Wenatchee, Washington

Archeological digs in nearby East Wenatchee have uncovered Clovis stone and bone tools dating back more than 11,000 years, indicating that people migrating during the last Ice Age spent time in the Wenatchee area. The Columbia River and nearby mountains and sagebrush steppes provided an ample supply of food. Clovis points are on display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center{{cite web|url=http://wvmcc.org/|title=Home - Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center|access-date=June 18, 2007|archive-date=June 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630224658/http://www.wvmcc.org/|url-status=dead}} and research findings are available through the Wenatchee World.{{Cite web|url=http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=CLOVIS|title=Wenatchee World|access-date=June 18, 2007|archive-date=November 21, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121014737/http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=CLOVIS|url-status=dead}}

Several indigenous villages existed in the area prior to and during Anglo American exploration. The village Nikwikwi'estku was a fishing and gathering camp located in present-day downtown Wenatchee. In 1811, North West Company surveyor David Thompson encountered a group of Native American horsemen at Wenatchee and was invited into a village with huts, the largest measuring 209 feet long. Fur traders document friendly relations through the mid 19th century, even during the smallpox epidemic of 1817 and food shortages in 1841.{{Cite book|title=Wenatchee's dark past: a history of race and race relations|last=Brown|first=Maureen E|publisher=Wenatchee World|year=2007|location=Wenatchee, WA|pages=6–9|language=en|oclc=191853776}}

During the Yakima War in 1856, US Army Colonel Wright intervened on a possible alliance between Yakama and Wenatchi tribes by removing the Wenatchi to Kittitas. The resulting march was estimated to include 1,000 horses and extend five miles long. A contingent stayed behind to fish at Wenatchapam Fishery in preparation for winter.

In 1863, Father Respari, a Catholic priest, began his missionary work with local Native Americans. He was followed some 20 years later by Father De Grassi, who built a log cabin on the Wenatchee River near the present town of Cashmere. Throughout the 19th century, other white settlers came to homestead the land.

Wenatchee was platted in September 1888 and officially incorporated as a city on January 7, 1893. Frank and Belle Reeves founded The Wenatchee Advance, the city's first newspaper, in 1891.{{Historylink |title = Reeves, Anna Belle Culp (1871-1948) |article = 8938 |author = Hood, Michael |date = February 20, 2009 |quote = |accessdate = March 18, 2022}} The 1900 U.S. Census counted 451 residents.

File:Fruit field bin 5180.JPG in Wenatchee.]]

The Great Northern Railway completed its railroad line between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Seattle in 1893. Its route through the Wenatchee Valley was significant to the development of this region. The railroad not only provided passenger travel to and from Wenatchee, but it provided for freight service for shipments of wheat, apples, and other products to out-of-state markets.

By the early 20th century, the Wenatchee Commercial Club, now the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, was advertising the region as the "Home of the World's Best Apples." The tree fruit industry provided the economic backbone for the region for a century and still is an important source of revenue.

On May 22, 1910, the Wenatchee free speech fight occurred when members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) were arrested for speaking in the street in front of the local hall of the Socialist Party of America.{{cite web |url=http://depts.washington.edu/iww/iwwyearbook1910.shtml |title=IWW Yearbook 1910 |last=Upton |first=Austin |website=IWW History Project |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=April 21, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=James P. |date=May 28, 1910 |title=Wenatchee Denied Free Speech: Fight On |volume=2 |issue=10 |page=1 |newspaper=Industrial Worker |url=https://archive.org/details/v2n10-w62-may-28-1910-IW }} The town had freed imprisoned IWW members by June;{{cite news |author= |date=June 4, 1910 |title=Struggle for Free Speech in North and West |volume=2 |issue=11 |page=1 |newspaper=Industrial Worker |url=https://archive.org/details/v2n11-w63-jun-04-1910-IW }} however, tensions resumed in September 1911 when police raided a house rented by six IWW men and arrested twenty-five migrant workers found carrying IWW literature. Again, the men were all quickly released.{{cite web |url=http://depts.washington.edu/iww/iwwyearbook1911.shtml |title=IWW Yearbook 1911 |last=Bragg |first=Nick |website=IWW History Project |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=April 21, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Downey |first=Charles |date=September 6, 1911 |publication-date=September 21, 1911 |title=Wenatchee for Freedom |volume=3 |issue=26 |page=1 |newspaper=Industrial Worker |url=https://archive.org/details/v3n26-w130-sep-21-1911-IW }}{{cite thesis |type=Ph.D |last=May |first=Matthew S. |title=Hobo Orator Union: The Free Speech Fights of the Industrial Workers of the World, 1909-1916 |date=July 2009 |publisher=University of Minnesota |url=http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/53722/1/May_umn_0130E_10548.pdf }}

