Yakima Valley Trends Blog

In ECONOMIC VITALITY:

Per Capita Personal Income

This measure, put together from federal records, represents the average of residents’ income. In 2023, it breached the $50,000 threshold for the first time, attaining approximately $51,500. That implied a 4.5% increase over the prior year. However, the county’s result lay $18,500 below the U.S. and $30,000 below the state per capita levels.  

One reason for the low Yakima level is the high percentage of (non-working) children in the general population. Another is the make-up of the local economy. 

Quarterly Taxable Retail Sales & Annual Growth Rate from Same Quarter of Previous Year

Taxable retail sales give an idea of the size of consumer plus construction spending. These activities amount to a large part of the local economy. Quarterly taxable retail sales give one of the few “real time” measures of the local economy. (Employment is another.) And taxable retail sales are hugely important source of local government revenues. 

For the first half of 2024, sales throughout the county were about equal to those of the first half of 2023. The state also experienced zero growth in these revenues over the same period. 

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Total GDP of the Top 5 Major Sectors & Total GDP Growth Rate

County-level gross domestic product serves the same role as it does at the national and state levels. It measures revenue flows in all sectors and consequently, along with total personal income, tracks the size of the local economy. This indicator offers the top 5 sectors in the total, a breakdown offers a look at what drives the economy. For Yakima County, the sectors, in order, are:  Government (all types), Agricultural production, Real Estate (sales & rentals), Healthcare & private education, and Manufacturing. 

After largely matching growth rates of the U.S. and the state over the past few years, the county’s GDP grew much more slowly in 2023, notching only a 2.4% increase. 

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Metro Area Regional Price Parity (Cost of Living Index)

While there is no Consumer Price Index available for Yakima (or any state metro area outside of King County), a relative measure of the overall price level is calculated by the U.S. Department of Commerce. It expresses the value of a local basket of goods & services plus housing costs to the average of the same basket for all 393 metro areas in the U.S. A value of 100 implies that a metro area has the same price level as the average of all metro areas. 

For 2023, Yakima’s relatively prices came in slightly below the all-metro average, at 98. Since 2008, the county’s relative price level has been the lowest among Eastern Washington metro areas by a slight amount. 

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Net Jobs Created & Annual Growth Rate

A key performance indicator of local economic development is the number of jobs created. Who doesn’t want to the local economy grow, and growth almost always implies a greater number of jobs. Due to data limitations, this measure tracks the change in net jobs, or jobs created minus jobs lost. Theoretically, then, one could enjoy a banner year in jobs created but see that number dwindle due to jobs lost. 

2023 was not a particularly strong year for job net creation in Yakima County, as only 655 were created. The 10-average is nearly twice that much, at approximately 1,250. By the end of 2023, the county job count had just reached the levels seen in 2019.

In EDUCATION:

On-Time Graduation Rate, for Public High School Students Who Graduate Within 4 Years

The on-time graduation rate is an essential measure of a school district’s performance. Graduating from high school also holds strong individual implications, as most jobs require a high school diploma as the bare minimum of qualifications. 

For school year 2023-2024, the average on-time graduation rate of all 15 districts in Yakima County was about 80%. A decade prior it was 72%. The current rate, however, is still 2.5 percentage points below the Washington state average. 

Total and Share of Students Completing At Least One Dual Credit Course

Over the past two decades, higher education has entered public high school classes, with AP offerings, Running Start, and in places, College in the High School. This indicator offers a method of assessing the penetration of this level of rigor into high school curricula. 

In school year 2023-2024, the number of public-school high school students exposed in this way to higher ed was nearly 9,500.  A decade ago, it was half that level. The penetration here, however, at 52% remains below that of that of the state, at 67%. But the gap has narrowed over the decade. 

Number of Students Suspended or Expelled as a Share of Total Enrollment

School discipline is an unfortunate necessity in public schools. Beyond in-school remedies, limited duration suspension is the next step. If the situation warrants, expulsion might follow. 

For the 2022-2023 school year, about 4% of the county’s public-school students were suspended. This is generally below the pre-pandemic rate. The number of public-school students expelled was 0.7%, also a bit below pre-pandemic rates. In both cases, the county’s rate is higher than the state average rate. 

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Share of the Population Age 25+ with some College or an Associate’s Degree

This estimate from Census represents the share of the adult population who have had some post-secondary education but no more than an associate’s degree.  For the county in 2023, this level of educational attainment represented nearly 27% of the adult population. This share is down from the peak years of 2012 and 2012, when slightly over 30% of adults fell into this category. 

While the local share was higher than the U.S. share in 2021 and 2022, it didn’t appear to be the case in 2023. In all years, the county rate has been below the state rate. 

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Share of the Population Aged 25+ with at Least a Bachelor's Degree

This segment of the adult population includes those with a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree or Ph.D., plus those with professional degrees:  MD, DO, CPA, or JD.  

For 2023, the total share of Yakima County adults in these categories was a bit above 18%. This was higher than a decade ago, when it stood at 14.5%. The share here, however, is far lower than the that of the U.S., at 36%, and the state, at over 40%. 

To simplify the graph, simply click on the component in the legend you would like to remove.

list updated 02.03.25