Kennewick-Richland, WA
Metro Area Profile
311,807 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Kennewick-Richland, WA metropolitan area.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 2,898 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 24% on the prior year.
Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, earthquake and heat wave.
Its Area Score of 65 places Kennewick-Richland in the top 44% of published metro profiles.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 4.3% is lower than 43% of the 361 measured US metros.
Unemployment has been falling for 4 consecutive months, most recently 4.3%.
Employment fell 0.3% over the past year, to 147,799 employed residents.
Household income is higher than at least 91% of measured US metros.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$2,114 | $89,010 | Top 9% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$821 | $39,747 | Top 28% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 11.7% | Bottom 31% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 24.0 min | Bottom 48% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 29.6% | Top 35% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 147,799 | Top 44% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | 4.3% | Top 8% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | -0.3% | Top 39% | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 154,424 | Top 44% | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 62.9% | Top 31% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $73,460 | Top 8% | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $57,290 | Top 9% | 2025 OEWS |
| Metro employment | 129,490 | Top 45% | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | 0.5% | Top 24% | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.3% | Top 43% | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 4,800 | $47,810 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 4,120 | $36,410 |
| Retail Salespersons | 3,580 | $37,600 |
| Registered Nurses | 2,560 | $106,410 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 2,540 | $38,940 |
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | 2,470 | $42,340 |
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated →Median rent of $1,284 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.
A median home costs 4.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income | 4.47 | Top 19% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate | 68.5% | Bottom 42% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±372 | 114,284 | Top 22% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$33 | $1,284 | Top 17% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$6,086 | $397,900 | Top 12% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income | 17.3% | Bottom 38% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate | 5.6% | Bottom 6% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has grown 5% since 2020, reaching 319,428 in 2024.
At 9.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 28°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 7.6 inches.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 7.6" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 28°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 93°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 41°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and heat wave.
Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, volcanic activity, winter weather, lightning, hail, strong wind, avalanche, drought, tornado.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Taxes
AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.
Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.
Access
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 58 miles away.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County Intl | MWH | 58 mi | 13,503 ft |
| Spokane Intl | GEG | 119 mi | 8,199 ft |
| Seattle-Tacoma Intl | SEA | 163 mi | 11,901 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 | Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (5-year estimates released each December) |
Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.