diversity in demographics: is Bellevue bland?
Michele Fierro | Fri, Nov 9th, 2007 | Category: Commentary | Tags: microsoft, bellevue, bland, election day, michele fierro, emerald city, lack of diversity
In the spirit of Election Day, let’s talk demographics.
Bellevue is the fifth largest city in Washington state, clocking in at about 119,000 residents, as compared to 562,000 in the Emerald City across the lake. Bellevue is the largest city on the Eastside, surpassing Redmond, the home of Microsoft and other familiar names.
Most notably, Bellevue has a lot of yuppies. Especially downtown Bellevue, which is seeing the most growth right now.
Almost 60 percent of Bellevue residents over age 25 have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 27 percent nationwide. A whopping 68 percent made at least $50,000 last year, and the median income clocked in at almost $77,000. (The equivalent nationwide numbers: 48 percent of Americans made at least $50,000 last year; median income, $48,000.)
About 72 percent of residents are non-Hispanic whites, which is about the nationwide average. More telling is the minority breakdown: 20 percent Asian, 4 percent Hispanic/Latino, and 1 percent African American.
So, based on these numbers, my neighbors are likely white, well educated and well compensated. One in five of my neighbors are Asian, and I would be lucky to find someone who isn’t either white or Asian.
Surely, I am making broad generalizations here. These numbers do show that Bellevue is lacking in diversity. Can Bellevue sustain its growth when it lacks a diverse resident base?
How important of an objective is diversity?
Bellevue has done an admirable job in managing its growth. But it lacks the vibrancy found in cities like Boston, New York, or even Seattle. In order to truly become a major player in the area, a destination onto itself, Bellevue needs to find a way to diversify.
How Bellevue might diversify is a harder question to answer, but a critical one if it wants to escape its otherwise bland fate.
(My statistics came from the US Census Bureau‘s 2006 American Community Survey.)
-Michele M. Fierro
Kevin Henry in Bellevue City Hall
Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 11:16am
Hello,
Thank you for your article on diversity in Bellevue. I would argue that Bellevue is a bit more diverse than it appears. We have over 50 different languages spoken in our school district. Nearly one out of every three students in the district is non white or an immigrant. One out of every four residents is from another country and English is not their first language. We also have a significant Russian - Eastern European population which is lumped into the Caucasian population by the CENSUS. So the diversity is closer to 28 %. Have you visited the Crossroads area? It is the most diverse part of Bellevue and the community center and shopping center reflect that growing diversity. I would be happy to discuss this further if you are interested, and again, thanks for taking a look at our city and writing about a very relevant issue.
Sincerely,
Kevin Henry
Cultural Diversity Coordinator
City of Bellevue
Tyson Abdalla in Bellevue
Sat, Nov 29, 2008 at 6:38pm
Bellevue is an increasingly diverse city, however it’s still a relatively young city too.
Bellevue is a wealthy area, there are plenty of millionaires, but there’s also a large middle class, and several poor neighborhoods too. Bellevue’s workforce is very diverse and increasingly young as well. Bellevue does have very high education rates and incomes, but it’s also a medium sized city of 120,000, and has become a regional hub so to speak for people with money-making jobs and high incomes.
The school district is a good indicator of Bellevue’s growing diversity. In 2008, 3% of students were African American, 27% were Asian, 8% were Hispanic, 9% Multiracial, 53% White. 1/3 students have a first language that’s not English, there are over 70 languages spoken by students in the district. The whitest school in Bellevue school district is Medina Elementary, with 70% white kids.
1/3 of residents are immigrants, which I think is pretty impressive and unique about Bellevue. The most commonly spoken languages are Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Telugu, French and Hindi. The census does not justify Bellevue’s diversity because it ignores the diversity of it’s white population as well.
I love diversity and am proud to live in a place where I’m not only seeing it, but experiencing it. Bellevue is a truly diverse place in my opinion. I think the biggest limitations to Bellevue’s diversity is that of income and class, since it is very expensive to live in Bellevue I think that limits racial diversity as well. But seeing how fast Bellevue has changed growing up, I am proud of the tolerance and willingness to accept and embrace diversity among all of Bellevue’s residents. Discrimination exists every where, but I feel Bellevue is very progressive in it’s attitudes towards diversity compared to other places in the region, especially given how quickly our demographics have changed.