Updated April 2026 · U.S. Census Bureau, fiscal year 2023
Where Does Bellingham, WA Get Its Money?
Bellingham, WA took in $1.9B in total revenue, or $20,961 per resident. Its largest single source is Other at $683.8M, followed by Charges & Fees at $332.7M. Per the U.S. Census Bureau, the balance comes from a mix of taxes, intergovernmental transfers, and user charges.
Bellingham, WA Budget Snapshot
| Total Spending | $1.8B |
| Per Capita Spending | $19,583 |
| Total Revenue | $1.9B |
| Total Debt | $26.5M |
| Debt Per Capita | $290 |
| Population | 91,353 |
| Fiscal Health Score | 65/100 (B) |
| Data Year | FY 2023 |
Where Bellingham, WA's Money Comes From
Where does the money come from? Property tax provides 0 percent of city revenue, sales tax 2 percent, intergovernmental transfers from federal and state sources 9 percent, and direct charges and user fees 17 percent. The remainder comes from utility revenue, income tax (where applicable), and miscellaneous sources.
Where the Money Goes
Of the $1.8B that Bellingham, WA spent in its most recent reported fiscal year, the largest single line item per resident is Parks & Recreation at $1,350. Health comes next at $671 per resident. Together those two functions account for the bulk of every-day taxpayer-facing services in the city budget. The remaining categories, parks, health, housing, debt service, and general administration, fill out the picture.
Top Spending Categories (Per Capita)
Debt Burden in Context
Debt-wise, Bellingham sits close to the peer median for cities its size: $290 per resident versus a peer-group median of $0. That tracks with normal capital-program borrowing for streets, water, and public buildings.
What Does the B Grade Mean?
Bellingham, WA earns a B on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (65/100). The city's books are reliably balanced and debt is manageable, with one or two factors (typically pension funding or revenue diversity) keeping the score below A range.
How This Score Is Calculated
The CitySpend Fiscal Health Score combines six factors into one composite, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances: budget balance and reserves (25%), debt burden per capita versus peer median (20%), pension funded ratio from the Public Plans Database (20%), spending efficiency (15%), revenue diversity (10%), and three-year trend direction (10%). Best-practice weighting follows guidance from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Read the full methodology.
More about Bellingham, WA
Bellingham, WA took in $1.9B in total revenue, or $20,961 per resident. Its largest single source is Other at $683.8M, followed by Charges & Fees at $332.7M. Per the U.S. Census Bureau, the balance comes from a mix of taxes, intergovernmental transfers, and user charges.
This answer pulls from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, the authoritative federal source for U.S. municipal and county government finances. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.