Unemployment in Yakima County, Washington, is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties
In Yakima County, 6.1% of the labor force was out of work, on average (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026). That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yakima County's score
In Yakima County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 79.0. Unemployment averaged 6.1%, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 59.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yakima County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Yakima County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.9%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($72,458, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorAdults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.1% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average6.1% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202693rd percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.5% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people216.3 · 202578th percentile
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- 57.6 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
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- 57.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line20.7% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability13.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,458 · 202434th percentile
- People below the poverty line16.7% · 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance12.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 53.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.8% · second quarter of 202659th percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Aug 2026.
Where the money in Yakima County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks. Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Yakima County, 14.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yakima County
Washington
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yakima County in 2024, pay from work was 56 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 16 cents. Benefit checks were 28 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
In Yakima County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in about twice as much as benefit checks
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Yakima County, Washington, every fifth year and 2024: benefit checks 11.9% and pay 73.0% in 1969; benefit checks 27.9% and pay 55.9% in 2024.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
Benefit checks have grown from 12 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis counts SNAP food aid as one of the benefit checks. In the SNAP chart below, the biggest rise came between 2012 and 2013.
The share of households in Yakima County getting SNAP food aid was highest of the years shown in 2014, at 24.8%, and is only a little below the peak
Low: 16.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yakima County, Washington.
How Yakima County has changed
In the population chart below, the biggest rise came between 1989 and 1994.
Yakima County's population rose by about 83% from 1969 to 2024, and never dipped along the way
Smallest rise: 255,999 in 2019 to 258,523 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yakima County, Washington.
In the jobs chart below, the biggest rise came between 2010 and 2015.
The number of jobs located in Yakima County rose by about 42% from 1990 to 2024, and never dipped along the way
Smallest rise: 94,084 in 2000 to 95,210 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2024, Yakima County, Washington.
The number of people living in Yakima County grew by about 83% between 1969 and 2024, from 141,416 to 258,523. The number of jobs located there grew by about 42% from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 11.0% in 1990 to 5.9% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.0% | 2025 5.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.5% | 2024 16.7% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $22,370 | 2024 $72,458 |
Two unemployment rates appear on this page, both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 5.9% is the average for 2025, and the score uses 6.1%, the average of the latest 12 months (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026).
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Yakima County's history
1858
Skirmishes and local war (the Yakima War, which lasted until 1858). Wikipedia
1858
The Yakamas were defeated and forced to relocate to the Yakama Indian Reservation. Wikipedia
2009
A flood in January 2009 did $1.57 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 256,728, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1964
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yakima County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Yakima County beside its neighbors
Yakima County scores higher than all eight counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yakima County ranks 3rd of the nine; Klickitat County is highest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 69 | 16.7% | 27.9% |
| Grant County, WA | 62 | 16.8% | 25.2% |
| Lewis County, WA | 56 | 10.6% | 28.6% |
| Pierce County, WA | 51 | 9.4% | 18.6% |
| Klickitat County, WA | 46 | 12.2% | 29.1% |
| Kittitas County, WA | 44 | 12.9% | 21.0% |
| Benton County, WA | 39 | 10.6% | 20.3% |
| Skamania County, WA | 27 | 10.3% | 19.4% |
| King County, WA | 23 | 8.8% | 7.7% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Yakima County the poorest county in Washington?
No, Yakima County's poverty rate was 16.7% in 2024, 4th highest of 39 in Washington (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Whitman County, at 23.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Yakima County ranks 2nd of 39 in the state.
Yakima County in photographs
Places in Yakima County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Old North Yakima Historic District, Roughly bounded by E.
A cloud laden view from a city bus in Yakima, Washington, traveling west down Nob Hill Boulevard.
Photo: September Autumnleaf… via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yakima County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Source CFPB.
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Oic of Washington
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Northwest Justice Project (NJP)
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,012 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Yakima County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Yakima County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.