“Race” is a socially constructed category and census data on race is always controversial. The racial categories used for the census have also changed from decade to decade, so it is not possible to look in a detailed manner at racial demographic trends over time. Nonetheless, by simplifying past census data into two broad categories, non-Hispanic “White” and “People of color” (POC), we can get a glimpse into the racial composition of Bellingham after White settlers had forced the indigenous inhabits off the land.

As the figure above indicates, the earliest census data available is from 1890. However, it should be noted that Bellingham did not incorporate until 1903, when the towns of Fairhaven, Whatcom, Sehome and Bellingham were amalgamated into a single city. The 1890 and 1900 data above combine census data available for Fairhaven and Whatcom (no data for Sehome and Bellingham could be found).

Furthermore, if a census had been taken in 1850, it would have indicated 100% People of color (i.e. indigenous people) because no White (Euro-American) people had settled in this area yet.

Beyond the historical census data above, more detailed current census data for Bellingham can be found at www.census.gov/quickfacts/bellinghamcitywashington, and other related data, such as the geographic distribution of Bellingham residents by race/ethnicity, can be viewed on this Statistical Atlas website.