City safety & data profile

EllensburgWA

Ellensburg, WA is a 19K-resident city in Kittitas County with a median household income of $55,438.

Kittitas County, Washington. Federal health, economic, and safety indicators for Ellensburg, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, CDC PLACES, and CMS Hospital Compare. Ellensburg has a population larger than 41% of the 4,640 U.S. cities Areazine tracks, a median home value of $404,100, and 1 hospital serving the surrounding area.

Data updated 2026-09-16
19K
Population (place)
Bottom 42%
By size
$55,438
Median income (place)
$404,100
Median home (place)
22.4%
Poverty rate (place)
My saved cities

The read on Ellensburg

Ellensburg posts a median household income higher than 15% of U.S. cities Areazine tracks, where 1 hospital serves the Ellensburg area.

Bottom 16%
by median income, US cities
1
hospital in & near Ellensburg

Composite score · Ellensburg, WA

34/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2024

A transparent index Areazine derives from Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published, not an official Census Bureau or FBI rating. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move to or avoid any place. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Bachelor's+ share B-
41.4%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Violent crime C-
291 /100k

FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents. State-level rate (per-city UCR reporting is incomplete/voluntary): every city in the state shares this value; lower is stronger on this axis.

Household income F
$55,438

Median household income vs cities tracked on Areazine; ACS 5-Year Estimates.

Poverty rate F
22.4%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis. ACS 5-Year Estimates.

See the full national tables: Healthiest Cities in America (health outcomes only) · Community Wellbeing Cities (this page's blended composite).

Where Ellensburg income ranks nationally

Median household income vs. every place Areazine profiles (place-level ACS)

$55,438 Bottom 15% higher than 15% of 3,889 places Areazine profiles

Ellensburg $0 $260,000 every profiled place, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $20,000-wide band; taller bars hold more places Areazine profiles. 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, American Community Survey (place-level) · 2024 ACS 5-year

Population ranking: WA

109 WA places (10,000+ residents, ACS income on record), sorted by population. Hover a bar for its income rank in this pool.

residents

What this shows Seattle tops this pool by population; the income lead belongs to Sammamish instead.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

Highest median incomes in WA

The same 109-city WA pool, sorted by median household income instead of headcount. Tooltip carries the population rank.

median

What this shows Income honors go to Sammamish here -- by headcount, that title belongs to Seattle.

Source U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (place-level) As of 2024 ACS 5-year

The quick read

Reading Ellensburg, WA beyond the headline numbers

Ellensburg sits inside Kittitas County, Washington, at roughly 47.00°N, -120.55°W. Population 19,001, $55,438 median household income. Median home value $404,100, median rent $1,340. Poverty rate 22.4%, read against that income figure since two cities on the same median can differ underneath it.

1 hospital in/around Ellensburg, 0 with an ER. Climate: 47.7°F annual average, 9" precipitation.

Ellensburg's median age is 25 years, in the youngest quarter of reporting cities.

The median home in Ellensburg costs around 7.3 times what a median household earns in a year -- the most expensive quarter of reporting cities, and far enough ahead of local pay that ownership is largely closed to median earners.

8.9% unemployment puts Ellensburg in the toughest quarter of reporting cities for job availability.

Among the CDC measures on this page, binge drinking departs furthest from its peer median: 19.5% in Ellensburg, the highest-prevalence quarter of the 3,759 cities reporting that measure.

22.4% of Ellensburg, WA residents live below the poverty line, placing it in the hardest-hit quarter of reporting cities. Read every median on this page against that: half the households are above it, and a large minority are far below.

41.4% of Ellensburg adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, above the midpoint of reporting cities.

Remote work covers 10.2% of Ellensburg workers, under the midpoint for reporting cities.

Median rent in Ellensburg, WA runs $1,340/month, below the midpoint for reporting cities.

Sources: U.S. Census ACS, CDC PLACES, CMS Hospital Compare, plus live alerts for Ellensburg from FEMA, NOAA, FDA, and CPSC. Economic comparison bars use the unweighted average across tracked Census places with a reported value, not a household-weighted national median.

A Decade of Change 2013–2024

County-level trend (Kittitas County): Ellensburg's own historical series isn't separately published by the Census Bureau, so these year-over-year figures track the surrounding county, not the city alone.

20132024
Population
47K+14%
Median Income
$73,804+72%
Median Home Value
$497,400+103%
Poverty Rate
14.4%-36%
Unemployment
6.3%-38%

Economics

What stands out most about Ellensburg's economic profile: poverty rate at 22.4%, 81% above the average across tracked places. A second figure worth noting: median household income at $55,438, 38% below the tracked-city average.

Economics indicators for Ellensburg, WA
IndicatorValue
Median Rent
$1,340/mo
Poverty Rate
22.4% +81% vs avg
Unemployment 8.9%
Bachelor's Degree+ 41.4%
Work From Home 10.2%
Public Transit 0.9%

Population Snapshot

White 78.7%
African American 2.2%
Asian 2.6%
Two or More Ethnicities 3.7%

Health Snapshot 15 measures

Health Indicators

Obesity
33.6%
Short Sleep Duration
30.8%
High Blood Pressure
24.4%
Frequent Mental Distress
20.8%
Binge Drinking
19.5%
Physical Inactivity
19%
Frequent Physical Distress
12.6%
Current Asthma
11.7%
Current Smoking
10.5%
Lack of Health Insurance
9.2%

