258,523 people (2024 Census estimate, +0.7% since 2020)
4,295 square miles of land · 60 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
89 active community water systems list Yakima County in the area they serve, reporting 252,379 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| YAKIMA WATER DIVISION CITY OF surface water · local government · WA5399150 | 112,858 served |
| NOB HILL WATER ASSOCIATION groundwater · private · WA5359700 | 38,050 served |
| SUNNYSIDE CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5385400 | 17,194 served |
| TOPPENISH WATER DEPARTMENT groundwater · local government · WA5388850 | 13,382 served |
| GRANDVIEW CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5328970 | 11,010 served |
| SELAH CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5377400 | 9,331 served |
| YAK CO - TERRACE HEIGHTS groundwater · local government · WA5306029 | 8,410 served |
| UNION GAP WATER groundwater · local government · WA5390250 | 6,433 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 582 people were held in Yakima County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 367 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 1,082.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
14 school districts have their office in Yakima County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $316.3 million — $294.6 million to run schools, about $18,941 per student, plus $16.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $26.3 million local (mostly property tax), $214.5 million state, $73.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $79.8 million.
Spent $121.7 million — $114.1 million to run schools, about $17,915 per student, plus $5.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6 million local (mostly property tax), $89.9 million state, $25.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $28.5 million.
Spent $90.3 million — $83.1 million to run schools, about $15,141 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $16.5 million local (mostly property tax), $71.4 million state, $8.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $72.7 million.
Spent $91.2 million — $76.5 million to run schools, about $18,015 per student, plus $13.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.3 million local (mostly property tax), $61.7 million state, $21.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.5 million.
Spent $67 million — $62.3 million to run schools, about $17,212 per student, plus $2.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.9 million local (mostly property tax), $49.2 million state, $11 million federal. Long-term debt: $34.8 million.
Spent $58.2 million — $53.9 million to run schools, about $16,161 per student, plus $2.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.4 million local (mostly property tax), $43 million state, $7.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $34.8 million.
Spent $64.6 million — $62.4 million to run schools, about $19,515 per student, plus $1.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.4 million local (mostly property tax), $45 million state, $17.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.3 million.
Spent $29.8 million — $27.2 million to run schools, about $18,145 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.9 million local (mostly property tax), $21.4 million state, $6.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $8.8 million.
And 6 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Yakima County about $119.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
557 bridges in Yakima County: 323 in good condition, 203 fair, and 31 poor (5.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| I-82 over NP RY MOXEE · built 1961 | 25,406 vehicles a day |
| US 12 over RR & N GORDON RD · built 1971 | 21,317 vehicles a day |
| US 12 over RR & N GORDON RD · built 1971 | 21,317 vehicles a day |
| SO 24TH AVENUE over WIDE HOLLOW CREEK · built 1970 | 12,000 vehicles a day |
| SR 24 over YAKIMA RIVER · built 2006 | 11,237 vehicles a day |
| I-82 over SELAH CREEK · built 1969 | 10,035 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $209.3 million of work in Yakima County in fiscal 2025, about $815 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Washington are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Yakima County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Yakima County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Washington: the state government and every county in Washington.
Nearby counties: Klickitat County (40 mi) · Kittitas County (46 mi) · Benton County (60 mi) · Skamania County (65 mi) · Sherman County, OR (73 mi) · Gilliam County, OR (77 mi).