mt. Vernon.
Supported by the presence of a large university-age population, Bellingham has been home to a number of regionally and nationally noted musical groups such as: Death Cab for Cutie, The Posies, Crayon, Idiot Pilot, Mono Men, Federation X, The Trucks, and Shook Ones. Local independent record labels include Estrus Records and Clickpop Records. The town is also home to What's Up! Magazine — a publication devoted to the local music scene for over 10 years.
Bellingham also has a burgeoning independent film community, which is supported by the Whatcom Film Association, a local group of film appreciators with over 1500 members and the Northwest Film School, a hands-on filmmaking program. While not as large-scale or well-financed as some of Seattle's independent film efforts, Bellingham's annual NW Projections Film Festival has grown substantially in attendance since its creation in 1999. Several award-winning short films originated in Bellingham, as well as a handful of feature films.
Robert James Waller’s 1992 best-selling novel, The Bridges of Madison County, began with the story of a National Geographic photographer from Bellingham, but Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation omitted this starting point.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Dillard wrote a historical fiction, The Living, set in the American Northwest in the late 19th century and focusing on the settlement at Whatcom on Bellingham Bay.
Footfall is a book by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1986, and a New York Times Bestseller. In the story, Bellingham was mostly destroyed after an alien invasion when Earth's defenders launched a Project Orion type of vehicle.
Bellingham is home to a rich theater culture which is further boosted by the performing arts department at Western Washington University. There are several notable theaters and productions in Bellingham:
Bellingham is home to the longest-running Peace vigil in the US. Started by Howard and Rosemary Harris more than 46 years ago, it has seen more than 4 generations. On the corner of Magnolia Street and Cornwall, in front of the Federal Building, every Friday starting at 4pm and lasting until usually about 5pm.
International Day of Peace has been observed for the last four years by hundreds of participants. The event commemorates the United Nations' observance of September 21 as a day for international peace and cease-fire. Participants hold a rally at Maritime Heritage Park, and then marched to an event at First Congregational Church.
The Whatcom Peace & Justice Center was founded in 2002 by local activists, and has been one of the most active such centers in the nation.
Bellingham has a strong chapter of Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and also a chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Chapter #32.
City Councilman Terry Bornemann has been a staple of the local activist community, and sponsored the October, 2006 Troops Home! resolution, making Bellingham the first city in the state of Washington to pass the resolution.
In July 2008, the Bellingham City Council unanimously passed a resolution urging elected representatives and the federal government to avoid war with Iran, becoming the first city in the state to do so.
In March 2005, Kiplinger's Personal Finance named Bellingham one of the top retirement cities in the nation. Purchase price of homes has risen, but rent has remained relatively stable. Many of the condominiums recently built as a result of the demand for affordable housing have subsequently become rental units.
Bellingham has seen a resurgence of real-estate development as house prices climb, caused in part by new residents moving in to the community. In order to accommodate this growth, new properties have sprung up all over the city, including the Downtown, Fairhaven, Happy Valley, Cordata, and Barkley neighborhoods. The city has reiterated their commitment to developing a wide range of housing options for all income categories, while retaining the integrity of existing communities. Annexation of surrounding farmland and county wilderness has been kept to a minimum due to public concern for environmental preservation, but several controversies have risen over the city's decisions to counteract the loss of land by allowing taller buildings in the city core, major new development on previously undeveloped land, and a lack of parks and open spaces in some of the more recently developed areas.
The Bellingham waterfront has served as an industrial center for the past century, most notably the area encompassing the former Georgia-Pacific mill. G-P purchased the Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Company in 1963 and operated a pulp mill on the central downtown waterfront until 2001. In 1965, G-P built a Chlor-Alkali facility, which became a source of mercury contamination in the Whatcom Waterway and on the uplands of the site for decades. The documentary film, "Smells Like Money - The Story of Bellingham's Georgia Pacific Plant" tells the story of the site, which has since been purchased by the Port of Bellingham chiefly to create a marina in the 37 acre wastewater lagoon. The Port of Bellingham purchased the G-P site for $10 with the understanding they would assume liability for the contamination. The City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham entered into several interlocal agreements in which the City agreed to pay for all infrastructure costs, and the Port would create a marina, clean up the site, and retain all zoning.
The City and Port have entered into a partnership to redevelop the property, which has been unofficially renamed New Whatcom after the township of which the area was originally a part. A general plan for the city's waterfront was developed by the Waterfront Futures Group, and the new Waterfront Advisory Group has been convening to develop a more detailed plan focused on this particular site. The draft plan includes "a new city neighborhood with homes, shops, offices and light industry, as well as parks and promenades, a healthy shoreline habitat along Bellingham Bay..."
Some citizen groups have opposed the Port's plan, most notably the Bellingham Bay Foundation (formed in 2005). During the summer of 2006, the Bellingham Bay Foundation formed People for a Healthy Bay over a concern that many of the areas slated for development contained high mercury levels (as high as 12,500ppm in the soil under the former Chlor-Alkali facility). People for a Healthy Bay launched an initiative that would have required the City of Bellingham to advocate for removal of mercury to the highest practical level. The City successfully sued to keep the initiative off the ballot.
The Washington State Department of Ecology is currently reviewing public comment for the Port's cleanup documents of the Whatcom Waterway.
Ecology will host a second public comment period for the Cleanup Action Plan, at which time the specifics of the cleanup will be discussed and decided. The City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham will develop a Master Plan and implement tax-increment financing for the City's portion of funding of infrastructure. Infrastructure alone is expected to cost roughly $200 million. Whatcom County has declined participation in the financing, citing unmet gaps in funding, a lack of benefit to the County, and the need for County taxes to go toward emergency, jail, and mental health services.