Bellingham, WA, Washington: Realigning Affluent Suburb metro. In 2024, voted D+25%. Republican peak: R+55 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+25MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Realigning Affluent SuburbAkashic typology
- Population
- 230,5032024 5-year
- Median household income
- $81,7842024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 78.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+30 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 1904MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Bellingham, WA
HarrisD+25
Constituent county margins for Bellingham, WA, WAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Kamala Harris ✓Democratic | 60.4% | 83,295 |
|---|---|---|
| Donald TrumpRepublican | 35.7% | 49,213 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 3.9% | 5,360 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −13.3% |
| 1896 | +6.0% |
| 1900 | −24.0% |
| 1904 | −55.1% |
| 1908 | −29.7% |
| 1912 | −9.4% |
| 1916 | −12.6% |
| 1920 | −43.1% |
| 1924 | −51.4% |
| 1928 | −55.3% |
| 1932 | +9.3% |
| 1936 | +24.8% |
| 1940 | +5.3% |
| 1944 | +6.8% |
| 1948 | −0.4% |
| 1952 | −15.3% |
| 1956 | −8.9% |
| 1960 | −7.5% |
| 1964 | +29.9% |
| 1968 | −2.2% |
| 1972 | −19.5% |
| 1976 | −0.6% |
| 1980 | −6.4% |
| 1984 | −9.0% |
| 1988 | +3.5% |
| 1992 | +4.4% |
| 1996 | +3.0% |
| 2000 | −0.3% |
| 2004 | +8.8% |
| 2008 | +18.0% |
| 2012 | +13.9% |
| 2016 | +17.4% |
| 2020 | +23.9% |
| 2024 | +24.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 83,295 | 49,213 | 137,868 | ||
| D | 83,660 | 50,489 | 138,620 | ||
| D | 60,340 | 40,599 | 113,339 | ||
| D | 57,089 | 42,703 | 103,788 | ||
| D | 58,236 | 40,205 | 100,339 | ||
| D | 48,268 | 40,296 | 90,394 | ||
| R | 34,033 | 34,287 | 73,757 | ||
| D | 29,074 | 27,153 | 64,510 | ||
| D | 26,619 | 23,801 | 63,679 | ||
| D | 25,571 | 23,820 | 50,094 | ||
| R | 22,670 | 27,228 | 50,686 | ||
| R | 18,430 | 21,371 | 46,057 | ||
| R | 19,739 | 20,007 | 41,679 | ||
| R | 15,027 | 22,585 | 38,801 | ||
| R | 14,003 | 14,695 | 31,199 | ||
| D | 20,297 | 10,900 | 31,422 | ||
| R | 14,298 | 16,651 | 31,526 | ||
| R | 14,533 | 17,414 | 32,191 | ||
| R | 12,877 | 17,590 | 30,828 | ||
| R | 12,736 | 12,850 | 27,451 | ||
| D | 14,787 | 12,890 | 28,098 | ||
| D | 14,877 | 13,351 | 28,834 | ||
| D | 15,428 | 9,035 | 25,756 | ||
| D | 11,355 | 9,254 | 22,511 | ||
| R | 4,100 | 14,621 | 19,021 | ||
| R | 927 | 9,214 | 16,110 | ||
| R | 2,288 | 9,157 | 15,920 | ||
| R | 5,629 | 7,632 | 15,842 | ||
| O | 2,773 | 4,187 | 15,005 | ||
| R | 2,398 | 4,955 | 8,621 | ||
| R | 1,174 | 5,410 | 7,684 | ||
| R | 1,700 | 2,952 | 5,214 | ||
| D | 2,227 | 1,971 | 4,270 | ||
| R | 1,161 | 1,709 | 4,118 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
15.5%
English
14.0%
Irish
10.0%
Scottish
3.7%
Italian
3.4%
American
3.2%
French
2.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 38.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$81,784
Bellingham, WA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Bellingham, WA$81,784
Washington$98,141
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.6%
Working age (18–64)13.2%
Seniors (65+)8.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
87.5%
speak English only
Spanish6.1%
Other Indo-European3.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.3%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Bellingham anchors Whatcom County at the Canadian border, where Western Washington University's enrollment and a growing exurban population create a consistent Democratic lean tempered by competitive rural precincts to the east.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of thirty points in 1964 and a Republican high of fifty-five points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved one point toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-five points.
A population of 230,503, a 78% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $81,784 describe the metro.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Bellingham, WA, Washington. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/13380/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Bellingham, WA, Washington vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bellingham, WA, Washington voted Democratic by 24.7 points (D+25), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 137,868 votes cast, 83,295 went Democratic and 49,213 went Republican.
What is Bellingham, WA, Washington's political typology?
Akashic places Bellingham, WA, Washington in the "Realigning Affluent Suburb" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 18 times, and other 1 times.
When did Bellingham, WA, Washington last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Bellingham, WA, Washington voted Republican was 2000.
How many people live in Bellingham, WA, Washington?
Bellingham, WA, Washington has a population of 230,503 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bellingham, WA, Washington?
Median household income in Bellingham, WA, Washington is $81,784 — above the national median of $80,734. The Washington state median is $98,141.
What is the political history of Bellingham, WA, Washington?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bellingham, WA, Washington from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Realigning Affluent Suburb" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.