Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 154,193, Bellevue does well: it grades B+, 63rd of 285 graded towns in Washington. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally and its public schools beat 96% of Washington towns on state tests and graduation. The trade-offs: homes are expensive, about $1.4 million for a typical one and 12 times the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 77% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. 72% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Bellevue, where Washington’s towns sit at 30% and U.S. towns at 29%. Bellevue is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Bellevue is home to Bellevue College.
Where Bellevue beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Bellevue | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer smokers | 5.5% | 10.1% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Somerset Elementary School | K–5 | 741 |
| Stevenson Elementary | PK–5 | 581 |
| Jing Mei Elementary School | PK–5 | 577 |
122,363 counted in 2010 and 151,854 in 2020; an estimated 154,193 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Bellevue is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 254 in 1900, a low of 150 in 1910, 151,854 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 4 maps from 1950 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bellevue. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
8 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
8 mi Ancient siteSeattle Underground
8 mi Stadium & arenaHusky StadiumSpace Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Husky Stadium: Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bellevue, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bellevue.
Bellevue has schools in the top 5% of Washington and draws workers from Seattle and beyond, but it reports more crime than Issaquah and its other graded neighbors.
At 12 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home (about $1.39M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. The typical value, about $1.39M, is 9% below its June 2022 peak.
The median rent in Bellevue is $2,572 a month. The typical Bellevue home is worth about $1,386,000, down 4.4% in a year, more than twice the Washington typical home. 52% of households own their home in Bellevue.
| Bellevue | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,572 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 52% | 71% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 36% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #10 of the 285 Washington towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.39M.
Its public schools are run by the Bellevue School District. Two of its 62 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyee Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,007 | – |
| Newport Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,850 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
76 miles of trail in 101 parks and preserves. Bellevue’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Coal Creek Natural Area, 411 acres with 5.9 miles of trail.
| Bellevue | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.0 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.8% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coal Creek Natural Area | 5.9 mi | 411 |
| 2. Wilburton Hill Park | 4.7 mi | 123 |
| 3. Mercer Slough Nature Park | 3 mi | 314 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Washington is smoking: 5.5% of its 120,263 adults smoke cigarettes, against 10.1% statewide.
19% of Bellevue adults have obesity. Only 1 of the 285 Washington towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Bellevue. 25% of Bellevue adults have high blood pressure.
| Bellevue | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.5% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bellevue | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer smokers | 5.5% | 10.1% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 2.8% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
149,690 jobs are based in Bellevue, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 35.6% of workers work from home, against 19.8% across Washington.
About one in 5 of Bellevue’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Bellevue grew to 149,690 in 2023, 27,694 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Seattle (32%), Redmond (17%) and Kirkland (4%).
| Bellevue | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 36% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $166,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Each of the 6 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Issaquah (C−) to Sammamish (A). At 35.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 67% of Washington’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Since 1981, 39 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bellevue.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Seattle Sand Pt Wsfo weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 76°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36.2°.
Bellevue has mild winters and pleasant summers. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Bellevue | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 76°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
22 within 15 miles of the center of Bellevue
About 6 of every 100 Bellevue residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
52 notable people were born in Bellevue.
City in Washington, United States
Bellevue (, BEL-vew) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the fifth-largest city in Washington. It has variously been characterized as a satellite city, a suburb, a boomburb, or an edge city. The population was 151,854 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from the French term belle vue ("beautiful view"). Bellevue is home to some of the world's largest technology companies. Before and after the 2008 recession, its downtown area has been undergoing rapid change with many high-rise projects being constructed. Downtown Bellevue is curr…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Bellevue.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Newcastle (B+) is closest.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | #63 | B+ | D− | C− | A+ | A+ |
| Redmond | #49 | B+ | D− | C | A+ | A+ |
| Medina | #3 | A | D− | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Beaux Arts Village | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Issaquah | #56 | B+ | D− | C− | A+ | A+ |
| Newcastle | #57 | B+ | D− | C+ | A | A+ |
| Kirkland | #28 | A− | D− | B− | A+ | A+ |
| Sammamish | #1 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
Beaux Arts Village isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bellevue with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bellevue grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #63 of 285 in Washington. It grades A+ for health, C− for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
52 notable people were born here, including Larry Sanger and Layne Staley.