In 1922, a Ku Klux Klan chapter of nearly 100 men demanded that black residents leave on threat of violence. By 1923 they hosted meetings of up to 400 members and burned a large cross above Fancher airfield in East Wenatchee. The Wenatchee chapter hosted the 1926 state Klan convention and marched in the Apple Blossom Parade.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/wenatchee-s-past-ku-klux-klan-had-weak-foothold-in/article_df5147c9-5c7f-5369-99ff-e7236df7ab18.html|title=Wenatchee's Past {{!}} Ku Klux Klan had weak foothold in Wenatchee|last=Rader|first=Chris|website=The Wenatchee World|date=January 3, 2018 |language=en|access-date=June 28, 2019}} In the wave of anti-Filipino sentiment, Filipino immigrant workers were targeted by violence and deportation through the late 1920s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/409|title=Filipino Americans in Seattle|website=www.historylink.org|access-date=June 28, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/ninety-years-ago-in-washington-a-wave-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-resulted-in-horror-for-filipinos.html|title=Ninety Years Ago in Washington, a Wave of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Resulted in Horror for Filipinos|last=Ross|first=Steve|date=August 4, 2017|website=Slate Magazine|language=en|access-date=June 28, 2019}}

Image:Wenatchee, WA fire department 01A.jpg is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).]]

On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn and his copilot Hugh Herndon landed their airplane, named the Miss Veedol, in the hills of East Wenatchee, and thus became the first aviators to fly nonstop across the Pacific Ocean. The 41-hour flight from Sabishiro Beach, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, won them the Harmon Trophy for the greatest achievement in flight of 1931. Miss Veedol{{'}}s propeller is on display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center.

In 1936, with the completion of Rock Island Dam, Wenatchee was protected from the summer flooding of the Columbia River, and the first of 14 hydroelectric projects on the Columbia began generating electric power. The reservoirs thus generated also made it possible to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in the Columbia Basin.

In 2019, the Wenatchee Valley was named by Forbes magazine as one of the top 25 places to retire.{{Cite web |title=Forbes Top 25 |url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/5c9bad234bbe6f312e587a25/wenatchee-wa/}}

In 1975, Stemilt Growers moved its headquarters from nearby Stemilt Hill to Olds Station, Wenatchee. The company grows, packs and ships tree fruit. It went on to become the largest fresh market sweet cherry shipper in the world.{{cite news|last1=Wheat|first1=Dan|title=Stemilt's young president eyes future of fruit industry|url=http://www.capitalpress.com/content/djw-mathison-042310-w-2-boxes--art|access-date=October 2, 2016|newspaper=Capital Press|date=April 24, 2010}}

Every year from the last week of April to the end of the first week of May, Wenatchee hosts the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival, which probably brings in the largest number of people Wenatchee sees annually, with the exception of migrant workers travelling for harvest.Marshall, Maureen E. Agriculture in Wenatchee. Kindle Publishing, 2013.{{Verify source|date=March 2019}} It features two relatively large parades: the Apple Blossom Youth Parade on the last Saturday in April and the Apple Blossom Grand Parade on the first Saturday in May, a food fair representing cuisine from around the world, and a traveling carnival.

The Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions in Wenatchee, Washington, also known as the "Wenatchee Witch Hunt", that occurred in 1994 and 1995, are examples of the hysteria over child molestation in the 1980s and early 1990s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/7065|title=Wenatchee Witch Hunt: Child Sex Abuse Trials in Douglas and Chelan Counties |publisher=HistoryLink |first=Kathrine |last=Beck |date=October 28, 2004}}{{cite news |title=A record of abuses in Wenatchee. |url=http://www.lawreport.org/ViewStory.aspx?StoryID=535 |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031203182345/http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/powertoharm/ |archive-date=December 3, 2003 }}

In the early 1990s Wenatchee had a reputation as the "happy pill town"{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/30/us/a-washington-city-full-of-prozac.html|title=A Washington City Full of Prozac|first=Timothy|last=Egan|newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 30, 1994}} and "Happy Valley",{{cite web | url=https://www.newsweek.com/trials-and-troubles-happy-valley-183292 | title=Trials and Troubles in Happy Valley | website=Newsweek | date=May 7, 1995 }} with psychologist James Goodwin, "the Pied Piper of Prozac".{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-12-mn-23071-story.html|title=COLUMN ONE : Wenatchee: Little Town of Horrors : This bucolic Northwest city seemed to epitomize the innocence of rural America. Then came a plague of grisly crimes, natural disasters and a child sex scandal.|date=July 12, 1995|website=Los Angeles Times}}

According to CNN's Money Magazine, Wenatchee had the second fastest forecast real estate value growth in the country for June 2006–June 2007. In November 2018, USA Today listed Wenatchee as experiencing the 22nd highest employment growth in the country.

On July 29, 2013, a large wildfire spreading over {{convert|31|mi}} south of Wenatchee occurred, affecting over 40 nearby homes.{{cite web |url=http://www.komonews.com/news/local/5-homes-destroyed-in-growing-wildfire-near-Wenatchee-217381351.html |title=Wildfire near Wenatchee continues to grow |publisher=National Broadcasting Company |date=July 29, 2013 |access-date=July 29, 2013 |archive-date=August 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801181058/http://www.komonews.com/news/local/5-homes-destroyed-in-growing-wildfire-near-Wenatchee-217381351.html |url-status=dead }}

The Riverfront Park Ice Arena closed its doors in July 2008,{{cite web |url=https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/melting-away-into-history-riverfront-park-ice-arena-to-permanently-close-this-month/article_6215785d-4db3-5f74-8de0-2ea687a959aa.html |title=Melting away into history: Riverfront Park Ice Arena to permanently close this month |publisher=The Wenatchee World |date=July 4, 2008 |access-date=July 4, 2008}} and Awaken Church was later opened at the site.{{cite web |url=https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/former-ice-rink-and-sportsplex-to-become-a-church/article_32f15af7-d97c-58cd-9f87-bc1957264756.html |title= Former ice rink and sportsplex to become a church |publisher=The Wenatchee World |date=July 28, 2016 |access-date=July 28, 2016}}

The Wenatchee Valley also boasts one of only two aluminum smelters remaining in the Northwestern United States, at the Alcoa plant in Malaga. The plant announced in November 2015 that it would be shutting down operations on January 5, 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenorthernlight.com/2015/11/24/alcoa-to-lay-off-880-in-ferndale-and-wenatchee/|title=Alcoa to lay off 880 in Ferndale and Wenatchee - The Northern Light|access-date=December 23, 2015|archive-date=December 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223235731/http://www.thenorthernlight.com/2015/11/24/alcoa-to-lay-off-880-in-ferndale-and-wenatchee/|url-status=dead}} Other growing areas of the regional economy are tourism and information technology.

