By population Yakima, WA is 193rd of 387 US metropolitan areas, with 257,152 residents. Below: who lives here, which trades are crowded, and where a local advertiser can gain ground.
The median home value of $310,100 is 7 percent below the national figure. Money first: median household income in the Yakima metro is $70,656, 12 percent below the national figure. Both figures matter for pricing and for which offers land.
The household mix in brief. A younger-than-average population: median age 33.3, 5.6 years below the national median. Owner-occupied housing 61.8%, 3 points below the US share, which is the figure home-service advertisers should watch. Education: 19.2% with a bachelor's or higher, 17 points below the US share. The unemployment rate stands at 7.3%, 2 points above the US share.
Set against the state as a whole (Washington), household income here is 28 percent lower than the Washington figure, the median home value is 45 percent lower than the Washington figure, and the business base per resident is 25 percent thinner than the Washington figure.
The establishment count for Yakima, WA is 5,010. That is 19.5 establishments per 1,000 people, 22 percent below the national figure. Home-services trades account for 296 of them (5.9% of all establishments, 1 points above the US share).
| Category | Locations | Per 100k people | Local ÷ US share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automobile dealers | 66 | 25.7 | 2.34× |
| Child day care services | 113 | 43.9 | 2.30× |
| Roofing contractors | 32 | 12.4 | 2.09× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 101 | 39.3 | 1.69× |
| General freight trucking | 115 | 44.7 | 1.64× |
| Electrical contractors | 70 | 27.2 | 1.40× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 105 | 40.8 | 1.28× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 31 | 12.1 | 1.21× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 435 | 169.2 | 1.17× |
| Self-storage facilities | 13 | 5.1 | 1.17× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 16 | 6.2 | 1.14× |
| Landscaping services | 77 | 29.9 | 1.09× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 70 | 27.2 | 1.05× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 5 | 1.9 | 0.90× |
| General automotive repair | 46 | 17.9 | 0.90× |
| Dentists | 73 | 28.4 | 0.90× |
| Legal services | 92 | 35.8 | 0.85× |
| Personal care services (all) | 67 | 26.1 | 0.70× |
| Physicians' offices | 85 | 33.1 | 0.65× |
| Beauty salons | 25 | 9.7 | 0.50× |
The last column divides the local share of establishments by the national share (1.00 = the same mix as the US).
The market over-indexes on automobile dealers, child day care services, roofing contractors and grocery stores. Automobile dealers are the widest gap, 66 of them, 2.3 times the national share. Under-represented categories: beauty salons, physicians' offices, personal care services and legal services. Beauty salons are the clearest gap with 25 establishments, about half of the share they hold across the US. In line with the country: plumbing and HVAC contractors, concrete contractors and landscaping services.
Three categories dominate by count: restaurants at 435, general freight trucking at 115 and child day care services at 113. Relative to population the leaders are restaurants (169.2 per 100,000 residents), general freight trucking and child day care services. Across the groups, automotive businesses run 1.4 times the US share and medical and dental practices about 75% of.
A crowded category like automobile dealers, child day care services and roofing contractors rewards precision: exact-match search terms, service-area fencing, Local Services Ads where the trade is eligible, and a Business Profile that is answered daily. Broad campaigns get outspent. Scarcity in beauty salons, physicians' offices and personal care services cuts the other way: fewer rivals per search, cheaper clicks, and a chance to become the default answer in the map results with a modest, steady effort. Income 12 percent below the national figure puts price front and center; ads that state the offer plainly and make calling easy do best. With ownership at 61.8%, renters are a bigger share than usual; home-services advertisers do well to court property managers as well as households. With a median age 5.6 years below the national median, expect more discovery through maps, short video and AI answers; search alone covers less of the market.
Where to start in Yakima, WA, based on the competition profile above.
Site structure, pages and citations that earn organic placement in Yakima, WA.
A clean, fast site with one job: make the call happen.
Replies to reviews, written and posted for the business.
Service and area pages written to answer real questions.
Paid search that shows up when someone in Yakima, WA is ready to call, not just browsing.
Management of the Google listing that decides the map pack.
Yakima, WA has 257,152 residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 193rd of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Yakima, WA is $70,656 (ACS 2024 5-year), below the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 5,010 employer establishments in Yakima, WA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 19.5 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Yakima, WA is $310,100, and 61.8% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), automobile dealers, child day care services and roofing contractors have more establishments per resident than the US average; beauty salons, physicians' offices and personal care services have fewer in Yakima, WA.
A short call, a free audit of your current listing and site, and a plan built on what actually competes in this market.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.