Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States. It sits across Lake Washington from Seattle and is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area. With a population of 151,854 as of the 2020 census, Bellevue is also the fifth-largest city in Washington.

The city gets its name from the French term belle vue, meaning "beautiful view." Bellevue is known for being a home to many big technology companies. Some well-known companies based there include PACCAR Inc, T-Mobile US, Valve, and Amazon, which was founded there by Jeff Bezos.

Downtown Bellevue is the second-largest city center in Washington state. It has many businesses, employees, and residents, and it has been growing quickly with new tall buildings being built. The city has also been highly ranked for living and starting a business, showing it is a great place to call home.

History

The Duwamish people had a small village called Satskal near what is now downtown Bellevue. European settlers first arrived in 1869, but permanent residents didn't come until 1879. By 1882, a small community of loggers had formed. In the early 1900s, Bellevue became a popular weekend spot for people from Seattle.

Before the Lake Washington Floating Bridge opened in 1940, Bellevue was mostly farmland. After the bridge was built, the city started to grow. Bellevue officially became a city in 1953. With new bridges opening in the 1960s, the city grew quickly. Today, Bellevue is a large city with many tall buildings and busy areas. Bellevue Square, a big shopping center, opened in 1946 and has grown a lot since the 1980s.

The city has big plans for the future, like the Bel-Red Corridor Project, which will change 900 acres of land. The Spring District is a new neighborhood with homes and shops. The 2 Line of Link light rail started running in April 2024, reaching Seattle in March 2026.

Geography

Bellevue is located between Lake Washington to the west and Lake Sammamish to the east. The city is drained by the Kelsey Creek watershed, which starts near Larsen Lake and Phantom Lake and flows out near where Interstate 90 meets Lake Washington. Major roads like Interstate 405 and Interstate 90 run through the city, and State Route 520 marks part of its northern edge.

The city covers an area of 37.505 square miles (97.14 km²), with 33.468 square miles (86.68 km²) of land and 4.037 square miles (10.46 km²) of water. Bellevue’s name comes from a French word meaning "beautiful view." On clear days, you can see the Olympic Mountains and Cascade Mountains from higher parts of the city.

Bellevue is surrounded by several neighborhoods and cities, including Kirkland to the north, Redmond to the northeast, Mercer Island to the southwest, and Issaquah to the east.

Cityscape

See also: List of tallest buildings in Bellevue, Washington

Neighborhoods within Bellevue include Bridle Trails, Cougar Mountain/Lakemont, Crossroads, Downtown, Eastgate/Factoria, Lake Hills, Newport, Northeast Bellevue, Northwest Bellevue, Somerset, West Bellevue, West Lake Sammamish, Wilburton/BelRed, and Woodridge.

Climate

Bellevue has a mild oceanic climate. It often rains from October to May, with usual rainfall over 2 inches (51 mm). July is the warmest month, and January is the coldest. On average, Bellevue gets about 32.02 inches (813 mm) of rain each year. However, some recent years have seen more rain than usual.

Economy

See also: List of companies based in Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue is an important place for jobs in the Seattle area, especially for technology and software companies. Many big companies have offices here, including PACCAR Inc, T-Mobile US, Eddie Bauer, SAP Concur, and Symetra. Large technology companies like eBay, Meta, ByteDance, Oracle, Salesforce, Google, and Microsoft also have offices in Bellevue.

In recent years, Amazon and Facebook have opened big engineering centers in Bellevue, adding thousands of jobs. Google opened a major engineering office downtown in 2018. Many new tall office buildings are being built or planned, especially in Downtown Bellevue, to meet the growing need for space. This growth is partly because of a special tax in Seattle that affects big employers.

Demographics

As of 2018, one in three people in Bellevue were born in another country, mostly because many big technology companies have offices there. About 23% of people in Bellevue work in engineering or science. Around half of the people living there are from different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

In 2018, the average amount of money a family in Bellevue made was $113,698. In 2020, Bellevue was named one of the best small cities in the United States for people who stay active, with 86 percent saying they exercise regularly.

2020 census

In the 2020 census, Bellevue had 151,854 people living there. The average age was 37.2 years old. About 20.8% of people were younger than 18, and 14.1% were 65 or older. For every 100 girls and women, there were 102 boys and men.

There were 60,953 homes in Bellevue. About 31.2% of these homes had children under 18 living in them. Most homes, 53.2%, were where a husband and wife lived together. Some homes had only a man living alone (20.0%), and some had only a woman living alone (21.6%). About 26.6% of homes had just one person living in them, and 8.0% of these were people who were 65 or older.

There were 64,688 places to live, but 5.8% of them were empty. Of the homes people owned, only 1.1% were empty, while 6.2% of homes that people rented were empty.

All of Bellevue’s residents lived in urban areas.

