Bellingham migration, mapped
In 2022–23, 9,370 people moved into the Bellingham metro and 8,403 moved out, a net of +967. Yellow arcs are people arriving, blue arcs are people leaving. Hover a dot to see the corridor, or click through to compare.
The map couldn’t load. The numbers below still tell the story.
† IRS methodology change in this year’s files (see methodology)
What the flows say
- Biggest published corridors: Seattle, WA leads both directions, with 2,434 people in and 1,936 out in 2022–23. The listed corridors cover about 58–63% of all flows; the totals count everyone.
- Trend: net inflow has strengthened over the last three years, from +511 in 2020–21 to +967 in 2022–23†.
Population · 2025
236,392
▲ 0.8% year over year · growing
Peak population
236,392
highest in the series shown (since 2000)
Why the population is changing
- Growth driver: domestic migration added more people than anything else: +1,434 in 2025, ahead of births minus deaths (−74) and international migration (+424).
- Peak population: the 2025 estimate of 236,392 is the highest on record, in data going back to 2000.
Net income flow · 2022–23
+$72M
▲ $485M arrived · $413M left
Avg household income · movers
$76k in · $73k out
similar incomes both directions
Bellingham wealth migration
- Money moved: households moving into the Bellingham metro in 2022–23 reported $485M in income (AGI). Households leaving took $413M with them, a net gain of $72M.
- Income gap: the average household moving in reported $76k of income, vs $73k for leavers. Arriving and leaving households report similar incomes.
About the data
Corridors are IRS county-to-county migration flows added up into metro areas (2023 Census metro definitions; exemptions ≈ people). "Rest of" entries cover a state's counties outside any featured metro. The IRS hides corridors with fewer than 20 returns, so the lists here cover about 63% of inbound and 58% of outbound movers in 2022–23. The in, out, and net totals count everyone. Income figures are the total income (AGI) movers reported, from the complete county totals. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation, and household averages divide by the number of returns. Population figures are Census Bureau estimates; the peak covers records since 2000. Years marked † had a change in how the IRS built the files. Full details on the methodology page.
Download this data (CSV), free to use with attribution.
Every mover in Bellingham is a future client
Shilo's AI listens to your calls, grades them, and shows you where deals slip away, so your next call is sharper.
