Ferndale, Washington: Far Away From It All – But Minutes From Everything (part 2)

The vast majority of Whatcom County’s best paying jobs are located within a 20 minute drive of downtown Ferndale as is the bulk of the county’s entire employment base. The Ferndale School District is the county’s fifth largest employer while three of Whatcom County’s five largest industrial facilities are within a ten minute drive by county road. In recent years Ferndale has seen a large influx of jobs as a diverse blend of jobs producing businesses have relocated to the city from other areas. As a result, Ferndale has become Whatcom County’s economic engine in recent years. Jobs are important to people seeking quality of life but, when it comes to jobs, Ferndale is still the place that’s “far away from it all but minutes from everything.” Ferndale’s industrial areas are separated from much of the city’s housing base by natural and manmade buffers. The bulk of the city’s homes have been built to the west of the city, across the Nooksack River from the “in town” industries bordering the I-5 Interstate Highway. To the west, a system of low lying hills separates the Cherry Point industrial area with its heavy industry from the city itself. In Ferndale the jobs are a hop, skip and a jump away but, the views are primarily of the majestic Cascade mountain range, dominated by Mt. Baker, Puget Sound and its islands, or, alternatively, of the broad Nooksack Valley with its farms and fields.