News - Local News

POSTED: Saturday, Jul. 04, 2009

Report: Whatcom County population growth slows

Whatcom County's population is growing at its slowest rate in seven years, mirroring the trend throughout Washington, according to new state data.

The county's population grew by 1.1 percent from 2008 to 2009, down from 1.4 percent the year before, according to the state Office of Financial Management. Residents welcomed 2,100 new neighbors.

The OFM statistics compare the estimated populations on April 1 of this year to April 1 of previous years.

"I knew it was low. I didn't expect it to be that low," local real estate agent Mike Kent said of the growth rate. "But it does reflect our challenge we've had in the market."

The entire state, which now has 6.67 million residents, grew 1.2 percent over the last year, a decrease from previous years. That was driven, in part, by fewer Californians moving here, according to the OFM. Poor economic conditions and the housing market nationwide are making it hard for people to sell their homes elsewhere and move here, according to the state's top demographer, Theresa Lowe.

That sounds familiar to Kent. Areas in California have been extremely hard hit.

"California quit coming here," he said. "In a word, that's what happened."

Still, there are signs of recovery, and we're approaching a sustainable market without wild swings, he said. His office has 11 offers on the table, more than it's had over the past two months. He's been surprised by how soon Canadians from British Columbia have re-entered the market and are buying second homes here, with many of them saying returning stability to their housing market has given them more confidence.

And low-end home buyers are expressing more interest because of low prices and a federal tax exemption set to expire later this year, he said.

Here's is a snapshot of growth over the past year:

• Bellingham gained 380 new residents for a total current population of 76,130 people. It grew 0.5 percent, down from a peak of 2.4 percent between 2006 and 2007.

• 70.2 percent of city dwellers in the county live in Bellingham. Counting the entire population of Whatcom County (including rural areas, Birch Bay and Columbia Valley), 39.4 percent of residents live in Bellingham.

• 193,100 people now live in Whatcom County. Of those, 56.1 percent live inside city limits, and the rest live in rural areas, Birch Bay, Columbia Valley and in unincorporated urban growth areas just outside city limits.

• Lynden widened its lead over Ferndale in the race for the second-largest city. With 11,690 residents, it now has a 610-person edge over Ferndale. Last year, Lynden had 550 more people than Ferndale. Lynden got a boost because it annexed a 271-acre area with 149 people last year.