Did you know there are nearly 140 different community indicators on Yakima Valley Trends - each updated throughout the year? But which ones, and when?
This issue of the Yakima Valley Trends blog lists some of the most recently updated indicators on the Yakima Valley Trends website.
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Recent Updates
In PEOPLE:
0.2.3 Seniors Living Alone
Recently released Census estimates put the share of seniors who live by themselves at about 25%. This represents a decline over the past 15 years of several percentage points. Yakima’s seniors who live alone have traditionally been more scarce than statewide and int he U.S.
0.2.4 Households with Children under 18
Yakima County is rich with children and recently released Census estimates show a continuation of trend. Nearly 37% of county households report children living with them, much higher than in the U.S. and Washington State.
In EDUCATION:
4.1.1 Early Education Enrollment
Early education is now seen as critical to education milestones such as high school graduation and post-secondary school attendance. Census estimates for 2021 show a dramatic drop from the prior year. The county’s rate is and has been lower than those of the U.S. and the state.
4.5.1 Population with a High School Diploma
The estimated share of the population whose highest educational level attained is a high school diploma or less has steadily declined over the past 15 years. For 2021 it was 53%. This is a much higher share than the nation or the state shows.
4.5.2 Population with an AA Degree
The estimated share of the population whose highest educational level attained is some coursework or an Associates degree from a community college has risen slightly over the past 15 years. For 2021 it was about 29%. This now higher than in the U.S. but lower than the Washington average.
4.5.3 Population with a BA Degree or Graduate Degree
The estimated share of the population whose highest educational level attained is a Bachelor’s or higher has slowly increased over the past 15 years. In 2021, it stood at 18.5%. This value is much lower than those of the U.S. or Washington State.
In EQUITY, INCLUSION:
6.1.1 Income Distribution
Unlike state and national averages, the estimated share of total income in the county taken by the upper 20% of residents has declined over the past 15 years. And the share of total income taken by the lowest 20% of residents (by income) is slightly larger here than in the U.S. or Washington State.
In HEALTH:
7.1.5 Disability by Age
The estimated disability rate among Yakima County seniors has declined over the past 15 years but is still higher than the Washington average. Disability rates in Yakima for working adults (18-64) and youth are nearly identical to those of the U.S. and Washington State.
In TRANSPORTATION:
10.1.1 Total Commuters
Likely due to covid-induced changes of work habits, the estimated number of County commuters in 2021 was the lowest since 2012, when the population was smaller.
10.1.2 Alternative Modes of Commuter Transportation
The big takeaway in this recently released estimate from the Census Bureau was the share of residents working from home in 2021: 7.5%. That’s two and half times as high as 2019. The local share pales, however, in comparison to those in the state and nation working from home in 2021.
List updated 12.12.22
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Blog Feature: Covid-19 Deaths in Yakima Valley
Covid-19 Third-Leading Cause of Death for Second Year in a Row!
In May of 2022, the United States officially surpassed one million reported Covid-19 deaths since the start of the global pandemic. Not surprisingly, in the initial year of 2020, Covid-19 surged to become the third-leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer for the nation as a whole. However, what might be surprising is the disparate shares of Covid deaths across counties in Washington in the second year of the pandemic when vaccines were more widely available. Clearly, there were differential impacts of the pandemic across the state, with Yakima County being hit harder.
With the release of 2021 mortality data, it is apparent that the share of deaths from Covid-19 in Yakima County exceeded both the state and national average in the second year of the pandemic. In fact, deaths from Covid-19 were the THIRD-LEADING cause of death in Yakima County in 2021, accounting for over 12% of ALL deaths last year. To put that into perspective, nearly one out of every eight deaths in the year was due to Covid-19.
Yakima Valley Trends 7.1.4 Share of Deaths by Leading Causes provides county level data for Yakima County with Washington state provided as a benchmark. Compared to the nation, Washington state fared slightly better. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, deaths from Covid-19 made up 5.2% of all deaths across the state. In the second year of the pandemic (2021), Covid-19 deaths increased to 8% of all deaths that year. Overall, Covid-19 was the third-leading cause of death for 2021, behind cancer and heart disease.
Covid-19 has proven to be deadlier for older residents. Over 90% of all Covid deaths in the combined counties in 2021 were residents aged 45 and above and two-thirds of all Covid deaths were residents over 65. In contrast, there were no recorded Covid-related deaths for youths 14 and under. Someone 65 or older in the county was over twenty times more likely to die from Covid than someone in the 44 or younger age group and six times as likely to die from Covid than the 45-64 age group.
Lest we think the pandemic is over, the Covid Dashboard for Washington reports 205 new confirmed Covid-19 cases for just last week (November 29th through December 5th). This is an increase of over 50% from the previous week’s 134 total new cases. In total, Yakima County has lost over 600 residents to the virus since the start of the pandemic.