Data & Research

New Paragraph

Maritime Jobs By The Numbers

Working with academic and private sector partners at the county, state, and federal level, the Coalition gathers and analyzes data to meet the needs of our stakeholders. Our goal is to empower our community leaders with hard data so they can hold informed discussions, guide planning processes, and anticipate future concerns.



Several economic impact reports reveal that the maritime sector is alive & well in Washington State, and Whatcom County.

Maritime Cluster Study done in 2013

Reports 58,000 jobs

The Coalition co-sponsored an economic report conducted by the Center for Business & Economic Research at Western Washington University.

  • Port of Bellingham: Reporting on jobs on Port property-only identified 2,620 direct jobs + 1,353 indirect jobs totaling 3,973 maritime sector jobs!
  • All of Whatcom County: Maritime jobs outside of Port operations reported 2,060 additional jobs


Prepared by Port of Bellingham

We've won many industry awards, including most innovative and agile. 

The Washington Coast Economist provides a repository of information, resources, random posts, musings and more about the economics and events on the coast. If you love keeping up-to-date on what makes Washington’s coastal economy tick, then check out this helpful listing of resources around Washington.

Over 6,000 jobs in Whatcom County are created or supported by Marine Trades, representing 7% of our workforce.

Washington Maritime Federation 2022 Impact Report

The Washington Maritime Federation recently published an indepth impact report for the Marine and Maritime Sectors in Washington State. The study, compiled by McKinley Research, points to the vital revenue and jobs that our marine trades bring to the state, and our local region. Read the full report below.

Washington Maritime Impact Report 2022

6,000

Jobs in Whatcom County supported by maritime trades

174,300

Jobs in Washington State supported by maritime trades

$45.9 Billion

Revenue statewide brought by maritime trades

$122,000

Average earnings in 2022 for maritime trades workers

The National Working Waterfront Network

A Comprehensive Data & Research Toolkit

The National Working Waterfront Network hosts a comprehensive data and research toolkit on their website, featuring articles, data and case studies of successful working waterfronts from all over the nation. 

Check out their resources, and learn more about the impacts of working waterfronts via the link below:

NWWN Toolkit
Share by: