Downtown Bellingham

Bellingham, WA

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Downtown Bellingham - Bellingham, WA

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Looking for adventure? It's in Bellingham

Mountains Bay Outdoors University Music Festivals Art Walkable Bicycle-Friendly

With the Cascade Mountains in the background and sitting along Bellingham Bay, Downtown Bellingham provides more than a beautiful landscape. For those who enjoy outdoor activities, an apartment in Downtown Bellingham is ideal -- nearby activities include boating, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, and camping. There's even an event that highlights Bellingham's fantastic adventures: the Ski to Sea Race, which begins as a ski race on Mount Baker and ends with kayaking on the bay. The seven-leg race is held over Memorial Day weekend and dates back to 1911.

Downtown Bellingham is a pedestrian-friendly shopping district, filled with gift stores, art galleries, boutiques, and more. Downtown Bellingham is next door to another favorite shopping district, the Historic Fairhaven District. Western Washington University is a few blocks south of Downtown Bellingham, and students often bike ride or walk downtown.

Hotspots include the Upfront Theatre, the Wild Buffalo House of Music, Mindport Exhibits, and the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention. The Bellingham Farmers Market, voted one of the top farmers markets in the Pacific Northwest, is located off East Maple Street near Railroad Avenue. Downtown Sounds takes place every summer, taking place on Bay and Prospect Streets. The Bellingham Festival of Music is another popular music festival, held in July.

Explore the Neighborhood

A historic clock adorns the Bellingham National Bank building

The historic Red Front Building was built in 1900 as Samuel Altshuler’s Red Front Clothing Store

The award-winning Chuckanut Bay Distillery includes a tasting room and a retail shop

Avenue Bread’s Railroad Café served as the original bakery location in 1995

Rent Trends

As of April 2025, the average apartment rent in Downtown Bellingham is $1,246 for a studio, $1,470 for one bedroom, $1,933 for two bedrooms, and $2,239 for three bedrooms. Apartment rent in Downtown Bellingham has increased by 1.5% in the past year.

  • Studio

  • 432 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,246/month

    Average Rent

  • 1 BR

  • 575 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,470/month

    Average Rent

  • 2 BR

  • 735 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $1,933/month

    Average Rent

  • 3 BR

  • 1,183 sq ft

    Average Sq Ft

  • $2,239/month

    Average Rent

Transportation

91

Walker's Paradise

out of 100 WalkScore® Rating

Lace up your walking shoes because this area is considered a walker’s paradise.

52

Good Transit

out of 100 TransitScore® Rating

The area around this property has good transit with many nearby transportation options.

86

Very Bikeable

out of 100 BikeScore® Rating

This area is very bikeable. You’ll find a variety of bike paths and lanes.

Points of Interest

Parks and Recreation

  • Maritime Heritage Park
  • MindPort
  • Broadway Park
  • Roeder Home
  • WWU Planetarium

Airports

  • Bellingham International

Top Apartments in Downtown Bellingham

Houses for Rent in Downtown Bellingham

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Methodology

† Our analysis of utilities, groceries, transportation, healthcare, home prices, and other goods and services is sourced from the Cost of Living Index, a respected benchmark published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) that provides a thorough overview of living expenses across different regions.

Rent data is provided by CoStar Group’s Market Trend reports. As the industry leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, CoStar conducts extensive research to produce and maintain a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. We combine this data with public record to provide the most up-to-date rental information available.

Consumer goods, services, and home prices are sourced from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). The data on this page is updated quarterly. It was last published in February 2025.