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KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON <br />PAGE 23 | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN <br />More workers commute out of the County than in. <br />Kittitas County tends to be a net exporter of workers to jobs outside of the County (Figure 9, page 23). In other <br />words, more workers commute out of the County for work (8,100 in 2019) than commute into the County for work <br />(6,400 in 2019). However, the largest group of commuters are those who live and work in the County (nearly <br />10,000 people in 2019, or about 54 percent of employed County residents). Among those living and working in the <br />County, almost two-thirds (62 percent) work in Ellensburg and another quarter (24.6 percent) work in <br />unincorporated parts of the County. By comparison, these same residents tend to live in either Ellensburg (45.5 <br />percent) or in unincorporated Kittitas County (41.5 percent). While most occupations show a net outflow of <br />commuters leaving the County for work, an analysis by monthly earnings shows that workers earning less than <br />$1,251 per month tend to commute into Kittitas County for work. This aligns with the high cost of living in Kittitas <br />County as lower-earning workers likely struggle to afford housing in the County. <br />Figure 9. Commuting Trends to Kittitas County, Washington, 2008 to 2019 <br />Commuting into the region means a person lives outside of the region and works inside of the region. Commuting <br />out of the region means a person lives inside of the region and works outside of the region. <br /> <br />Source(s): Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD), Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES); TIP Strategies, Inc. <br />Note(s): Only includes residents and workers in Washington and Idaho.