Terrace HeightsWA
A town of 10,041. Public schools that outperform most of Washington.
Is Terrace Heights a good place to live?
Terrace Heights grades B− overall, ranked 134th of 285 in Washington, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $377K, 5.3 years of the Yakima metro’s $71K median household income. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 73% of Washington towns on state tests and graduation. Terrace Heights’ concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both Washington’s towns (0.8) and U.S. towns (0.4). On hazard risk, just 36 of Washington’s 397 towns do better. Terrace Heights is home to Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.
What makes Terrace Heights stand out
Where Terrace Heights beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Terrace Heights Elementary | K–5 | 454 |
| Riverside Christian | PK–12 | 366 |
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences | 649 |
Terrace Heights has grown 33% from 2010 to 2020
6,937 counted in 2010 and 9,244 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Terrace Heights grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Terrace Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Terrace Heights: who provides what
Terrace Heights is unincorporated, so Yakima County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Terrace Heights.
Terrace Heights has commutes shorter than most of Washington, is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Washington and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Washington.
Conserved land covers 3.6% of Terrace Heights
Across 1 park or preserve: 15 miles of trail. Yakima Sportsman State Park, at 247 acres with 5.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Yakima Sportsman State Park | 5.5 mi | 247 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Terrace Heights earns a B+ for schools
Its two schools are below. Public schools: the East Valley School District. Enrollment at Terrace Heights’s public school: 454 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terrace Heights ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 454 | – |
| Riverside Christian PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 366 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
About half of Terrace Heights’ working residents commute to Yakima
The average commute for its 3,516 working residents takes 19.2 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
The typical journey to work for Terrace Heights comes to 19 minutes, below both the Washington town median (27 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Just 5% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. 14% of residents live below the poverty line locally. Since 2013, Terrace Heights has added 323 jobs, to 1,949 in 2023.
| Terrace Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.8% | 5% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Terrace Heights ranks healthier than seven in ten of the country’s towns
Within Washington it is less healthy than 62% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar.
Terrace Heights does better than the Washington average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 5. For adults in the town, the share who sleep under 7 hours is 27%. In Terrace Heights, 71% of adults had a checkup this year, and 10% smoke cigarettes.
| Terrace Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 71% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 7.8% | 8.1% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Terrace Heights | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.6% | 9% |
| Fewer adults sleeping under 7 hours | 27.4% | 31.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 11% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The climate in Terrace Heights brings four seasons and hot summers
January nights average 24.8°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 80% of Washington places with climate records; July afternoons average 89.2°.
About 20 inches of snow falls in a winter. In Terrace Heights, the midsummer high is 89°F.
| Terrace Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 25°F | 35°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest natural risk in Terrace Heights is avalanches, at a moderate overall level
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Terrace Heights than in 58% of U.S. communities. 3 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1981. Expected losses in Terrace Heights break down as 44% from avalanches and 25% from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median home in Terrace Heights sells for about $417K
In Terrace Heights, 62% of households are owner-occupiers. Homes sold in Terrace Heights spent a median 37 days on the market. Terrace Heights’ rent at the middle of the market stands at $1,196 a month.
| Terrace Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,196 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Yakima Electric Railway Museum and 4 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Terrace Heights. Close and well known come first.
4 mi MuseumYakima Electric Railway Museum
34 mi National Historical ParkManhattan Project National Historical Park56K visitors a year
32 mi State parkGinkgo Petrified Forest State Park
3 mi TheatreCapitol Theatre
2 mi GardenYakima Area ArboretumPhoto credits
Yakima Electric Railway Museum: Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Manhattan Project National Historical Park: Unknown, Public domain · Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park: No machine-readable author provided. Justinleif~commonswiki assumed (based on co, Public domain · Capitol Theatre: User:Cacophony, CC BY 2.5 · Yakima Area Arboretum: Bobjgalindo, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Terrace Heights
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Terrace Heights
About 7 of every 100 Terrace Heights residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences calls Terrace Heights home
About Terrace Heights
CDP in Washington, United States
Terrace Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,244 at the 2020 census. It is essentially a suburb of the city of Yakima.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,198 ft
- Area code
- 509
Terrace Heights’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Terrace Heights.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrace Heights | #134 | B− | D | — | B+ | B+ |
| Yakima | #272 | D− | C | C− | C− | C |
Terrace Heights reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Terrace Heights with a neighbor →
Questions about Terrace Heights
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Terrace Heights, WA a good place to live?
Terrace Heights grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #134 of 285 in Washington. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Terrace Heights, WA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $377,000, 36% below the Washington typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.