Cold semi-arid
Ellensburg, Washington
Kittitas County, Washington · Population 19k · 1,535 ft elevation
Living in Ellensburg
Ellensburg has a cold semi-arid climate: hot summers (July highs around 85°F) and cold winters (January lows around 20°F).
Precipitation is very dry at about 9″ a year, and it gets a fair bit of snow (34″ a season).
Skies are partly sunny (55% of possible sunshine). It never gets truly muggy.
Air quality is excellent: a median AQI of 25, with about 3 unhealthy-air days in the latest year.
Ellensburg is an outdoor hub: about 51% of the land within 30 miles is public (parks, national forest and the like), and the terrain rises and falls about 3,800 ft around town.
Ellensburg at a glance
- Population
- 19k
- Elevation
- 1,535 ft
- Average daily high
- 60°F18th percentile
- Average daily low
- 35°F5th percentile
- Annual precipitation
- 9″2th percentile
- Annual snowfall
- 34″74th percentile
- Sunshine hours per year
- 2,572 hrs19th percentile
- Median AQI
- 253th percentile
- Median home value
- $358k67th percentile
- Median rent
- $1,258/mo55th percentile
- Median household income
- $50k15th percentile
- Property tax rate
- 0.87%42th percentile
- Top state income-tax rate
- 0.0%
- Sales tax (state + local)
- 9.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.6%
- Homes with broadband
- 91%49th percentile
- Walkability index
- 7.634th percentile
- Average commute
- 17 min
- Math proficiency (8th grade)
- 52%60th percentile
- Reading proficiency (8th grade)
- 52%
- Violent crime rate
- 230 per 100k61th percentile
- Property crime rate
- 1,557 per 100k
- Overall natural-hazard risk
- 8946th percentile
- Outdoor access
- 9695th percentile
- Public land within 10 miles
- 24%
- Public land within 30 miles
- 51%
- Mountain relief within 30 miles
- 3,806 ft
Climate by month
| Month | High | Low | Precipitation | Snow | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35°F | 20°F | 1.2″ | 7.4″ | 105 hrs |
| Feb | 42°F | 22°F | 0.8″ | 5.0″ | 139 hrs |
| Mar | 52°F | 27°F | 0.8″ | 4.0″ | 170 hrs |
| Apr | 60°F | 34°F | 0.6″ | 1.2″ | 217 hrs |
| May | 69°F | 42°F | 0.8″ | 0.1″ | 270 hrs |
| Jun | 75°F | 48°F | 0.6″ | — | 296 hrs |
| Jul | 85°F | 53°F | 0.3″ | — | 380 hrs |
| Aug | 84°F | 52°F | 0.2″ | — | 345 hrs |
| Sep | 76°F | 43°F | 0.3″ | — | 262 hrs |
| Oct | 61°F | 33°F | 0.8″ | 1.6″ | 187 hrs |
| Nov | 45°F | 26°F | 1.1″ | 6.2″ | 112 hrs |
| Dec | 35°F | 20°F | 1.4″ | 9.0″ | 90 hrs |
Near Ellensburg
- Gleed, WA · 3.1k
- Selah, WA · 8.3k
- Terrace Heights, WA · 9.5k
- Yakima, WA · 97k
- Ahtanum, WA · 3.6k
- Union Gap, WA · 6.5k
- Moxee, WA · 4.5k
- East Wenatchee, WA · 14k
Largest places in Washington
- Seattle, WA · 741k
- Spokane, WA · 229k
- Tacoma, WA · 220k
- Vancouver, WA · 193k
- Bellevue, WA · 151k
- Kent, WA · 135k
- Everett, WA · 111k
- Spokane Valley, WA · 105k
Sources: NOAA climate normals, NASA POWER, EPA air quality, U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, FBI, EPA walkability and EDFacts. Methodology