The VIBe Check. 2026

What Bellevue's likely voters think about their city: direction, safety, affordability, and the road ahead. New this year? Toggle the Seattle Index buttons below to see how the Eastside compares.

Now in its sixth year, the Bellevue VIBe Check tracks how Bellevue voters feel about their city, capturing both their read on today's most pressing issues and the long-term trends that shape them. The findings inform local policymaking, support the recruitment of public-safety officers, help guide candidates for office, and give the Bellevue Chamber and City Hall a clearer, data-driven understanding of the community they serve. Both the Bellevue VIBe Check survey and the Seattle Index are scientifically valid surveys conducted by professional polling firms, with the Bellevue VIBe Check fielded by Fulcrum Strategy Group, using rigorous, representative samples of each city's voters.

say Bellevue is headed in the right direction

feel safe downtown during the day

have a favorable view of the Bellevue Police Department

are worried about their personal finances

City Direction & Mood

Bellevue's optimism has rebounded to its highest in five years, while Seattle has shown strong growth in optimism since its 2022 low.

Right direction / wrong track

% who say their city is headed the right direction

Compare Seattle Index

Optimistic about the future

Voters were asked how strongly they agree they feel optimistic about what's ahead. Bellevue's optimism has rebounded to its highest in five years, and while both cities are broadly hopeful, Bellevue runs well ahead, and with more intensity. Between the surveys, wording differs slightly: Bellevue VIBe asks about "the future of Bellevue," whereas the Seattle Index asks about "the future of this region."

City-government job rating

% satisfied with the job Bellevue city government is doing on the issues that matter most. Voters were asked how well City Hall is handling the critical issues facing their community (Bellevue VIBe)

Putting down roots

A measure of how rooted residents feel. Bellevue VIBe asks whether voters are "committed to staying in Bellevue for the foreseeable future"; the Seattle Index asks whether they've actively considered moving out, shown here as the share who have not.

Read this one with care: the two cities asked different questions. "Committed to staying" measures an intention, while "considered moving out" can capture a fleeting thought as easily as a real plan, so a Seattleite who idly weighed a move still counts as having "considered" it. That difference can widen or narrow the apparent gap. Even allowing for it, the signal is clear: Bellevue voters are far more rooted, 79% intend to stay, versus only about 45% of Seattle voters who haven't even considered leaving.

Public Safety

Bellevue feels safe by day and night, the Police Department earns the highest marks of any institution we tested, and the perception of neighborhood safety has risen every year.

Feeling safe downtown

% who feel safe visiting downtown, flip between day and night (Bellevue VIBe vs. Seattle Index)

Compare Seattle Index

Bellevue Police Department favorability

Opinion of the BPD over time, by intensity, the most trusted institution tested (Bellevue VIBe)

Safe in own neighborhood

% agree, perception has risen every year

Hiring more police is a priority

62% of Bellevue voters agree hiring more police should be a priority, shown here by intensity of support and opposition (Bellevue VIBe)

Treatment first, then accountability

How voters want the city to handle repeat drug offenders who are offered treatment but refuse it: treatment first, but arrest & prosecution if they decline (Bellevue VIBe, 2026)

Top Concerns

Each year voters name the single most important problem facing Bellevue. Their answers vary: traffic, crime, and affordability all cluster near the top, with no issue dominating. Seattle's concerns, by contrast, are concentrated in homelessness and crime. What's true in both cities: concern about affordability is climbing.

Most important problem, Bellevue 2026

Top mentions, % of voters naming each as the city's #1 problem (Bellevue VIBe)

Concern over time

% of voters naming each issue as Bellevue's single most important problem, 2021 to 2026. Pick a concern to trace its arc

Compare Seattle Index

⚠️ Seattle's Index lets voters give multiple answers; Bellevue VIBe asks for one. Compare the trend and rank, not the raw size.

Affordability & Economy

The pocketbook is where Bellevue and Seattle sound most alike, both think taxes are too high and both are anxious about money. Two shifts stand out. First, anxiety about personal finances has climbed sharply in Bellevue, from 61% concerned in 2023 to 74% in 2026. Second, Bellevue voters have seen a significant jump in residents who feel taxes are too high for the level of services they receive. And while both cities lean pro-business, Seattle voters think City Hall has far more work to do to improve the climate for business than Bellevue voters do.

