2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Bellingham, WA vs Highlands, NC

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Highlights
- Household income in Highlands, is 12% less than it is in Bellingham and is 33% below the National Average.
- Bellingham unemployment rate is 6.2%.
- Highlands unemployment rate is 4.2%.
 Bellingham, WAHighlands, NCUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock4.2%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.0%1.6%
 Future Job Growth41.7%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.3%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$36,147  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$52,070$69,021
 Family Median Income$92,650  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Bellingham, WAHighlands, NCUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock12.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock17.3%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.7%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock3.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.2%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.3%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.6%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.9%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K7.1%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock5.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Bellingham, WAHighlands, NCUnited States
 Management, business, finance14.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock2.0%6.5%
 Community, social services2.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.6%1.2%
 Education, library8.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock5.9%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock0.0%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.8%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock17.0%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock4.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.2%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.4%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.7%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock1.8%13.1%
Reviews for Bellingham    58 Reviews

Over 3 years ago

I've lived in so many cities in 5 west coast states and have come to a conclusion that Bellingham is the greatest city to live, work, play and raise a family. After  More

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Over 4 years ago

From what I’ve seen and heard, the very liberal political/ethical beliefs of Bellingham residents, as well as the grey rainy weather, are the main things a few people  More

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If you’re like many Americans and caught up in right vs left you won’t like the far left here in Bellingham wa. If you put politics away and you enjoy skiing,  More

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Reviews for Highlands    4 Reviews

Love BestPlaces, but most of their statistics are incorrect for the actual town of Highlands which is extremely expensive. I assume they are using information from Macon  More

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Over 4 years ago

This used to be a quaint, quiet, sweet little town, but it has ballooned into a rich man's Mecca. Fist of all, it's a tiny town... so parking is at a premium and it gets  More

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Over 14 years ago

I have run two businesses in Highlands. It is a very seasonal business trend. The rents are high and so is the cost of doing business, including labor cost, cost of  More

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