Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Living in Bellingham, WA: what to set up and who to call
Bellingham has its own drop-off, Sanitary Service Company. Trains stop in Bellingham, at Bellingham Fairhaven.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Bellingham, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Bellingham.
Power comes from Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Bellingham. Its homes paid an average of 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025, about $147 a month (its average across Washington).
Start or move service: pse.com · (888) 225-5773
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from City of Bellingham-Water Division
City of Bellingham-Water Division supplies almost all of Bellingham. It draws surface water and serves 141,127 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 332 systems serving 100,001–250,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2021–Dec 2023, was 3.4 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 82% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. WA5305600.
8 home internet providers serve Bellingham
100% of 24,551 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 30% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 100% | 2,000/250 |
| CenturyLink | DSL, Fiber | 40% | 940/200 |
| Quantum Fiber | Fiber | 32% | 3,000/3,000 |
| Astound Broadband | Cable, Fiber, DSL | 3% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 75% | 300/20 |
| Pogozone powered by Neubeam | Fixed wireless | 72% | 40/7 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Bellingham
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Bellingham, from the town’s own site.
Sanitary Service Company
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
From cob.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2026-07-24, 2026-07-24T23:10:52+00:00, 2026-09-03, 2026-09-03T22:36:14+00:00. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Bellingham (97%) is in Bellingham School District; parts are in Meridian School District (3%).
B+School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Oct 2016; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Bellingham spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Bellingham residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Bellingham | ZIP’s residents in Bellingham |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98225 | Bellingham, WA | 50% | 93% |
| 98226 | Bellingham, WA | 28% | 55% |
| 98229 | Bellingham, WA | 22% | 59% |
98227, 98228 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs with no homes.
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Bellingham
Who supplies Bellingham’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
City of Bellingham-Water Division (EPA ID WA5305600). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 3.4 ppb (Jan 2021–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Bellingham?
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Bellingham?
Xfinity, CenturyLink, Quantum Fiber, Astound Broadband, Verizon, Pogozone powered by Neubeam (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Bellingham?
98225 (50%), 98226 (28%), 98229 (22%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Bellingham in?
Bellingham School District. Parts of the city are in Meridian School District.
How do I register to vote in Bellingham?
In Washington you can register online until 8 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 8 days before). Elections here are run by the Whatcom County Auditor. Check your registration at voter.votewa.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: Bellingham’s own website (cob.org), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.