City · Kittitas County, Washington

Ellensburg, Washington

Ellensburg is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, part of the Ellensburg, WA metro area. It has 20,874 residents. Ellensburg, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 48 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,196 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #268 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), public EV charging ports (high) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), pharmacies (low) and natural hazard risk (high).

48Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,196 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #268 of 395 in WA
Population: 20,874 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 2,363.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 5321240

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety50#7,768/15,637
Economy16#13,059/15,631
Housing13#12,962/14,977
Health54#7,118/15,609
Healthcare33#10,523/15,650
Environment62#5,822/15,453
Education51#7,694/15,649
Infrastructure76#3,690/15,650
Community49#8,017/15,651
Leisure & amenities94#929/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ellensburg, Washington ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kittitas County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Preventable hospital stays · low1,349 /100k
98/100Washington 1,865 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKittitas County value
Public EV charging ports · high24.8 /10k
98/100Washington 11.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyKittitas County value
Median Air Quality Index · low25
97/100Washington 382025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKittitas County value
Restaurants and bars · high14.1 /10k
94/100Washington 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKittitas County value
Average commute time · low17.5 min
92/100Washington 26.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Time spent in the emergency room · low122 min
86/100Washington 156 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKittitas County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-4.0%
4/100Washington -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataKittitas County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
5/100Washington 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKittitas County value
Natural hazard risk · high94.9
5/100Washington 63.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyKittitas County value
Home price to income ratio · high7.3×
6/100Washington 5.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Distance to an emergency room · high13.9 mi
9/100Washington 7.1 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKittitas County value
Rent-burdened households · high61.7%
9/100Washington 50.0%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateWorsening
7.2% (2015-2019) → 21.5% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
30.9% (2015-2019) → 22.4% (2020-2024)
−8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$39,645 (2015-2019) → $55,438 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.8% (2015-2019) → 91.2% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
41.3% (2015-2019) → 36.1% (2020-2024)
−5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
New homes permittedImproving
3.2 /1k (2021) → 4.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+25%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ellensburg, Washington improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Poverty−8.4 points30.9% → 22.4%
Household income+40%$39,645 → $55,438

Declined1

Child poverty+14 points7.2% → 21.5%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Ellensburg, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.8 min2015-2019	17.5 min2020-2024	+1.7 min	Within the margin of error	29%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.1%2015-2019	41.4%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Broadband subscriptions	85.8%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Child poverty rate	7.2%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	+14 points	Declined	8%
Effective property tax rate	0.87%2015-2019	0.83%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
High school diploma or higher	91.6%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Home price to income ratio	5.9×2015-2019	7.3×2020-2024	+1.4×	Within the margin of error	11%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4652015-2019	0.4462020-2024	−0.019	Within the margin of error	67%
Median household income	$39,6452015-2019	$55,4382020-2024	+40%	Improved	74%
Poverty rate	30.9%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	−8.4 points	Improved	90%
Rent as share of income	41.3%2015-2019	36.1%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Rent-burdened households	62.7%2015-2019	61.7%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Unemployment rate	7.4%2015-2019	8.9%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.6%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	42%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ellensburg, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ellensburg, Washington in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ellensburg, Washington itself moved +1.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

20,874 residents (±52)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

8,972 households (±404)

Ellensburg, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k24%2,186
$25k–50k24%2,129
$50k–75k15%1,328

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

8,972 households (±404)

Ellensburg, Washington
Washington share

Own33%2,948
Rent67%6,024

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

10,771 workers (±607)

Ellensburg, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone69%7,404
Carpool7.8%844
Public transit0.9%†99

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Ellensburg, WA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kittitas County, the county holding most of Ellensburg's residents.

Kittitas County has 1,500 employer establishments, 314 for every 10,000 residents (1.26× the US rate of 248; 1.22× Washington's), with 13,283 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,435. The Census Bureau also counts 3,423 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,500; 3,423 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 314; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 13,283
Average annual pay: $47,435; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kittitas County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	175	36.6	2.37×More than typical	896	$72,023	183
Restaurants and other eating places	134	28.1	1.53×More than typical	1,857	$30,774	5
Construction of buildings	116	24.3	3.21×More than typical	390	$64,549	116
Lessors of real estate	72	15.1	1.22×About typical	210	$70,376	433
Ambulatory health care services	66	13.8	0.66×Fewer than typical	596	$49,993	121
Services to buildings and dwellings	60	12.6	1.86×More than typical	319	$42,520	164
Full-service restaurants	59	12.4	1.61×More than typical	895	$35,505	5
Other specialty trade contractors	53	11.1	4.42×More than typical	311	$91,781	75
Limited-service restaurants	48	10	1.25×More than typical	765	$25,486	—
Truck transportation	46	9.6	1.90×More than typical	187	$86,091	81
Building equipment contractors	45	9.4	1.57×More than typical	294	$70,259	31
Building finishing contractors	40	8.4	2.20×More than typical	171	$44,877	53

Rank places for an industry Open Kittitas County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 47,765 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ellensburg is mostly in Kittitas County.

See federal money in Kittitas County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ellensburg, Washington is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Kim SchrierD-WA-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 92%Missed 1.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Kittitas County65100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Ellensburg, WA68

Other cities and towns in Kittitas County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5321240

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends