A “City in a Park” and the Eastside's high-tech hub, Bellevue is the city where you want to be. With top schools, low crime and a vibrant economy, Bellevue is routinely ranked among the best mid-sized cities in the country. In addition to high rankings in the media, city staff has won awards for their dedicated customer services and innovative thinking. Here are a few recent highlights:
Rankings
- #10 Best Cities to Live in America (2024) — Niche
- #3 Best Cities for Successful Women Entrepreneurs (2019) — Business.Org
- #5 Cities with Best Public Schools in America (2024) — Niche
- #1 Best Metro Area for STEM professionals (2021) — WalletHub
- #8 Safest Cities in America (2017) — SmartAsset
Awards and Recognitions
- 100 Best Fleets in North America (2025) — National Association of Fleet Administrators
- Governor's Smart Communities Awards - two (2024) — State Department of Commerce
- Mission: Lifeline Gold Award (2024, 2023) — American Heart Association
- VISION 2050 - Community Engagement (2024) — Puget Sound Regional Council
- Government Experience Award, Overall City Third Place (2024, 2023) — Center for Digital Government
- Best City of 425 (2024, 2023, 2021) — 425 Magazine
- People's Choice East Region Gregory Award for the Bellevue Youth Theatre (2019-2023) — Theatre Puget Sound
- Savvy Award (communications) (2023) — 3CMA
- Unconventional Award for Innovation in Community (2023) — T-Mobile
- Seattle ORBIE Award for Chief Information Officer Sabra Schneider (2023) — Seattle CIO
- What Works Cities silver certification (2023, 2021) — Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Best Public Garden - Bellevue Botanical Garden (2023) — King 5 Evening
- VISION 2050 – Planning Ahead award for the Mobility Implementation Plan (2022) — Puget Sound Regional Council
- Digital Cities Survey, 125,000-249,999 population, First Place (2022, 2020, 2018) — Center for Digital Government
- Governor’s Smart Communities Award, smart projects category (2022) — State Department of Commerce
- Top-15 City for Corporate Relocations (2022) — Site Selection Magazine
- National Transportation Project of the Year, $5-$25 million project category (2022) — American Public Works Association
- Savvy Award (communications) (2021) — 3CMA
- All-America City Award (2021, 1955) — National Civic League
- Television Programming Award of Excellence for public service announcement regarding drowning prevention (2020) — National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors
- What Works Cities honor roll (2019) — Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Governor’s Public Employer of the Year (for Supported Employment program) (2018) — State Employment Security Department