Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,440, settled in 1909.
Kittitas’ best subject grades are an A− for health and an A for the outdoors; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. Only 7 of the 286 Washington towns we compare have a lower January low than Kittitas. Olmstead Place State Park is on the National Register of Historic Places. Kittitas has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Kittitas beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Kittitas is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2006.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kittitas, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Kittitas.
The typical Kittitas home is worth about $298,000, up 1.5% in a year, 49% below the Washington typical home. Kittitas’ median rent is $1,351 a month, below Washington’s towns ($1,739 a month) but above U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Kittitas | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,351 a month | $1,739 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Kittitas School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Kittitas High School, with 318 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kittitas Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 246 | – |
| Kittitas High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 318 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 89% of U.S. communities. Since 1997, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kittitas.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Kittitas beats the Washington average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 68% of Kittitas adults had a checkup this year, below both the Washington town median (71%) and the median of U.S. towns (79%). 19% of adults binge drink in Kittitas.
| Kittitas | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 71% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Kittitas | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 30.9% | 34.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.8% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Kittitas for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Kittitas has added 29 jobs, to 300 in 2023. 12% of Kittitas residents live below the poverty line.
| Kittitas | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 4.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $80,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Kittitas has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. Kittitas’ July high is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.7 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in Kittitas is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Kittitas | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.5% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Palouse to Cascades State Park | — | 18 |
| 2. Palmiero Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Wilson Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kittitas
About 4 of every 100 Kittitas residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
Where Kittitas’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Washington, United States
Kittitas () is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,438 at the 2020 census. It is also a part of the Ellensburg micropolitan area. There are numerous interpretations of the name, which is from the language of the Kittitas American Indian Sahaptin language. According to toponymist William Bright, the name "Kittitas" comes from the Sahaptin placename [k'ɨtɨtáš], referring to a gravel bank in the Yakima River. According to Jennifer Cochran, it "has been said to mean everything from 'white chalk' to 'shale rock' to 'shoal people' to 'land of beauty', and that most anthropologists and historians concede that each interpretation has some validity depending up…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($73,804 across the Ellensburg, WA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.