With over 39% of its population having been born in over 90 different foreign countries, Bellevue is culturally diverse. About half of its population are people of color and about 43% speak a language other than English at home.
Asians comprise about 34% of Bellevue’s population, making them Bellevue’s largest non-white population group. The percentage of Asians in Bellevue is the 12th highest percentage for cities across the nation with 100,000 in population or more and the highest percentage in the nation of large cities outside of California and Hawaii.
Hispanics or Latinos are Bellevue’s second largest non-white population group, comprising about 7% of the population. People of two or more races comprise another 4%, followed by Blacks or African Americans, who comprise about 3% of Bellevue’s population.
Bellevue's Race and Ethnicity Distribution in 2017
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 American Community Survey .
Percent Asian in Cities with 100K Population or More, 2017
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 American Community Survey
Comparisons
Nationally, Hispanics or Latinos comprise the largest non-White population followed by Blacks or African Americans and then Asians. In west coast states, Hispanics and Latinos also comprise the largest non-White population. However, Asians are the second largest non-White population followed by Blacks or African Americans.
In King County, Seattle and Bellevue, Asians comprise the largest population non-white group followed by Hispanics or Latinos. In King County and Seattle, Blacks or African Americans are the third largest non-white population group. However, in Bellevue, people of two or more races are more populous than Blacks or African Americans. Bellevue also has larger percentages of Asians and Hispanics than Seattle and smaller percentages of people of two or more races and of Blacks or African Americans.
Race/Ethnicity Comparisons, United States, Washington, King County, Bellevue and Seattle, 2017
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 American Community Survey
Race and Ethnicity Distribution by Age, 2013-2017
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey
Characteristics
People of all ages exist within each racial/ethnic group in Bellevue. However, age distributions vary. About 21% of Bellevue’s white residents are older adults versus 4% of Bellevue’s Hispanic residents, and about 51% of Bellevue’s residents who are of two or more races are under the age of 18 compared to 16% of Bellevue’s white residents.
Trends and Projections
For the first time in 2015, a plurality of races/ethnicities existed in Bellevue as non-Hispanic whites no longer represented the majority of residents. The percentage of the population who are of a non-white race or ethnicity in Bellevue has tripled over the past two and a half decades climbing from 15% in 1990 to about 50% in 2017. This trend mirrors national trends where the proportion of non-white population has increased from 24% to 39% during the same period. It also brings Bellevue more in line with the western region of the United States, which has had higher proportions of non-white populations over the decades.
Percent Non-White Trends in the United States, the Western Region of the U.S. and Bellevue
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Census, 2000 Census, 2010 Census, 2105 American Community Survey.
The following two maps show increases in the percentages of minorities living within King County census tracts between 2000 and 2010, illustrating how dispersed this trend has been in the county, especially in the south and east.
Percent Minority in 2000 and 2010 by Census Tract
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census and 2010 Census.
Bellevue’s Asian population has been the fastest growing minority group since 1990, growing from just under 10% of the population to over 34% in 2015.
Within Bellevue’s Asian population, Chinese and Asian Indian residents have increased in number the most, with the number of Chinese residents growing from just over 2,600 in 1990 to over 18,200 in 2015. Asian Indians have witnessed similar rates of growth, especially since 2000. The number of Korean residents in Bellevue has also increased, but the rate of increase has not been as fast. Bellevue’s Japanese residents are the only Asian population that has not witnessed much growth over time. Their population has remained relatively steady since 1990 staying between 2,000 and 3,000.
Population Trends of Bellevue's Largest Asian Populations: 1990 to 2015
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Census, 2000 Census, 2010 Census, 2105 American Community Survey
Percent Asian Trends, 1970 to 2015
Source: U.S Census Bureau, 1990 Census, 2000 Census, 2010 Census and 2015 American Community Survey.
The proportion of Hispanics living in Bellevue along with people of two or more races has steadily increased over the decades. Hispanics comprised about 3% of Bellevue’s population in 1990 and by 2015 they comprised nearly 9%. The proportion of people of two or more races has also increased, yet grown more slowly climbing from three percent in 2000 to 5% in 2015. The proportion of Black people in Bellevue, in contrast, has remained steady over the decades at just over 2%.
Trends in the Percentage of Black or African Americans, Hispanics and People of Two or More Races in Bellevue: 1990 to 2015
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Census, 2000 Census, 2010 Census, 2105 American Community Survey.
Data Sources
Data on demographics come from the United States Census Bureau's decennial censuses and American Community Survey. While the decennial census happens only once every ten years, the American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about the American people and workforce. It helps local officials, community leaders and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities. See Bellevue's ACS Demographic and Housing data profile here.