Preventive Care

Dental Visit 61.7%
Annual Checkup 65.7%

Other Measures

Diabetes
7.5%
Coronary Heart Disease
4.6%
Stroke
2.5%

Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 Normals
Avg Temperature
48°F
Annual Rainfall
9.0"
Hot Months (>80°F)
0
Cold Months (<40°F)
5
35°
20°
Jan
1.2"
43°
22°
Feb
0.8"
52°
28°
Mar
0.8"
60°
34°
Apr
0.6"
69°
42°
May
0.8"
76°
48°
Jun
0.6"
85°
54°
Jul
0.3"
85°
52°
Aug
0.2"
76°
43°
Sep
0.3"
62°
34°
Oct
0.8"
46°
26°
Nov
1.1"
35°
20°
Dec
1.5"

Flood Insurance Claims History

FEMA NFIP, county-level
39
Claims filed
$1.0M
Total paid out
AE
Most common flood zone

Kittitas County has recorded 39 National Flood Insurance Program claims totaling $1.0M in payouts since 2016.

The largest single contributor was 2025-12-AtmosphericRiver, accounting for 24 claims.

Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims, via OpenFEMA. County-level data: individual claims are not attributed to a specific city or address by FEMA.

What alerts and safety updates affect Ellensburg?

No area-tagged alerts are on record for Ellensburg right now. New federal and counterpart-agency notices still land in the site feed as agencies publish them.

City alert dispatch desk

Sheet WA-ELLENSBURG · Ellensburg

Ellensburg: no area-tagged alerts on record. State hubs carry the live CAP stream.

  • FEED-QUIET No tagged alerts
  • LEAD-NONE Feed idle
  • DESK-IDLE Awaiting feed

Counts reflect published articles tagged to Ellensburg; untagged NOAA county warnings may still appear in the site feed. Browse Washington state hubs · Methodology

Read with this city profile

Tracking Safety Alerts in Your Area

How Areazine tags Ellensburg in the CAP feed
All safety guides →

Common Questions 8

What is the population of Ellensburg, WA? ▼
Ellensburg, WA has a population of 19,001 people, located in Kittitas County, Washington.
What is the median household income in Ellensburg? ▼
The median household income in Ellensburg, WA is $55,438 per year, per the U.S. Census ACS. The poverty rate is 22.4%.
What is the median home value in Ellensburg? ▼
The median home value in Ellensburg, WA is $404,100. Median rent is $1,340/month.
What are the top health concerns in Ellensburg? ▼
The top health indicators in Ellensburg include Obesity (33.6%), Short Sleep Duration (30.8%), High Blood Pressure (24.4%). Data from CDC PLACES.
How many hospitals are in Ellensburg? ▼
Ellensburg has 1 hospital. 0 have emergency departments.
What is the median age in Ellensburg? ▼
The median age in Ellensburg, WA is 25 years. 41.4% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What is the climate like in Ellensburg? ▼
Ellensburg has an average annual temperature of 47.7°F and 9" of annual precipitation.
Has Ellensburg had flood insurance claims? ▼
Kittitas County, Washington has recorded 39 NFIP flood insurance claims since 2016, totaling $1.0M in payouts. This is county-level data: FEMA does not attribute individual claims to a specific city.

Similar poverty or income, nationwide 8

Two ACS-derived peer sets for Ellensburg, both outside Washington so the neighborhoods are not the geographic nearby list below.

Similar poverty rate

Nearest place-level ACS poverty rates outside WA (22.4% here).

San Juan, TX 22.4% Marion, OH 22.4% Marshall, TX 22.4% Roseburg, OR 22.4%

Similar median income

Nearest place-level ACS median household incomes outside WA ($55,438 here).

Jonesboro, AR $55,424 Las Cruces, NM $55,422 Holly Hill, FL $55,412 Gardere, LA $55,409

Compare Ellensburg with another city

Pick a second U.S. city to open a side-by-side profile on population, income, health, and hospitals, the same federal datasets as this page.

Quick picks:

Cities Close By 8

Yakima, WA 94K West Valley, WA 13K Wenatchee, WA 34K East Wenatchee, WA 14K Sunnyside, WA 16K Grandview, WA 11K Moses Lake, WA 22K West Richland, WA 14K
All cities in Washington → Compare Ellensburg vs Yakima → All comparisons → Browse all cities

Using Ellensburg's profile

Use this as a starting research checklist, not a verdict on whether to live here.

  • Check live recalls, weather and hazard alerts scoped to the Ellensburg area before relying on national headlines. Check your area
  • Read the poverty rate alongside the income figure, two places with the same median can have very different realities.
  • Compare Ellensburg against Washington peers on any ranking lens. Explore Washington

Place-level figures for population and economics (income, home value, poverty, education) come from U.S. Census ACS; health data is CDC PLACES; hospital counts cover facilities in and around the city. Any county-level trend is labeled as such.

Data Sources

All data on this page comes from official U.S. government sources. Population and economic data from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates, place geography). Health data from the CDC PLACES program (2023). Hospital ratings from CMS Hospital Compare (2024). Climate data from NOAA. Education data from NCES. Cost of living from Bureau of Economic Analysis. Crime statistics, where referenced on Areazine, originate from the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Housing market figures referenced on Areazine come from HUD Fair Market Rents. Census economics and population are at place geography; some health and hospital indicators are reported at the county level (Kittitas County) where that is the smallest published unit.

Every figure on Areazine is published directly from official U.S. government sources, no number is typed in by an editor. City demographic and health figures are compiled directly from U.S. Census (place-level ACS), CDC, and CMS releases, updated quarterly within 30 days of upstream release. County-level trends are labeled when shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-09-16.