VIBe Overview
Voter Insights Bellevue
This year marks the launch of the Bellevue Chamber’s new VIBe (Voter Insights in Bellevue) survey — an annual initiative built on years of polling by the Eastside Business Alliance. With a growing base of historical data, VIBe provides year-over-year insights into how Bellevue voters are thinking, feeling, and prioritizing key issues.
Conducted in May 2025, the inaugural report draws on a survey of 400 likely voters. The results offer a clear snapshot of public sentiment: Bellevue is on the right track, but there’s more work ahead to preserve its momentum.
This was a survey of likely November 2025 voters in Bellevue, and there were a total of 400 interviews conducted, with an overall margin of error of ±4.9 percentage points. VIBe was conducted via multi-modal data collection, including text to web and live telephone interviewing from May 19–25, 2025.
The Results
74%
of voters say Bellevue is on the right track
79%
of voters are optimistic about the city’s future
91%
of voters feel safe in their neighborhoods
80%
of voters say tech-driven economic growth has been good for Bellevue
Affordability Rises as Top Concern
This year marked a sharp increase in voter concern over affordability, with 29% now identifying it as the city’s most pressing issue—up 10 points from last year. Meanwhile, support for increasing taxes to fund housing for low-income residents remains low at just 35%. Instead, voters want more affordable housing options for the middle class, achieved through smart planning, not new taxes.
Trust and Satisfaction Rebound
After a dip in 2024, public confidence in city leadership has rebounded. Satisfaction with how the City is addressing critical issues is up, and voters hold strongly favorable views of key civic institutions, including the City Council, Bellevue Chamber, and the Police Department.
Housing Support Depends on Framing
The VIBe survey reveals a nuanced perspective: Voters overwhelmingly support “affordable apartment units,” but remain skeptical of “low-income housing” and are divided on increasing density in single-family neighborhoods. The takeaway: Bellevue residents want solutions that respect community character while expanding housing choice.