county

Yakima County, WA

Demographic and economic profile of Yakima County, WA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Yakima County's economy is anchored in agriculture, reflected in a foreign-born population of 18.5% and median worker earnings of just $36,665, consistent with a labor-intensive, seasonal workforce. The county's 258,523 residents skew young at a median age of 33.3, though educational attainment is low — only 18.9% hold a bachelor's degree and 76.3% have a high school diploma — with an unemployment rate of 7.1% pointing to labor market slack. Housing remains relatively affordable at a median home value of $281,100 and median gross rent of $1,068/month, and a modest 2.9% population gain over five years reflects slow but steady growth.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

258,523

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$70,656

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

33.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+2.9% since 2018

Yakima County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone120,276 (46.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race57,684 (22.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone53,847 (20.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races11,279 (4.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone8,138 (3.2%)
  • Asian Alone3,182 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish97,179
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island1,075
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic467
  4. 4.Other Indo-European453
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)330

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

29.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

14.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

18.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

9,764

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$39,756

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,309

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance24,611
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining15,241
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)12,279
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)10,361
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services8,405

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations31,730
  2. 2.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations21,571
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations19,586
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations18,686
  5. 5.Service Occupations18,505

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 9.52×)16,728
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.88×)4,766
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.05×)6,738
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.03×)5,366
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.00×)12,024

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$281,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,068/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99911,428 (21.1%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9998,870 (16.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9996,024 (11.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9995,835 (10.8%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9995,732 (10.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9992,547 (4.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

76.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,665

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

20.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone84,217 (78.8%)
  • Carpooled12,197 (11.4%)
  • Worked At Home7,831 (7.3%)
  • Walked1,302 (1.2%)
  • Other644 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit283 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Yakima County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.