Wenatchee Pride began organizing LGBT Pride festivals 2017. The 2023 festival was held at Memorial Park with an estimated 4,000 attendance.{{Cite news |last=Garcia |first=Gabriel |date=June 5, 2023 |title=Wenatchee Pride Festival draws 4,000 to Memorial Park |work=Wenatchee World}}

Image:Wenatchee, WA - railway bridge across Wenatchee River.jpg]]

Wenatchee is located at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers in the Columbia Basin, just east of the foothills of the Cascade Range. Irrigation from the Columbia River and its tributaries allows for the large amount of agriculture in Wenatchee and the surrounding areas.

The city of Wenatchee is bordered by the Wenatchee River on the north, the Columbia River to the east, and the Wenatchee Mountains to the south and west. These ridges and peaks form a wall around the western and southern sides of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|8.04|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|7.77|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.27|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 19, 2012}}

Wenatchee experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cold winters and hot, dry summers.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| collapsed = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Wenatchee, Washington (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1931–present)

| Jan record high F = 65

| Feb record high F = 66

| Mar record high F = 78

| Apr record high F = 93

| May record high F = 104

| Jun record high F = 113

| Jul record high F = 110

| Aug record high F = 106

| Sep record high F = 101

| Oct record high F = 90

| Nov record high F = 76

| Dec record high F = 74

| year record high F =

| Jan high F = 35.8

| Feb high F = 43.9

| Mar high F = 54.3

| Apr high F = 63.9

| May high F = 73.2

| Jun high F = 79.6

| Jul high F = 89.0

| Aug high F = 88.2

| Sep high F = 78.8

| Oct high F = 63.3

| Nov high F = 46.6

| Dec high F = 36.2

| year high F = 62.7

| Jan mean F = 30.7

| Feb mean F = 35.7

| Mar mean F = 43.8

| Apr mean F = 52.2

| May mean F = 61.2

| Jun mean F = 67.7

| Jul mean F = 75.5

| Aug mean F = 74.6

| Sep mean F = 65.6

| Oct mean F = 52.3

| Nov mean F = 39.4

| Dec mean F = 31.3

| year mean F = 52.5

| Jan low F = 25.6

| Feb low F = 27.6

| Mar low F = 33.4

| Apr low F = 40.4

| May low F = 49.3

| Jun low F = 55.8

| Jul low F = 62.1

| Aug low F = 61.1

| Sep low F = 52.3

| Oct low F = 41.3

| Nov low F = 32.3

| Dec low F = 26.4

| year low F = 42.3

| Jan record low F = -17

| Feb record low F = -18

| Mar record low F = 5

| Apr record low F = 20

| May record low F = 27

| Jun record low F = 39

| Jul record low F = 40

| Aug record low F = 41

| Sep record low F = 21

| Oct record low F = 19

| Nov record low F = 0

| Dec record low F = -19

| year record low F =

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation inch = 1.32

| Feb precipitation inch = 0.92

| Mar precipitation inch = 0.73

| Apr precipitation inch = 0.58

| May precipitation inch = 0.75

| Jun precipitation inch = 0.60

| Jul precipitation inch = 0.22

| Aug precipitation inch = 0.18

| Sep precipitation inch = 0.24

| Oct precipitation inch = 0.72

| Nov precipitation inch = 1.15

| Dec precipitation inch = 1.59

| year precipitation inch = 9.00

| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

| Jan precipitation days = 9.5

| Feb precipitation days = 7.2

| Mar precipitation days = 6.0

| Apr precipitation days = 4.6

| May precipitation days = 5.5

| Jun precipitation days = 4.0

| Jul precipitation days = 1.9

| Aug precipitation days = 1.8

| Sep precipitation days = 2.2

| Oct precipitation days = 6.1

| Nov precipitation days = 8.6

| Dec precipitation days = 10.0

| year precipitation days = 67.4

| Jan snow inch = 5.6

| Feb snow inch = 3.0

| Mar snow inch = 0.4

| Apr snow inch = 0.0

| May snow inch = 0.0

| Jun snow inch = 0.0

| Jul snow inch = 0.0

| Aug snow inch = 0.0

| Sep snow inch = 0.0

| Oct snow inch = 0.0

| Nov snow inch = 1.5

| Dec snow inch = 6.0

| year snow inch = 16.5

| unit snow days = 0.1 in

| Jan snow days = 4.2

| Feb snow days = 1.8

| Mar snow days = 0.4

| Apr snow days = 0.0

| May snow days = 0.0

| Jun snow days = 0.0

| Jul snow days = 0.0

| Aug snow days = 0.0

| Sep snow days = 0.0

| Oct snow days = 0.0

| Nov snow days = 1.2

| Dec snow days = 5.3

| year snow days = 12.9

| source = NOAA{{cite web

|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=otx

