Ellensburg, Washington

Ellensburg is a city located in Kittitas County, Washington. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 15,414. Ellensburg is a small town just east of the Cascade Range on I-90 in the state of Washington in the United States. Cattle is important to the economy of the town; there is a large slaughterhouse there. The old part of the town is pleasant enough, with old brick buildings from the late 19th century, but most of the town is typical American blighted post-auto zoned-ugly sprawl. It takes around two hours to drive in good traffic to Ellensburg from Seattle (I-90 becomes very congested at rush hour, and on long weekends). Eastern Washington has a much drier climate and some Seattleites find it nice to spend a weekend without rain after the sometimes dreary winters on the rainy western side of the Cascades. It is the county seat of Kittitas County⁶.

Ellensburg is home to both a stop on the PRCA professional rodeo circuit and Central Washington University.

Geography

Ellensburg is located at 46°59'49" North, 120°32'42" West (46.997064, -120.545119)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.2 km² (6.6 mi²). 17.1 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.75% water.

Demographics

As of the census¹ of 2000, there are 15,414 people, 6,249 households, and 2,649 families residing in the city. The population density is 903.1/km² (2,338.9/mi²). There are 6,732 housing units at an average density of 394.4/km² (1,021.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 88.07% White, 1.17% African American, 0.95% Native American, 4.09% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 2.86% from other races, and 2.69% from two or more races. 6.33% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 6,249 households out of which 20.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% are married couples living together, 8.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 57.6% are non-families. 35.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.12 and the average family size is 2.84.

In the city the population is spread out with 15.8% under the age of 18, 39.3% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 12.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 24 years. For every 100 females there are 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $20,034, and the median income for a family is $37,625. Males have a median income of $31,022 versus $22,829 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,662. 34.3% of the population and 18.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 29.0% are under the age of 18 and 11.2% are 65 or older.