2010 census

In the 2010 census, Bellevue had 122,363 people living there. The average number of people in a home was 2.41, and the average number in a family was 2.97. The average age was 38.5 years. About 21.2% of people were younger than 18, 7.6% were between 18 and 24, 30.8% were between 25 and 44, 26.5% were between 45 and 64, and 13.9% were 65 or older.

The people living there were 50.1% male and 49.9% female. The city had many people from different backgrounds: 62.6% were White, 2.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 27.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.1% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Also, 7.0% of the people identified as Hispanic or Latino.

There were 50,355 homes. About 30% of these homes had children under 18 living in them. Many homes, 52.9%, were where a husband and wife lived together. Some homes had only a woman living alone (7.6%), and some had only a man living alone (3.3%). About 36.2% of homes were not families. One in four homes had just one person living in them, and 8.4% of these were people who were 65 or older.

The population density was 3,827.7 people per square mile (1,477.9/km²). There were 55,551 homes, with an average of 1,737.6 per square mile (670.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.6% White, 2.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 27.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 3.1% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 7.0% of the population. There were 50,355 households, of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no spouse present, 3.3% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 36.2% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.97.

Arts and culture

Bellevue holds many special events each year. The Bellevue Arts and Crafts Fair has been happening every July since 1947. Every two years, the Bellevue Sculpture Exhibition brings artists from all over the country to show their work in Downtown Park. The Strawberry Festival, started in 1925, celebrates Bellevue's history with strawberry farming and happens each June.

Bellevue has many places for art lovers. The Bellevue Arts Museum opened in 1975 and moved several times. After facing money problems, it reopened in 2005 but closed again in 2024. The Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, now closed, once showed over a thousand dolls. Meydenbauer Center near Interstate 405 hosts events and performances. Plans are underway to build a new performing arts center called the Tateuchi Center.

Bellevue is known for its Chinese restaurants, especially since the 2010s. T&T Supermarket, a store focusing on Chinese goods, opened its first U.S. location in Factoria in 2024.

The city cares for its parks and green spaces, managing over 2,500 acres. Bellevue Botanical Garden and many parks are popular spots. Bellevue had a basketball team, the Bellevue Blackhawks, which reached the championship game in 2005. The Seattle Redhawks baseball team has played at Bannerwood Park since 2010.

Government and politics

Bellevue uses a council-manager style of government. This means there are seven council members who are elected by everyone in the city to serve four-year terms. These council members pick one of their own to be the mayor, who helps lead meetings and talks about city matters but does not have special decision-making power. A city manager, also chosen by the council, handles the city's everyday work.

The city tends to support Democratic ideas, similar to nearby Seattle and King County. In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, most voters in Bellevue chose Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.

Education

Main article: Bellevue School District

Most of Bellevue is covered by the Bellevue School District. There are four main public high schools: Bellevue High School, Interlake High School, Newport High School, and Sammamish High School. Two special choice schools, International School and Big Picture School, are also available.

Some parts of Bellevue fall under other school districts, like Lake Washington School District, Renton School District, and Issaquah School District.

For higher learning, Bellevue has Bellevue College, which is part of the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system.

The city also has special schools for gifted students, such as Open Window School, and other schools like the Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle and several Montessori schools. There is also a Waldorf education school called Three Cedars School and Bellevue Christian School. The Seattle Japanese School holds weekend classes for Japanese students in Bellevue.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bellevue is located on Interstate 405, a major road that helps cars move north and south east of Seattle. This road connects to other roads like Interstate 90 and State Route 520 through special bridges that float on Lake Washington. The streets in downtown Bellevue are wide but not very easy for walking or biking. The city plans to make improvements for walkers and cyclists.

Bellevue is a central place for buses run by King County Metro and Sound Transit. The Bellevue Transit Center is in the downtown area and links to many neighborhoods and cities around. A new electric shuttle service started in August 2023, which is free for everyone.

The 2 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail runs from Lynnwood to Redmond, stopping in Seattle, Mercer Island, and Bellevue. It started operating in 2024 after some delays. The city worked with Sound Transit to build the light rail underground in downtown Bellevue.

Bellevue used to have a railroad line and an airfield, but they are no longer in use today. Plans are underway to turn part of the old railroad into a walking and biking trail.

Notable people

Bellevue has been home to many well-known people in different fields. Some of them are Josh Atencio, a soccer player, and William S. Ayer, the former president and CEO of Alaska Airlines. Others include Budda Baker, a professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals, and Sue Bird, a former basketball player for the Seattle Storm.

Many athletes come from Bellevue, such as Matthew Boyd, a Major League Baseball pitcher, and Michael Brantley, an outfielder for the Houston Astros. The city has also been home to actors like Peter Horton and Timothy Omundson, as well as business leaders like Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and Gabe Newell, owner of Valve.

Sister cities

Bellevue has several sister cities around the world. These include:

• Hualien, Taiwan
• Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
• Kladno, Czech Republic
• Liepāja, Latvia