What is the cost of living in Yakima?

Yakima has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 72.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,374/month.

What is the median salary in Yakima?

The median salary in Yakima is $70,002 annually (mean: $73,079). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

The violent crime rate in the Yakima area is 329 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2498 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Yakima?

The state of WA has 2,465 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.6:1. Charter schools make up 0.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Yakima?

Infant center-based childcare in the Yakima area averages $15,987 per year. Preschool averages $12,531/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Yakima a good place to relocate?

Yakima has a Life Score of 50.5/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Yakima sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Yakima ranks #202 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Yakima, WA

BEA RPP 95.5 sits mid-pack (#231 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,374
2BR rent / mo: $70,002
Median salary: 51
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Yakima ranks #202 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (51/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and air quality.

#202
of 387 US metros · Near median: 7,958,180
metro-area population: 329
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,465
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (11/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Yakima ranks #202 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,374/mo, median salary $70,002; LiveAbility Score 51/100, strongest in low hazard and air quality.

Signature: BEA RPP 95.5 sits mid-pack (#231 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.5 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,374/mo.

LiveAbility 51/100 keeps Yakima in the middle third (#202 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Yakima area is 90,310.

Yakima vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

51 Top 52% higher than 48% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Yakima housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Yakima MSA; housing RPP 72.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,374/mo.

Studio

$1,040

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,047

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,374

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,911

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,093

/month

Yakima wages and employment

Yakima posts 90,310 total employment with median salary $70,002.

Median Salary

$70,002

Mean Salary

$73,079

Total Employment

90,310

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$44,490
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse	$39,070
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$35,830
Retail Salespersons	$36,640
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary	$47,380

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Yakima area from NCES.

Schools

2,465

Enrollment

1,092,149

Student:Teacher

17.6:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Yakima area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$15,987

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,531

per year

Preschool (Center)

$12,531

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Yakima's composite Life Score is 50.5/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

40/100

Below average

Wages

76/100

Strong

Rent

40/100

Below average

Crime

45/100

Average

Schools

74/100

Strong

Childcare

11/100

Bottom decile

Environment

60/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Yakima ranks #202 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 51/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (86/100)

Low hazard

86
Air quality

83
Job market

76
Safety

45
Cost of living

40
Housing

40
Schools

26
Climate

11

What this shows Yakima's strongest dimensions are low hazard and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 11/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Yakima to

Port St. Lucie Portland-South Portland Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Prescott Valley-Prescott Providence-Warwick Provo-Orem-Lehi

Metros near Yakima on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Yakima on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Yakima cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Yakima wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Yakima?

Yakima runs a $70,002 median salary at a 95.5 cost index, ranking #202 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Yakima's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Yakima head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Yakima
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.