Recently named by Forbes Magazine as one of the 10 Best Places in the United States to live and work, the City of Bellevue is a great place to live, with nearly 100 parks and vibrant neighborhoods. Bellevue’s nationally-accredited Parks & Community Services Department won the 2005 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.
140 years of History and Geography - Founded in 1869 by William Meydenbauer and incorporated as a city in 1953, Bellevue spans 31 square miles between Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington.
The Bellevue of yesterday  
To the East are the snow-capped Cascades Mountains. To the South, Mount Rainier dominates the horizon, to the North, Mount Baker marks the nearness of the Canadian border. To the West, two floating highway bridges link Bellevue to Seattle and the Olympic mountains with their unique beauty.
  
has long since given way to the Bellevue of Today and Tomorrow is coming soon!
Sharing the Eastside of Lake Washington with Bellevue are Kirkland, Bothell, Redmond and Woodinville to the North; Newcastle and Renton to the South; and to the East Issaquah, Sammamish, Snoqualmie and North Bend.
Award Winning Schools
Bellevue is recognized nationally for its award winning schools, innovative curriculum and exceptional teachers. Bellevue Public School District operates sixteen elementary schools, seven middle schools and six high schools. Total student enrollment is approximately 15,000.
Basics and Beyond
The Bellevue School District Bellevue is recognized nationally as a leader in providing strong basic education skills while introducing innovative and successful learning initiatives such as, full-day kindergarten open to all students, advanced placement offerings in every high school and opportunities to study six years of foreign-language. Diversity can be seen in Bellevue's public schools through the 53 languages that are spoken.
   
A downtown park Lake Bellevue Bellevue's Botanical Gardens
Climate
Contrary to widespread myth it does not rain here all of the time. In fact, Bellevue’s average precipitation totals only around 38 inches per year. Bellevue's climate is quite temperate, most would say consistently comfortable. Summer daytime temperatures average just under 70 degrees, while winter lows tend to be in the 40's.
Cost of Living
Average income in Bellevue places it well above the county average. Home ownership is also high. Bellevue remains an affordable place to live, with incomes that outpace the national average. Recent data suggest the average household income for Bellevue is about 30 percent higher than the median household income for the region, and significantly higher than the county average.
A Dynamic Employment Scene
Bellevue has about 11% of King County's total jobs. Bellevue's employment is expected to grow 25 and 30 percent over the next 20 years, an increase of some 30,000 to 35,000 new jobs.
Population
Bellevue's population is nearing 107,000 and is projected to continue its upward trend. It is the largest city on the Eastside of Lake Washington, the second largest in King County, and the fourth largest city in Washington State.
Some typical Bellevue Homes and Condos
   
Technology in the Classroom
Bellevue students are connected to the Internet. Throughout Bellevue schools, technology is seamlessly woven into the fabric of learning. For example, the ratio of five students to one networked computer is above the national average of about nine to one. In addition, the number of high school juniors with computers at home climbed from 68 percent in 1991 to 90 percent in 1997. The Bellevue School board has adopted a set of district-wide technology proficiencies to insure that each student will learn skills such as word processing, information retrieval, networking and utilizing multimedia in communications.
Top of the Class
A minimum of 85% of Bellevue grads attends community college and University. SAT scores have increased forty-three points in just five years, from 1084 to 1108.
The sun set over Lake Washington
for more information go to the Bellevue City web page
* Thanks to the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and others for much of the information provided
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