2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Bellingham, WA vs Petaluma, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Petaluma, is 70% more than it is in Bellingham and is 31% above the National Average.
- Bellingham unemployment rate is 6.2%.
- Petaluma unemployment rate is 5.0%.
 Bellingham, WAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth41.7%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$36,147  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$100,379$69,021
 Family Median Income$92,650  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Bellingham, WAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock5.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock5.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.7%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock5.0%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.2%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.6%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock19.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K7.1%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock17.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Bellingham, WAPetaluma, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance14.5%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.6%6.5%
 Community, social services2.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.3%1.2%
 Education, library8.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.2%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.8%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.6%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  Unlock9.5%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 Petaluma    16 Reviews

I agree with the low star reviews. Been here for 25 years, raised a family and seen everything turn to the left and worse. Weather is glorious, love the old Victorians  More

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We’ve lived here for 3 years and we love it. It has taken some time to grow on us. We moved from SF where we had lived over 15 years, we were not used to one year leases  More

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I’ve lived here a couple of years (after living in others parts of the Bay Area for 15+ years) and I love it! Great neighborhoods, friendly folks, good schools with  More

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