Tri-Cities, WA Community Profile
Regional Character
The area known as the Tri-Cities rests in the Columbia Basin of south-central Washington, roughly 50 miles north of Washington’s border with Oregon. Tri-Cities refers to the three principal cities of the area: Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco. These three along with the smaller town of West Richland and
the outlying towns of Burbank, Finley, and Benton City make up a population center of approximately 308,000 people, the fourth largest in Washington State.
Geography
The Columbia River runs through the Tri-Cities before continuing south toward the Oregon border, separating Pasco on one side from Richland and Kennewick on the other. The Yakima and Snake rivers empty into the Columbia near the Tri-Cities. The confluence of the Snake and the Columbia marks an important location on the historic Lewis and Clark Trail. The presence of the Columbia, Yakima, and Snake causes the name Three Rivers to appear often in the names of local businesses and other organizations.
Economy
Agriculture and agribusiness form a large part of the region’s economy. Irrigated crops such as potatoes, carrots, onions, and various types of grasses are produced in large quantity. The region between Kennewick and the Oregon border is a leading wheat producing area. The U.S. Federal
Department of Energy and its predecessors have operated the Hanford site since World War II, generating plutonium for nuclear weapons between 1944 and 1990, and running site clean-up and stabilization operations since 1990. Hanford site activities continue to employ thousands of area
residents. About 4,400 more scientists, engineers, and other staff work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) north of Richland, one of ten sites that make up the nation’s National Lab network. The presence of Hanford contractor companies, PNNL, and private high-tech enterprises that have grown out of PNNL, combine to give the Tri-Cities a population that is unusually high in average education attainment and in technical literacy.
Recreation
The central location of the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities makes water sports a prominent part of the area’s recreation profile. Boating, skiing, fishing, and hiking are popular pastimes. Residents and visitors enjoy canoeing or kayaking the Columbia, including the portion known as the Hanford Reach—the free-flowing section of the river that runs for miles alongside the Hanford site. The area offers several golf courses that remain playable nearly year-around. Wine production and wine tourism continue to grow. Badger Mountain has 547 acres of multiple trails and is one of the last shrub-steppe habitats bordering the southwestern edge of the Tri-Cities. Youth sports draw significant attention in the family-oriented Tri-Cities; the area annually hosts several regional and state-level athletic tournaments.
Professional sports teams include the Tri-City Americans (hockey) and the Tri-City Dust Devils (baseball).
Fact and Figures
Location
South central Washington: 3.5 hours southeast of Seattle; 3.5 hours northeast of Portland, Oregon; 2.5 hours southwest of Spokane.
Population
Richland – 61,929; Kennewick – 84,488; Pasco – 78,871, West Richland – 16,951
Demographics
Pasco, Kennewick and Richland vary in composition. Pasco’s population is majority Hispanic and has doubled since the year 2000. Kennewick is the most ethnically and economically diverse of the three cities. Richland has the highest mean household income. However, what characterizes all three communities at the present time is rapid growth and rapidly increasing ethnic diversity.
Principal employers
Agriculture and agribusiness, Hanford site cleanup contractors and government personnel, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, area hospitals and medical industry, area school districts, private sector high technology, the wine industry, the tourism and hospitality industry, retail.
Weather
An arid climate with an average of seven inches of precipitation annually. Roughly 300 days per year on which the sun appears.
Landscape
The area rests 500-700 feet above sea level. Much of the terrain around the Tri-Cities is fairly flat and punctuated by hills that rise to 1,500-3,000 feet in elevation. The technical name for the landscape is shrub-steppe. The open, un-treed terrain creates large vistas in which visibility can extend for dozens of miles. The area is known for brilliant sunsets.
Higher Education
Columbia Basin College, with roughly 7,000 students, offers Associates degrees in a variety of disciplines. Washington State University, Tri-Cities, in Richland offers a number of undergraduate and graduate level degrees. Heritage University has a branch campus on the CBC campus that offers both undergraduate and graduate level degrees. Pacific Northwest Christian College is a newly established college offering Associates degrees with roughly 95 students enrolled currently.
K-12 Education
The Tri-Cities is served by the Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco School Districts. These districts enjoy strong taxpayer and community support. Several private schools populate the area.
Home schooling is an option utilized by a number of families.
Medical care
Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco each offers a full-service hospital. Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland is the largest of the three with 249 beds. Urgent care facilities and specialty clinics abound, as do dental and orthodontic providers. Nearby Seattle is home to several nationally
recognized medical facilities.
Transportation
The Pasco Airport provides direct flights on regional jets to western destinations such as Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and hubs in Salt Lake City and Denver. The Tri-Cities possesses an ample array of freeways and highways. Public transportation is offered through a regional bus service.
Regional freeways connect the Tri-Cities to Seattle, Spokane, and Portland.