Ellensburg is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Ellensburg area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Ellensburg maintain a good economy.
Ellensburg, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Ellensburg spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.23 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
The citizens of Ellensburg are among the most well-educated in the nation: 45.30% of adults in Ellensburg have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Ellensburg in 2018 was $30,474, 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 $121,896 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 12.01% 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.
