PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Bellingham, WA

38.6
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#346
of 387 metros
11%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Bellingham ranks #346 of 387 US metros, ahead of 11% - carried by its wages (91/100) and held back most by environment (8/100).

91
strongest: Wages
68
then: Schools
8
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Bellingham sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 11th percentile higher than 11% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Bellingham Life Score

Bellingham's composite score of 38.6 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #346 of 387, ahead of 11% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (91/100) and Schools (68/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (8/100) and Cost of Living (11/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 103.3 (rent-RPP 112.9). BLS median salary $74,723, 82,720 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,794/mo (studio $1,463).

FBI UCR (WA): 329 violent, 2498 property/100K. NCES: 17.6:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,987/yr. EPA: 69 Superfund sites (WA). Ranks #343-#349 below.

Dimension detail

How Bellingham scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 11/100 (20%)
Wages 91/100 (20%)
Rent 15/100 (15%)
Safety 47/100 (15%)
Schools 68/100 (10%)
Childcare 14/100 (10%)
Environment 8/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

103.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$74,723
Avg Median Salary
$1,794
2BR Fair Market Rent
329
Violent Crime/100K (WA)
17.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$15,987
Infant Childcare/yr (WA)
69
Superfund Sites (WA)
82,720
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Bellingham With...

Bellingham vs Lewiston Compare → Bellingham vs Yakima Compare → Bellingham vs Longview Compare → Bellingham vs Wildwood Compare → Bellingham vs Waterloo Compare → Bellingham vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Bellingham outranks 11% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#343 Salinas, CA 38.8 C-
#344 Grand Junction, CO 38.8 C-
#345 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 38.8 C-
#346 Bellingham, WA 38.6 C-
#347 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 38.6 C-
#348 Dover, DE 38.5 C-
#349 Fresno, CA 38.3 D

WA Metro Scores

Lewiston, ID-WA A- 60.4 Yakima, WA B 54.4 Longview-Kelso, WA B- 50.0 Walla Walla, WA B- 49.6 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA B- 49.4 Kennewick-Richland, WA B- 48.5

Using Bellingham's Life Score

Bellingham is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (91/100) and its weakest is environment (8/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Bellingham head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Bellingham lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Bellingham's biggest strengths? ▼
Bellingham's strongest dimensions are Wages (91/100), Schools (68/100), Safety (47/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Bellingham's weakest areas? ▼
Bellingham's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (8/100), Cost of Living (11/100), Childcare (14/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Bellingham compared to the national average? ▼
Bellingham's Regional Price Parity is 103.3 (3.3% more than national); rent RPP 112.9.
What is the average salary in Bellingham? ▼
Bellingham median salary: $74,723, 82,720 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Bellingham's 38.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.