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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-YAKIMA-WA · Yakima, WA 96,810 pop · income 34th pct · 57 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Yakima
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Yakima on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Portsmouth · lowest
58,972
Portsmouth · lowest
58,972 median HH income
41.1% of the leader · rank #1
Parma Heights · near
59,218
Parma Heights · near
59,218 median HH income
41.3% of the leader · rank #2
Arp · near
59,219
Arp · near
59,219 median HH income
41.3% of the leader · rank #3
Cusseta-Chatt… · near
59,221
Cusseta-Chatt… · near
59,221 median HH income
41.3% of the leader · rank #4
Yakima · this city
59,228
Yakima · this city
59,228 median HH income
41.3% of the leader · rank #5
Fairmont · near
59,228
Fairmont · near
59,228 median HH income
41.3% of the leader · rank #6
Kirkland · highest
143,533
Kirkland · highest
143,533 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Yakima on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 96,810.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Yakima - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Yakima places in the 34th percentile for household income and the 21st percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
34th
percentile, household income
60th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
21st
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Yakima, WA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 96,810 residents in Yakima, a small city within Washington. Households in Yakima report a median income of $59,228 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 12.1%. Yakima's housing stock carries a median value of $273,400, and the median resident age is 34.0 years. Educational attainment runs 20.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 55.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 134 residential building permits were authorized in Yakima (Construction Slowdown), down 77% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 2588.8 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Yakima's yearly average temperature at 52.9°F with 8.6 inches of precipitation per year.
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 107.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,472 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $188 across Washington, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Workers in Yakima report an average commute of 16.4 minutes, with 79.4% driving alone and 6.2% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 70.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Yakima's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to reported crime to schools and households to housing and income to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to population change to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Yakima, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Yakima?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Federal Way (99,232 residents, $82,144 income); Bellingham (92,367 residents, $65,821 income); Kirkland (91,614 residents, $143,533 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Conroe, TX (96,976 residents); Suffolk, VA (96,638 residents); Sunrise, FL (96,633 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Yakima?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2588.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 14% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 20.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
PlainCities matches 57 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Yakima?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
4.6×
Home value
$273,400
Household income
$59,228
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 52.9°F, with 8.6 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Washington is 70.0 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
70.0
Annual precipitation
8.6 in
Mean temperature
52.9°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +426 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 134 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
2020 estimate
97,032
2025 estimate
97,458
Period change
+0.4%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Yakima?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.4%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.4 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
79.4%
Work from home
6.2%
Public transit
0.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 39,361 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 12.1% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
F
City profile score · Yakima, WA
26/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$59,228
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
12.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living F
107.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime F
544 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Yakima profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 37/100 (F) · 20.8%
Household income: 33/100 (F) · $59,228
Poverty rate: 31/100 (F) · 12.1%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Violent crime: 13/100 (F) · 544 /100k
Where Yakima sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Yakima's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Yakima highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Yakima, WA (this city): home $273,400, crime 2,589/100k
Conroe, TX : home $283,100, crime 1,877/100k
Suffolk, VA : home $329,600, crime 1,942/100k
Orem, UT : home $439,000, crime 1,534/100k
Fayetteville, AR : home $322,500, crime 2,795/100k
Portsmouth, VA : home $229,400, crime 4,613/100k
Federal Way, WA : home $499,600, crime 4,918/100k
Bellingham, WA : home $577,400, crime 4,107/100k
Kirkland, WA : home $1,022,500, crime 2,073/100k
Renton, WA : home $631,400, crime 3,653/100k
Spokane Valley, WA : home $344,300, crime 3,758/100k
Auburn, WA : home $510,400, crime 4,511/100k
How does Yakima compare to other US cities?
Here's how Yakima stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income34% higher than other cities
Home value60% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety21% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Washington and the picture shifts: Yakima ranks #101 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Yakima against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Washington only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Washington-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Yakima near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Yakima ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Yakima only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#455 of 565
19th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#431 of 565
24th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#117 of 598
80th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#387 of 599
35th percentile in Washington
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Washington only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
34th percentile nationally for median household income · 21st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Yakima's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Yakima's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Yakima's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$273,40040th percentilemore affordable than 40% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Yakima's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,214 of 15,516
More affordable than 21% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#405 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 4.6×, Yakima sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,214 of 15,516 and #405 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$59,228Yakima, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Yakima, WA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Yakima, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
96,810
Median Income
$59,228
Median Home Value
$273,400
Median Age
34.0
Poverty Rate
12.1%
Labor force participation
55.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2588.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
544.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2044.6
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
52.9°F
Annual Precipitation
8.6"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Yakima's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
97,032 residents
2021
96,757 residents
2022
96,567 residents
2023
96,888 residents
2024
97,495 residents
2025
97,458 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
134
housing units authorized
Single-Family
100
detached homes
Multifamily
34
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
580
153
427
$67.3M
2020
203
144
59
$36.7M
2021
450
147
303
$62.6M
2022
349
146
203
$50.2M
2023
319
148
171
$56.0M
2024
134
100
34
$38.4M
Permit volume decreased 77% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.4 minutes
Drive Alone
79.4%
Carpool
11.4%
Public Transit
0.4%
Walk
1.3%
Work from Home
6.2%
Other
1.3%
Based on 39,361 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Washington statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $188
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Washington at $188 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Washington statewide averages, not a meter reading for Yakima. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Washington's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Yakima is $1,472/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Washington statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Washington statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Yakima sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Yakima compares to similar-size Washington cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.