Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. As the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, Bellevue has variously been characterized as an edge city, a suburb, boomburb, or satellite city. Its population was 122,363 at the 2010 census and 148,164 in a 2019 census estimate.
As of 2019, the city promotes itself as a diverse, global city at the heart of Seattle's Eastside, and home to some of the world's most innovative technology companies. Prior to 2008, downtown Bellevue underwent rapid change, with many high-rise projects under construction, and was relatively unaffected by the economic downturn. The downtown area is currently the second-largest city center in Washington state, with 1,300 businesses, 45,000 employees, and 10,200 residents.
In 2008, Bellevue was number one in CNNMoney's list of the best places to live and launch a business, and in 2010 was again ranked as the fourth-best place to live in America. In 2014, Bellevue was ranked as the second-best place to live by USA Today.
The name "Bellevue" is derived from the French words for "beautiful view"
As of the census of 2010, there were 122,363 people, 50,355 households, and 32,145 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,827.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,477.8/km2). There were 55,551 housing units at an average density of 1,737.6 per square mile (670.9/km2).
According to a 2012 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $88,073, and the median income for a family was $104,839. The per capita income for the city was $48,719. Based on per capita income, Bellevue is the sixth-wealthiest of 522 communities in the state of Washington.
In 2006, Bellevue was rated one of the 25 safest cities in America, based on the per-capita incidence of violent crime.
