Census shows Bellingham back among state’s 12 most-populated cities. Here are the numbers
Bellingham grew by more than 700 people in 2021, according to the latest U.S. Census population estimates, enough to bump it up one spot to the 12th-most populated city within Washington state.
As of July 1, 2021, a total of 92,289 people called the City of Subdued Excitement home, according to Vintage 2021 Local Population and Housing Unit Estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday, May 26.
That is an increase of 0.8% (719 people) over the 2020 estimate of 91,570 Bellingham residents.
With the increase, Bellingham moved up one spot in the list of the most-populated cities in the state to 12th, surpassing Kirkland, which estimates showed had a population decrease of 648 people from 2020.
Bellingham joins Seattle (733,919 people), Spokane (229,071), Tacoma (219,205), Vancouver (192,169), Bellevue (149,440), Kent (134,835), Everett (110,812), Spokane Valley (105,905), Renton (105,179), Federal Way (99,037) and Yakima (96,578) among the state’s top dozen cities in terms of population.
Of those 11, only Spokane Valley (2.0% growth) grew at a higher rate than Bellingham, while eight of the top 12 cities saw population decreases last year.
Bellingham was not the only Whatcom County city in 2021 to see its population grow last year, according to the Census estimates, nor was it the fastest growing:
▪ Lynden grew by 224 people (1.4%) to 16,048 and is the 66th-most populated city in the state.
▪ Ferndale grew by 333 people (2.2%) to 15,476 and is the 68th-most populated city in the state.
▪ Blaine grew by 73 people (1.2%) to 5,976 and is the 117th-most populated city in the state.
▪ Everson grew by 67 people (2.3%) to 2,967 and is the 144th-most populated city in the state.
▪ Sumas grew by 18 people (1.1%) to 1,629 and is the 180th-most populated city in the state.
▪ Nooksack grew by 66 people (4.3%) to 1,548 and is the 184th-most populated city in the state.
In a previous release, the Census Bureau reported that Whatcom County’s estimated population grew by 0.7% (1,527 people) between July 2020 and July 2021 to 228,831 residents.
Each city’s breakdowns by age, gender and race/ethnicity was not included in Thursday’s release.
The growth seen in Whatcom County’s cities reflected what was seen nationwide, where cities and towns in the South and West regions of the U.S. experienced the most growth between July of 2020 and 2021, according to a Census Bureau release accompanying Thursday’s data.
Eight of the 15 fastest-growing cities or towns were in the West, according to the release, though none were within Washington state.
Georgetown, Texas, had the highest percentage growth rate at 10.5% — a rate that would double its population (75,420 in 2021) in just seven years.
San Antonio, Texas, meanwhile, had the largest population gain (13,626 people) between 2020 and 2021 of any city in the U.S., though.
“While only 4% of all cities and towns had a population of 50,000 or more in 2021, collectively they contained 129.3 million people — nearly 39% of the U.S. population,” Census Bureau Population Division statistician Crystal Delbé said in the release. “On the other hand, of the 19,494 incorporated places in the United States, more than 75% had fewer than 5,000 people.”
