Yakima County, Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yakima County
U.S. county
Yakima County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Washington
Washington's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Washington
Founded	January 21, 1865
Named for	Yakama Nation
Seat	Yakima
Largest city	Yakima
Area
• Total	4,311 sq mi (11,170 km2)
• Land	4,295 sq mi (11,120 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)  0.4%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	256,728
• Estimate  (2021)	256,035
• Density	58/sq mi (22/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional district	4th

Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and largest city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakama tribe of Native Americans.

Yakima County comprises the Yakima, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area and is Washington state's largest majority-Hispanic county as of 2020.

Geography

Orchards near Selah

Mount Adams, highest point in Yakima County

South eastern Yakima County vast farmlands.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,311 square miles (11,170 km²), of which 4,295 square miles (11,120 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) (0.4%) is water. Yakima County is the second-largest county in Washington by land area and third-largest by total area. Yakima County is also widely known for being one of the most difficult places on earth to predict weather, because of the mountains that surround it. The total area covered by the county is larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The highest point in the county is Mount Adams, which is the second tallest peak in Washington and the third tallest in the entire Cascade Range.

Geographic features

Mountain Goats near the glaciers of Goat Rocks Wilderness

• Mount Adams, 12,281 feet (3,743 m)
• Gilbert Peak, 8,184 feet (2,494 m)
• Mount Aix, 7,766 feet (2,367 m)
• Tieton Peak, 7,724 feet (2,354 m)
• Cascade Mountains
• Rattlesnake Hills
• Horse Heaven Hills

Major rivers

• Yakima River
• Columbia River
• Naches River
• Tieton River
• Bumping River
• American River

National protected areas

Major roads

• Interstate 82
• U.S. Route 12
• U.S. Route 97

Adjacent counties

• Pierce County - northwest
• Lewis County - west
• Skamania County - southwest
• Kittitas County - north
• Klickitat County - south
• Grant County - northeast
• Benton County - east

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 243,231 people, 80,592 households, and 58,790 families living in the county. The population density was 56.6 inhabitants per square mile (21.9/km²). There were 85,474 housing units at an average density of 19.9 per square mile (7.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 63.7% white, 4.3% American Indian, 1.1% Asian, 1.0% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 26.1% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 45.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 15.8% were German, 8.0% were English, 7.3% were Irish, and 3.6% were American.

Of the 80,592 households, 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.1% were non-families, and 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.46. The median age was 32.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,877 and the median income for a family was $48,004. Males had a median income of $37,029 versus $29,824 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,325. About 16.8% of families and 21.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.9% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Towns

• Harrah
• Naches

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Yakima para niños