IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Ellensburg, WA
Ellensburg is a small city of 20,874 people in Kittitas County, Washington. It's about 28 miles from Yakima, WA and 95 miles from Seattle, WA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 86°F and winter highs 36°F, with about 16 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $404k and rent runs about $1k a month.
20,874people
$404kTypical home
$1,340/moRent
86° / 36°Summer / winter
16"Snow
203Sunny days
83Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small city of 20,874
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 2,406 people per sq mi
- 95 mi to Seattle, WA
- 28 mi to Yakima, WA
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $404k (≈$2,548/mo)
- Median rent $1,340/mo
- Median household income $55k
- Property tax about 0.8% of value
- 9.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 86°F
- Winter highs around 36°F
- Dry summers (dew point 46°F)
- 203 sunny days a year (74 totally clear)
- 162 cloudy days a year
- 57 of 90 winter days are gray
- 83 days a year with rain or snow
- 16" of snow a year
- 6 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 3 days a year over 100°F
- 10 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (204 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,476 per 100k)
People
- Median age 25
- 22% of households have kids
- 10% are 65 or older
- 41% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 27% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 19 min
- 10% walk or take transit to work
- 30 mi to YKM airport
- 88 mi to SEA (major hub)
- 90 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 49% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1991
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,555 ft
- 87 mi to the ocean
- 63 mi to a big lake
- Trailhead in town
- 20 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 2 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 57 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 6 bars within 25 mi
- 32 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 10 museums within 25 mi
- 3 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 25 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 46% of Washington districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 9 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 79 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- Dog park in town
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Kittitas County: R+15 in 2024
- Washington: D+18 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- High earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- High volcano risk