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Health care and social assistance is Bellingham's largest employment sector, with about 7,413 workers in 2024, followed by educational services at 6,583 and accommodation and food services at 5,702. PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, Unity Care NW, and Family Care Network anchor the healthcare sector, while Western Washington University, with roughly 14,564 students, drives steady demand for restaurants, coffee shops, and entertainment during the academic year. Whatcom County's traditional resource industries, including forestry products, commercial fishing, and agriculture, still contribute to the local economy alongside newer manufacturing gains in wood products and transportation equipment.

Just north of the city, the BP Cherry Point Refinery is the largest refinery in Washington state and supplies roughly 20 percent of the state's gasoline, making it one of the region's major industrial employers along with the Port of Bellingham. The Port's holdings include Lineage cold storage, the largest private deepwater terminal with portside cold storage on the West Coast. Commercially, the city splits between historic Fairhaven, with its Victorian-era storefronts and Amtrak Cascades station, and Barkley Village, a newer mixed-use center about four miles from downtown anchored by a Haggen grocery store and professional offices.

Between a university population that cycles through the academic year, a healthcare sector led by PeaceHealth St. Joseph, and industrial employment tied to the Cherry Point refinery and Port of Bellingham, demand for local plumbers, dentists, HVAC contractors, and lawyers is spread across distinct pockets, from Fairhaven's historic core to Barkley Village's newer commercial strip, rather than concentrated in one district.