Bellevue ( BEL-vew) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as a satellite city, a suburb, a boomburb, or an edge city. Its population was 122,363 at the 2010 census and 151,854 in the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from the French term belle vue ("beautiful view").Bellevue is home to some of the world's largest technology companies. Before and after the 2008 recession, its downtown area has been undergoing rapid change with many high-rise projects being constructed. Downtown Bellevue is currently the second-largest city center in Washington state, with 1,300 businesses, 45,000 employees, and 10,200 residents.