|title = NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = December 12, 2023}}{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00459074&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = December 12, 2023}}

}}

{{US Census population

| 1900 = 451

| 1910 = 4050

| 1920 = 6324

| 1930 = 11627

| 1940 = 11620

| 1950 = 13072

| 1960 = 16726

| 1970 = 16912

| 1980 = 17257

| 1990 = 21756

| 2000 = 27856

| 2010 = 31925

| 2020 = 35508

| estyear = 2023

| estimate = 35526

| estref=

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 15, 2023}}

}}

The 2020 U.S. census counted 35,508 people, 13,793 households, and 8,445 families in Wenatchee.{{Cite web |title=2020 United States Census, Table P16: Household Type |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Wenatchee%20city,%20Washington%20p16&y=2020 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} The population density was 3,357.4 per square mile (1,296.3/km{{sup|2}}). There were 14,594 housing units at an average density of 1,379.9 per square mile (532.8/km{{sup|2}}).{{Cite web |title=2020 United States Census, Table DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?q=Wenatchee%20city,%20Washington%20dp1 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}{{cite web |title=2020 Gazetteer Files |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2020/geo/gazetter-file.html |access-date=December 30, 2023 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} The racial makeup was 65.87% (23,390) white or European American (60.69% non-Hispanic white), 0.51% (182) black or African-American, 1.4% (497) Native American or Alaska Native, 1.31% (465) Asian, 0.18% (64) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 18.87% (6,701) from other races, and 11.85% (4,209) from two or more races.{{Cite web |title=2020 United States Census, Table P1: Race |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P1?q=Wenatchee%20city,%20Washington%20p1&y=2020 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 32.59% (11,571) of the population.{{Cite web |title=2020 United States Census, Table P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino By Race |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P2?q=Wenatchee%20city,%20Washington%20p2&y=2020 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

Of the 13,793 households, 30.7% had children under the age of 18; 42.8% were married couples living together; 30.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 31.7% of households consisted of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.2.{{Cite web |title=2020 United States Census, Table S1101: HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1101?q=Wenatchee%20city,%20Washington%20s1101%20&y=2020 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} The percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was estimated to be 16.7% of the population.{{Cite web |title=2020 United States Census, Table S1501: Educational Attainment |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1501?q=Wenatchee%20city,%20Washington%20s1501%20&y=2020 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

23.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 108.0 males.

As of the 2010 census,{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 19, 2012}} there were 31,925 people, 12,379 households, and 7,721 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|4108.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 13,175 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1695.6|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 76.7% White, 0.4% African American, 1.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 17.3% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 29.4% of the population.

There were 12,379 households, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.19.

The median age in the city was 35.2 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 23.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

As of the 2000 census, there were 27,856 people, 10,741 households, and 6,884 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,049.6 people per square mile (1,563.3/km²). There were 11,486 housing units at an average density of 1,669.8 per square mile (644.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.93% White, 0.39% African American, 1.13% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 13.99% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.52% of the population.

