Best PlacesColumbia, Bellingham, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Columbia, Bellingham, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Columbia, Bellingham ranks 1,230th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Columbia, Bellingham
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Columbia, Bellingham's strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbia, Bellingham ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Short commute19.2 minutes each way, better than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Columbia, Bellingham ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,516 a month, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Columbia, Bellingham
A household needs to earn about $162,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbia, Bellingham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $93,558, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Columbia, Bellingham's effective rate of 0.61%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Columbia, Bellingham
Columbia, Bellingham's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Columbia, Bellingham.
Who works in Columbia, Bellingham, and how
Work in Columbia, Bellingham centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in Columbia, Bellingham
Columbia, Bellingham has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Columbia, Bellingham and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Columbia, Bellingham, month by month
Columbia, Bellingham sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 40° | 33° |
| April | 60° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 76° | 65° | 54° |
| October | 61° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Columbia, Bellingham
The nearest airport, Bellingham International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 91 miles away.
Columbia, Bellingham measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Columbia, Bellingham against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Columbia, Bellingham
Is Columbia, Bellingham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbia, Bellingham ranks 1,230th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, clean air, and civic engagement, and lowest on state infrastructure and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Columbia, Bellingham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $634,669. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $93,558 median income, cost of living beats 49% of neighborhoods.
Is Columbia, Bellingham safe?
Yes, Columbia, Bellingham is safer than 64% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $504 per resident a year.
Compare Columbia, Bellingham with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbia, Bellingham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbia, Bellingham represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Columbia, Bellingham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbia, Bellingham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbia, Bellingham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbia, Bellingham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbia, Bellingham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbia, Bellingham detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.