A drone view of Bellevue Downtown Park's round lawn, pond and playground, with parking lots and apartments around it and downtown towers and cranes behind

Bellevue facts

Bellevue, Washington: the checkable facts

Bellevue covers 33.476 square miles of land, by the U.S. Census Bureau's 2025 Gazetteer.^† Seven councilmembers, elected at-large to staggered four-year terms, run it.^† Its Comprehensive Plan guides growth over 20-year spans. ^† This page covers how the city is run and planned, its neighborhood areas, parks, transit and ZIP Codes, and what each one means if you own or lease space here.

Last updated October 31, 2026

Photo: Spicypepper999, Wikimedia Commons

Bellevue in figures

The U.S. Census Bureau puts the City of Bellevue at 154,193 residents on July 1, 2025.^† The state's Office of Financial Management says 158,300 on April 1, 2026.^† The city also holds 4.028 square miles of water.^† Workers who commute had a mean travel time to work of 23.6 minutes in the 2020-2024 American Community Survey. ^† Each figure has its own publisher and date, so cite the one you use by name and never blend the two population estimates.

In 2015, by the U.S. Census, Bellevue's population became evenly split between non-Hispanic whites and people of color, the City of Bellevue says. ^†

Resident population estimate, City of Bellevue, July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025): 154,193 ^†
Official population estimate, City of Bellevue, April 1, 2026 (Washington Office of Financial Management): 158,300 ^†
Land area in square miles, City of Bellevue, 2025 Gazetteer: 33.476 ^†
Water area in square miles, City of Bellevue, 2025 Gazetteer: 4.028 ^†
Mean travel time to work, City of Bellevue, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates: 23.6 minutes ^†

How is Bellevue governed?

Bellevue runs on a council-manager government, where the council sets policy for the city.^† The councilmembers pick a mayor and deputy mayor from among themselves.^† Today that is Mayor Mo Malakoutian and Deputy Mayor Dave Hamilton. ^†

The council hires a city manager to carry out policy and oversee all city operations.^† That is City Manager Diane Carlson.^† Her office includes the Office of Housing and the Office of the Grand Connection. ^†

Development Services handles permits, offering one-stop permit shopping for land and building development in Bellevue and the surrounding service areas.^† The City of Bellevue says its permitting process is completely paperless.^† On the business side, the City works as a strategic partner with the business community.^† It updated its economic development strategic plan in 2020 and is currently working on an updated plan. ^† A code change goes to the council; a permit question goes to the permit desk. Know which one you need before you call. Zoning and permits

What is the Bellevue Comprehensive Plan?

The Comprehensive Plan is the city's foundational policy document, guiding growth and development over 20-year spans.^† The City Council adopted its periodic update on October 22, 2024.^† That update is a state-required review that happens once a decade. ^†

The Bellevue 2044 plan comes in two volumes.^† It sets citywide goals for housing, transportation, human services and parks.^† Volume 2 holds the goals and policies for neighborhood (subarea) plans.^† The Comprehensive Plan may be amended in minor ways once a year.^† Its Land Use element plans for 35,000 additional housing units and 70,000 additional jobs over the 2019-2044 period. ^†

State law sets the frame. Washington's Growth Management Act (GMA) makes the state's fastest-growing cities and counties write comprehensive plans and development regulations, the Washington State Department of Commerce says. ^† If your property needs a different land use designation, the annual amendment window is the door. Ask the City when the next one opens.

Bellevue's 16 neighborhood areas

The City of Bellevue sorts every neighborhood into one of 16 neighborhood areas. ^† Our October 2026 research found a population printed on the City's neighborhood pages for the areas below, not for every area. These are the figures as the City prints them:

BelRed Population: 2,858 ^†
Bridle Trails Population: 11,164 ^†
Cougar Mountain / Lakemont Population: 11,885 ^†
Crossroads Population: 14,269 ^†
Downtown Population: 15,657 ^†
Eastgate and Factoria Population: 10,828 ^†
Lake Hills Population: 19,063 ^†
Newport Population: 10,180 ^†
Northeast Bellevue Population: 11,700 ^†
Northwest Bellevue Population: 9,836 ^†
Somerset Population: 7,724 ^†
West Bellevue Population: 9,513 ^†
West Lake Sammamish Population: 6,386 ^†
Wilburton Population: 4,807 ^†
Woodridge Population: 4,622 ^†

The pages print no date beside these figures, so read them as the City's own neighborhood profile numbers, not as Census counts. Bridle Trails stands out as Bellevue's equestrian neighborhood area. ^† A neighborhood area is the unit the City plans by, so find yours, then read that area's plan.

Parks and landmarks

Bellevue has nearly 100 parks.^† Two City pages size Downtown Park differently, one at 21 acres^† and the other as a 20-acre oasis of green.^† Its 10-acre lawn looks out on Bellevue's skyline and Mount Rainier. ^†

The Bellevue Botanical Garden covers 53 acres of gardens, restored woodlands and wetlands.^† Kelsey Creek Park is 160 acres.^† Mercer Slough Nature Park is also sized two ways, as a 320-acre wetland preserve^† and as 329 acres.^† Bridle Trails State Park is a 482-acre preserve with 28 miles of equestrian and pedestrian trails.^† The City of Bellevue also lists the new Meydenbauer Bay Park on the shores of Lake Washington. ^†

More than 300,000 people visit the downtown area the last weekend in July each year, the City of Bellevue says.^† Kelsey Creek Farm Park hosts fairs in the spring and fall that celebrate Bellevue's farming past. ^† Large events close streets and fill garages. If you run a downtown storefront or office, plan deliveries and staffing around the event calendar.

