Bellingham is a city of 120,800 in Whatcom County and the main city of the Bellingham metro area, home to 230,500 · Updated November 2026
How common is violent crime in Bellingham?
Violent crime in Bellingham sits near the national middle: an A, safer than the neighborhoods where 50% of Americans live. Assaults make up 91% of it, and most of those are simple assaults, which involve no weapon and no serious injury.
A
Violent crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 862 of 1,000About as much violent crime as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
50% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more violent crime than Bellingham as a whole, and 50% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a violent crime safety score of 860, a CrimeGrade™ of A. Bellingham scores 862.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more violent crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its violent crime with the people who spend time there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy downtown or nightlife strip can show red while the homes around it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a solid connection. Compare high speed internet in Bellingham, WA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Bellingham, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about violent crime in Bellingham
One part of Bellingham stands out for aggravated assault. Aggravated assaults in Lettered Streets, Downtown Business District & York, in central Bellingham, run at more than double the rate in the rest of the city.
Robberies happen at stores and businesses more often than nationally. In Bellingham, 56% of reported robberies happen at stores and businesses, against 33% nationally.
Where violent crime is lowest and highest in Bellingham
Every part of Bellingham where people live grades A or B for violent crime on the national scale. Violent crime grades across Bellingham run from A+ to B.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the violent crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
1Mount Baker, northeastAggravated assaults run at about half the rate in the rest of Bellingham.A+927
2Puget & Whatcom Falls, southeastAggravated assaults run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Bellingham.A916
3Meridian & Cornwall Park, northClose to the rest of Bellingham on most crimes.A882
9Lettered Streets, Downtown Business District & York, centralRobberies run about 80% higher here than in the rest of Bellingham.B685
Neighborhood areas of Bellingham, ranked by violent crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Violent crime rates and types in Bellingham
CrimeGrade™ estimates Bellingham has about 9.7 reported violent crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 27% less than the US as a whole and close to Washington.
All violent crime
Assaults
Robbery
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Violent crime here includes simple assaults, which the FBI's violent crime rate leaves out.
Assault is the most common violent crime in Bellingham, about 91% of the total.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a violent crime with the people who spend time in an area, not only the people who live there. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when violent crime happens in Bellingham
Bellingham has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Bellingham, 23% of aggravated assaults happen at a home, against 53% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Robbery
Stores and businesses (56%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Stores and businesses (25%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Violent crime in Bellingham and nearby cities
Bellingham has the most violent crime of its 4 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Bellingham. Beside each violent crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Bellingham is safer than 68% of them.
Bellingham looks like a typical city on the traits that tend to go with violent crime.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Bellingham: C- (27 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more assault. 67% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.C- (26 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 75% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more robbery.48 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 60% of US city residents
Show all 4
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.21% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 59% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What violent crime costs Bellingham
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, violent crime costs Bellingham about $91 million a year, or $756 per resident. The costs that reach a bill, such as medical care, lost work and the justice system, come to about $22 million, or $179 per resident.
Billed cost of violent crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering are about 76% of that full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.3 million
$36
Rape
$1.7 million
$14
Robbery
$2.3 million
$19
Assault
$13 million
$110
Total
$22 million
$179
How CrimeGrade™ works
The violent crime CrimeGrade™ covers murder, rape, robbery and assault, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each violent crime against the people who spend time in an area, so a busy downtown is graded on its workers and visitors as well as its residents.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
