Kelso, Washington demographics

Kelso, WA demographics: median age 39.9; 12.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Kelso city, Washington · Incorporated city · GEOID 5335065. The survey estimates a population of 12,684 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Kelso is 39.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 3.7 years. There are 5,435 households (±272). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	39.9 ±3.7	38.3 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,684
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Under 18	2,498 ±350	19.7% ±2.8 pp	21.4%	22.0%
18–34	3,320 ±450	26.2% ±3.5 pp	23.7%	22.8%
35–64	4,672 ±563	36.8% ±4.4 pp	38.3%	38.0%
65 and older	2,194 ±347	17.3% ±2.7 pp	16.6%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,684
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Male	6,356 ±376	50.1% ±3.0 pp	50.4%	49.5%
Female	6,328 ±375	49.9% ±2.9 pp	49.6%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,684
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
White alone	10,219 ±522	80.6% ±4.1 pp	65.8%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	246 ±155 · low precision	1.9% ±1.2 pp · low precision	4.0%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	52 ±73 · low precision	0.4% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.2%	0.9%
Asian alone	89 ±72 · low precision	0.7% ±0.6 pp · low precision	9.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	221 ±193 · low precision	1.7% ±1.5 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.2%
Some other race alone	242 ±142 · low precision	1.9% ±1.1 pp · low precision	5.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,615 ±427	12.7% ±3.4 pp	12.8%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,684
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	11,379 ±440	89.7% ±3.4 pp	85.6%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,305 ±440	10.3% ±3.5 pp	14.4%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 5,435
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Married-couple family	2,333 ±307	42.9% ±5.2 pp	49.1%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	438 ±186	8.1% ±3.4 pp	4.8%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	710 ±245	13.1% ±4.5 pp	9.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	1,559 ±301	28.7% ±5.3 pp	27.7%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	395 ±153	7.3% ±2.8 pp	8.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 5,435
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Households with people under 18	1,454 ±221	26.8% ±3.8 pp	29.3%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	3,981 ±388	73.2% ±6.1 pp	70.7%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 5,435
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	1,559 ±301	28.7% ±5.3 pp	27.7%	28.7%
Two-person households	2,028 ±328	37.3% ±5.7 pp	35.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,042 ±251	19.2% ±4.5 pp	15.1%	15.3%
Four-person households	404 ±147	7.4% ±2.7 pp	12.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	277 ±132	5.1% ±2.4 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	78 ±51 · low precision	1.4% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.2%	2.2%
Seven or more people	47 ±49 · low precision	0.9% ±0.9 pp · low precision	1.5%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 12,684
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Native	12,095 ±267	95.4% ±2.1 pp	84.6%	85.9%
Foreign born	589 ±262	4.6% ±2.1 pp	15.4%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 11,958
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
English only	11,142 ±355	93.2% ±2.4 pp	78.6%	77.7%
Spanish	547 ±204	4.6% ±1.7 pp	9.0%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	9 ±12 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	21 ±24 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	6 ±12 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	2 ±5 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	2.0%	2.0%
Korean	7 ±14 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.9%	1.1%
Vietnamese	3 ±6 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.0%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	1 ±5 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	220 ±208 · low precision	1.8% ±1.7 pp · low precision	2.1%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.2 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 9,106
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,070 ±276	11.8% ±3.0 pp	7.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	2,766 ±489	30.4% ±5.2 pp	21.6%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,902 ±427	31.9% ±4.5 pp	21.0%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,234 ±369	13.6% ±4.0 pp	10.0%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	858 ±254	9.4% ±2.8 pp	24.0%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	276 ±125	3.0% ±1.4 pp	15.6%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 12,576
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Washington	U.S.
Same house	10,719 ±584	85.2% ±4.6 pp	85.5%	87.7%
Moved within same county	992 ±467	7.9% ±3.7 pp	8.0%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	684 ±349 · low precision	5.4% ±2.8 pp · low precision	2.8%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	136 ±93 · low precision	1.1% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.9%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	45 ±72 · low precision	0.4% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

9.6% of Kelso residents (±2.6 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.3% in Washington and 8.4% nationally. 91.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Kelso	Washington	U.S.	Compared with Washington
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.6% ±2.6 pp	6.3%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	91.4% ±3.1 pp	93.6%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	11.3% ±2.5 pp	7.8%	6.2%	Higher

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Kelso . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Kelso housing and cost context or return to the city profile.