A small wooden pavilion with paper-screen windows half hidden by evergreen trees and shrubs at the Bellevue Botanical Garden, with a metal handrail on the right — Photo: Joe Mabel, Wikimedia Commons

Bellevue College and Overlake Medical Center

Bellevue Community College opened in 1966 and became a full-fledged college in 2009.^† King County Metro's planned RapidRide K Line will stop at Downtown Bellevue, Bellevue College and the Eastgate Park & Ride.^†^† A City of Bellevue council agenda for Tuesday, July 14, 2026 lists a land use code amendment to establish a new Institutional land use district for Bellevue College. ^†

Overlake Medical Center runs a 349-bed hospital as a nonprofit healthcare system.^† It sits at 1035 116th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004.^† The hospital opened with 56 beds in 1960, its history page says.^†^† The idea for it dates to 1953.^† BelRed is home to Overlake Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, the City notes. ^† If you hold space near a hospital or college, watch their campus plans as closely as the zoning.

Light rail, buses and park and rides

Bellevue Downtown Station is at 594 110th Ave NE.^† Buses meet it at the Bellevue Transit Center, Bay 1, Stop # 85630.^† The station has a bike room with 35 spaces.^† The 2 Line stops at South Bellevue, East Main, Bellevue Downtown, Wilburton, Spring District and BelRed ^†, and Sound Transit offers parking at South Bellevue and BelRed. ^†

At the 2024 launch, Sound Transit said two-car trains would run every 10 minutes, 16 hours a day.^† With the Crosslake Connection, Sound Transit said trains would run about every 8 minutes at peak times at the new stations, and every 10-15 minutes the rest of the day.^† ^†

By fall 2030, King County Metro plans to bring RapidRide K Line service to downtown Bellevue and the Eastgate Park-and-Ride.^† Metro lists groundbreaking for 2028 to 2029 and start of service in 2030.^† The Eastgate Park and Ride already serves as a commuter hub with access throughout the region. ^† Expect tenants to ask how staff get to the door. Know your nearest station and bus line before the first tour.

Looking straight down on the long green glass canopies of the Bellevue Transit Center bus bays, with a parking garage full of cars and a white office building beside them — Photo: SounderBruce, Wikimedia Commons

Bellevue ZIP Codes: 98004, 98005, 98006, 98007 and 98008

The Census Bureau does not publish city-limit figures by ZIP Code. It publishes ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate the postal ZIP Codes. A ZCTA's edges do not follow the city limit, so none of the figures below is a city figure, and the rows are never added together.

Total population by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates ^†

ZIP Code Tabulation Area	Total population
98004	39,897 ^†
98005	21,846 ^†
98006	40,009 ^†
98007	27,692 ^†
98008	27,242 ^†

Median household income by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates ^†

ZIP Code Tabulation Area	Median household income
98004	$182,545 ^†
98005	$160,849 ^†
98006	$198,150 ^†
98007	$131,109 ^†
98008	$184,583 ^†

Business establishments, all industries, by ZIP Code labelled Bellevue, WA, 2023 County Business Patterns ^†

ZIP Code	Business establishments, all industries
98004	2,973 ^†
98005	1,682 ^†
98006	1,109 ^†
98007	954 ^†
98008	587 ^†

Paid employees, pay period including March 12, all industries, by ZIP Code labelled Bellevue, WA, 2023 County Business Patterns ^†

ZIP Code	Paid employees
98004	74,258 ^†
98005	27,375 ^†
98006	15,660 ^†
98007	15,738 ^†
98008	6,622 ^†

County Business Patterns counts establishments and paid employees by where businesses report, and the Census Bureau marks the employee figures with noise flags. Residents and workers are different people, so the population and employee tables measure different things. Use the ZIP tables to compare one part of town with another, not to size the whole city.

Bellevue facts questions

What form of government does Bellevue have?

Council-manager. The council sets policy for the city, and its seven councilmembers are elected at-large to staggered four-year terms. ^†^†

Who is the mayor of Bellevue, WA?

Mo Malakoutian, with Dave Hamilton as deputy mayor. In Bellevue the councilmembers pick the mayor and deputy mayor from among themselves. ^†^†

How big is Bellevue in square miles?

33.476 square miles of land and 4.028 square miles of water, by the U.S. Census Bureau's 2025 Gazetteer. The City of Bellevue rounds it to more than 33 square miles between Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. ^†^†^†

When was the Bellevue Comprehensive Plan last updated?

October 22, 2024, when the City Council adopted the periodic update. The plan may be amended in minor ways once a year. ^†^†

Which ZIP Codes cover Bellevue, WA?

98004, 98005, 98006, 98007 and 98008. In the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns, each of these ZIP Code entries carries the label (Bellevue, WA). The American Community Survey figures on this page are for the matching ZIP Code Tabulation Area of each, which carries no city label in the figures used here. The tables on this page show each one separately. ^†^†^†^†^†^†^†^†^†^†

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Sources

Every fact on this page carries a dagger that links to its record on the sources page, where the publisher, the date, the address of the document and an archive copy are listed for each one.