Taxes are too high

Voters were asked whether taxes in their city are too high, too low, or about right for the level of services the city provides. Shown is the share saying "too high", note Bellevue's sharp jump to 60% in 2026.

Compare Seattle Index

"City isn't doing enough for business"

% who agree their city leaders are not doing enough to make it a good place to do business, broken out by intensity. Seattle voters are far more frustrated, nearly two-thirds agree, versus just 40% in Bellevue.

Trust City to spend responsibly

% who agree they trust the City of Bellevue to spend their tax dollars responsibly

Seattle

The Seattle Index first asked this question in 2026, so only the current year is comparable.

Worried about finances

% who say they are concerned about their personal financial situation given current economic conditions, up sharply in Bellevue since 2023

Seattle

The Seattle Index first asked this question in 2026, so only the current year is comparable.

Tech growth is good

% who agree the economic growth led by large tech companies has been good for Bellevue

Housing: support softens as the ask gets bigger

Bellevue voters were asked two distinct things: whether they'd support building apartments in their own neighborhood, and whether they'd support raising taxes to fund housing for low-income residents. Support falls steadily as the request moves from "build it" to "tax me for it." Bars show 2026 intensity; switch to the line view for the multi-year trend.

* Wording note: through 2023 the neighborhood question asked about building "affordable" apartments; beginning in 2024 it was changed to "low-income" apartments, and measured support stepped down with the change (65% in 2021 → 60% in 2023 → 49% in 2024). Keep that shift in mind when reading the trend line.

Transportation & the Future

Voters were asked whether they would support or oppose raising taxes to fund a range of transportation options. The verdict is consistent year over year: fixing congested or failing intersections and building more sidewalks remain the most popular transportation investments, while replacing vehicle lanes with bike lanes remains deeply unpopular. Beyond transportation, the 2026 survey also tested a slate of new "big ideas" for the city's future: from the Grand Connection crossing to police drones and AI-assisted city services.

Transportation Investment Priorities

Net support (support minus oppose) for raising taxes to fund each option, 2024–2026. Above the zero line means more voters support than oppose; below means net opposition (Bellevue VIBe).

Big ideas for Bellevue, 2026

New proposals tested this year, shown by intensity of support and opposition. Voters are enthusiastic about the Grand Connection pedestrian/bike bridge over I-405, giving police drones for rapid response, and using AI to streamline city services like permitting, each drawing solid majorities (Bellevue VIBe).

Voter Respondent Profile

Who actually answered the survey. Bellevue's respondents are more moderate, more likely to own their homes, and more rooted than Seattle's, and that composition helps explain many of the differences between the two cities.

Party / lean

Shown is the 2026 mix: Bellevue VIBe vs. Seattle Index (only Seattle reports a socialist bloc). Use the buttons to switch to Bellevue's full 7-point party-ID scale over time: strong vs. not-very-strong partisans, and the independents who lean each way.

Own vs. rent

Bellevue VIBe vs. Seattle Index '26. Switch to the over-time view for Bellevue's owner/renter mix.

Ideology (2026)

How Bellevue voters describe themselves, progressive, liberal, moderate, or conservative. Ideology was asked on a different scale before 2026, so it isn't tracked over time here.

Housing type

Where Bellevue voters live, about a quarter are in multifamily housing

26%

live in multifamily housing (condos, duplexes, apartments)

70% live in single-family homes.

Liberals: values vs. results

Among self-identified liberals, whether they prioritize holding to core values or pragmatic results

63%

results-first / pragmatic

21%

values-first

About this data. Source: Bellevue VIBe (EBA) likely-voter polls, Fulcrum Strategy Group, 2021–2026 (n=400 per wave; 2026 fielded June 10–17, ±4.8%). Seattle comparisons: the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber "Index" (n=700, Spring 2026, with published trend series). Bellevue VIBe surveys likely voters; the Seattle Index surveys registered voters, younger, more renter, more progressive, so part of every gap is composition. Bellevue's poll has no "socialist" party option; only the Seattle Index breaks that out. Intensity breakdowns are shown for the current (2026) wave (and all years for Police favorability); earlier waves report totals only. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding and omitted "don't know / never heard."