Ellensburg is a medium-sized city located in the state of Washington. With a population of 20,996 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Ellensburg is the 62nd largest community in Washington.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Ellensburg is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Ellensburg is a city of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ellensburg who work in food service (15.42%), sales jobs (9.26%), and teaching (9.22%). Also of interest is that Ellensburg has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 10.26% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Because Ellensburg has a very large number of students who are 18 years or older and in college, it is thought of as a college town. This has a major influence on local Ellensburg lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in Ellensburg is very much tied to the academic calendar: when students return from the summer break in the fall, one will notice them out and about, buying groceries, out with friends, and generally getting re-acquainted with each other. In Ellensburg people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both. One of the benefits of Ellensburg is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 16.98 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.Ellensburg is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 41.25% of adults in Ellensburg have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher. The per capita income in Ellensburg in 2022 was $31,725, which is lower middle income relative to Washington, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $126,900 for a family of four. However, Ellensburg contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Ellensburg is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Ellensburg home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ellensburg residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Ellensburg also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 13.12% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Ellensburg include German, Irish, English, European, and Norwegian. The most common language spoken in Ellensburg is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Pacific Island languages.
