Bellingham’s median income dropped $12K in 2023, poverty up 54%, new Census Bureau data says

Bellingham saw its average income dip while poverty levels jumped significantly, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey released Thursday, Sept. 12.

Bellingham average income falls

The survey, which covers population, demographic and economic data, estimates that Bellingham’s median household income in 2023 was $54,867. That’s a drastic drop from the previous year, when it was estimated at $67,419. Prior to the drop, Bellingham’s median household income had held steady just under between $65,000 and $70,000 since at least 2019.

In Whatcom County as a whole, meanwhile, the drop was slightly less pronounced. The median household income fell from just under $82,500 in 2022 to just under $75,000 last year.

The data is adjusted for inflation, meaning the figures from previous years’ figures represent 2023 dollar-amount. Nationwide, inflation reached 7.9% between the start of 2022 and the start of 2023, while it was at 3.4% between the end of 2022 and the end of 2023. That accounts for some, but not all, of the drop.

Bellingham’s average income was well below Washington’s median of $94,605 and the national median of $74,755. Both Washington and the country as a whole saw inflation-adjusted incomes drop last year, but not nearly as sharply as Bellingham — the Washington median fell by roughly $500 while the national median fell by $400.

Bellingham’s average household income, which is more likely to be affected by the city’s top earners, saw a similar dip, going from $94,019 in 2022 to $82,471 last year when adjusted for inflation.

Poverty up by 54%

Unsurprisingly, the percentage of Bellingham residents whose income places them below the poverty line saw a significant jump in 2023. The Census Bureau estimates that 22% of Bellingham residents lived below the poverty line in 2023, up from 14.3% in 2022 and 19.8% in 2021.

That number is over twice as high as the statewide rate of 10.3% and nearly double the national rate of 12.6%. Whatcom County’s rate, meanwhile, was estimated at 13.4%.

How precise are the estimates?

The ACS comes up with its numbers by contacting 3.5 million households, according to the Census Bureau. That accounts for roughly 2.75% of all households in the country, and not all of those households respond, meaning there’s a chance that estimates are off, especially in smaller cities.

In Bellingham, the data comes from 477 households, roughly 1.1% of the city’s total, while the Census Bureau interviewed 1,447 in Whatcom County as a whole.

With that sample size, the Census Bureau says there’s a $4,075 margin of error for Bellingham’s median income data, meaning there’s a 90% chance that the true median household income is within roughly $4,000 of their initial estimate. For Bellingham’s poverty rate, meanwhile, the Census Bureau placed the margin of error at 4.1%.

This story was originally published September 14, 2024 at 1:41 PM.