Rank Previous
Rank Business Number of
Employees Sector Notes
1 1 St Joseph Hospital 2672 Healthcare
2 2
Western Washington
University 1462 Higher
Education
3 4 BP Cherry Point 886 Petroleum
industry
4 6 The City of Bellingham 814 Government
5 7 Whatcom County 765 Government
6 8 Haggen 735 Grocery
7 3 Bellingham Public Schools 731 Government;
Education
Previous
year
numbers
included
part-time
employees
8 9 Lummi Nation 710 Government
9 15 The Markets 676 Grocery
Number
reported is
for all
employees
10 12 Aramark 620 Managed
Services
Number is
estimated
from prior
years.
Company
did not
respond to
2014
survey.
18
11 Zodiac Interiors 585 Aerospace
Design
Formerly
Heath
Tecna Inc
12 11 Alcoa Intalco Works 560 Aluminum
13 14 Silver Reef Casino 494 Government
14 17 Whatcom Community
College 439 Higher
Education
15 21 Lynden school district 378 Government;
Education
16 22 Walmart 378 Grocery
17 16 Matrix Service Inc. 375
Industrial;
Engineering &
Construction
18 18 Alpha Technologies 334 Technology
19 30 T mobile 325 Communications
20 13 Ferndale school district 306 Government;
Education
Previous
year over
reported
due to
inclusion
of parttime
employees
21 Logos Bible Software 300 Technology
Number is
estimated
from prior
years.
Company
did not
respond to
2014
survey.
19
22 25 Phillips 66 Refinery 300 Petroleum
industry
Number is
estimated
from prior
years.
Company
did not
respond to
2014
survey.
23 24 Mt. Baker School District 285 Government;
Education
Number is
estimated
from prior
years.
Company
did not
respond to
2014
survey.
24 10 Fred Meyer 280 Industry
Company
provides
an
estimate
of full-time
based on
total
headcount.
25 28 Cascade DAFO 275 Health care
26 23 WECU 251 Financial
27 31 Target 240 Grocery
Number is
estimated
from prior
years.
Company
did not
respond to
2014
survey.
28 29 Nooksack Valley school
district 239 Government;
education
Number
reported is
for all
employees
29 18 Costco 225 Grocery
Previous
year’s
number
was
inaccurate.
30 32 Samson Rope Tech 210 Manufacturing
31 33 Trans Ocean 209 Food processing
20
32 26 Bellingham Tech. College 208 Higher
education
33 35 Trident Seafoods 200 Agriculture &
Forestry
34 34 Diamond B Construction 194 Construction
Number is
estimated
from prior
years.
Company
did not
respond to
2014
survey.
35 27 Blaine School District 179 Government;
Education
36 20 Sterling Insurance 150 Professional
services
37 Maberry Packing LLC 115 Agricultural
** ** Anvil Corporation Business
services
Company
is expected
to be
significant
but did not
respond to
2014
survey.
** ** CH2M Hill Professional
services
Company
is expected
to be
significant
but did not
respond to
2014
survey.
** ** Meridian School District Government;
Education
Company
is expected
to be
significant
but did not
respond to
2014
s
Largest Employers in Whatcom County
Rank Company Fu i Full Time Employment 1 Notes
1St Joseph Hospital 2,126
2 Lummi Nation 1,780 Tribal
3 Western Washington University 1,499 FTE (1,689 headcount)
4 Bellingham Public Schools 987
5 Whatcom County 881
6 BP Cherry Point 820 Refinery
7 The City of Bellingham 788
8 Fred Meyer 778
9 Haggen 751 Retail and carp office 1
0 Zodiac Interiors 607 Aircraft interior manufacturer
11 Alcoa Intalco Works 580 Aluminum smelter
12 T mobile 437 Call center
13 Bellingham Tech. College 430
14 Lynden School District 430
15 Family Care Network 426 Medical services
16 Smith Gardens 400 Greenhouse
17 Anvil Corporation 400 Engineering firm
18 Peoples Bank 394
19 Lynden Door Company 380 Door manufacturer
20 Alpha Technologies 373 Power solutions equipment
21 The Markets 370 Retail and carp office
22 Ferndale School District 358
23 Matrix Service Inc 340 Heavy industry contractor
24 Diamond B Construction 300 Heavy industry contractor
25 WECU 292 Credit union
1. We ask businesses for permanent and full-time employees based in
Whatcom County. Getting that number is harder than you might think due
to differences in how companies define full-time, how to count people
who work in different locations during the year, etc. Some figures are
estimated from prior years. For discussion purposes and reference.
Source: Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University, 12/31/16
Employer
| FTE |
1. St. Joseph hospital | 2,126 |
2. Lummi Nation | 1,780 |
3. Western Washington University | 1,499 |
4. Bellingham Public Schools | 987 |
5. Whatcom County | 881 |
6. BP refinery at Cherry Point* | 820 |
7. City of Bellingham | 788 |
8. Fred Meyer | 778 |
9. Haggen | 751 |
10. Zodiac Aerospace | 607 |