There were 10,741 households, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.4% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,897, and the median income for a family was $45,982. Males had a median income of $35,245 versus $26,062 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,498. About 10.6% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

The Wenatchee post office contains an oil on canvas mural, {{vanchor|The Saga of Wenatchee}}, painted in 1940 by Peggy Strong. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. The WPA was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing individuals to carry out public works projects.{{cite book |last=Arnesen |first=Eric |date=2007 |title=Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-Class History |volume=1 |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |page=1540 |isbn=9780415968263}}

Wenatchee is home to many performing arts groups including the Wenatchee Valley Symphony, Wenatchee Big Band, Columbia Chorale, Wenatchee Valley Appleaires and The Apollo Club.{{Cite web|url=https://www.deviantart.com/kaseykoski/journal/THe-Arts-in-Wenatchee-234230436|title=THe Arts in Wenatchee by kaseykoski on DeviantArt|website=www.deviantart.com|date=December 18, 2008 }} Music Theater of Wenatchee, Stage Kids, and several other theatre companies offer stage productions year-round. Wenatchee also is home to Mariachi Huenachi, a much-celebrated mariachi program in the Wenatchee School District which performed at the US Capitol for National Hispanic Heritage Month in 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/post/wenatchee-high-school-mariachi-band-gets-national-stage|title=Wenatchee High School Mariachi Band Gets National Stage|last=Schwing|first=Emily|website=www.nwnewsnetwork.org|date=October 13, 2017 |language=en|access-date=March 27, 2019}} The group was featured in a 2018 TVW documentary.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncwlife.com/mariachi-huenachi-featured-in-tvw-documentary/|title=Mariachi Huenachi featured in TVW Documentary|last=Hetterscheidt|first=Kaitlin|date=July 18, 2018|website=NCWLIFE|language=en-US|access-date=March 27, 2019}}

The Town Toyota Center has featured high school mariachi ensembles from across the region. Mariachi Sol De Mexico gives clinics to high school musicians and gives an evening concert sometimes featuring famous musical artists.

The Wenatchee Valley Super Oval in East Wenatchee is a quarter-mile-long banked asphalt oval used for local racing.

In the fall of 2008, the Town Toyota Center was completed, and hosts some professional and junior professional sporting events, in addition to touring events and expositions, and the 2010 NAHL Pepsi Robertson Cup.

File:Burch Mountain above Wenatchee, Washington.jpg

The Wenatchee Valley and the surrounding areas provide an abundance of sports and recreational activities for any season. There are several facilities including the WRAC tennis club, an Olympic size swimming pool, an ice arena, several 18-hole and 9-hole golf courses, a 9-hole disc golf course, and countless baseball diamonds and soccer fields as well as two skateboard parks. As of 2023, Pickleball is also becoming extremely popular with multiple parks providing outside play in the Valley as well as indoor play.{{Cite web |title=Wenatchee Pickleball |url=https://wenatcheevalleysports.com/venues/pickleball-courts/}}{{Cite web |title=Chelan County PUD improved Pickleball |url=https://www.chelanpud.org/about-us/news/2023/11/03/new-improved-sport-courts-are-now-ready-for-play-at-six-pud-parks}} There are many places to hike, fish and hunt for both birds and larger game. Boating and water recreation are also quite common. Many kayak, windsurf and water-ski on the Columbia. Whitewater rafting and inner-tubing is frequent on the Wenatchee River. In the winter, the mountains near Wenatchee provide great snowmobiling, sledding at Squilchuck State Park, as well as skiing and snowboarding at Mission Ridge (30 minutes drive) and Stevens Pass (1 hour and a half drive). Nordic skiing is available at the Stevens Pass Nordic Center, Leavenworth (25 minute drive), and the Methow Valley (1 hour and 45 minute drive).

The city also offers a large system of parks and paved trails known as the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail. The {{Convert|10|mi|adj=on}} loop along both banks of the Columbia River is used by cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. A project to extend the eastern segment of the trail {{Convert|5|mile}} north to Lincoln Rock State Park was completed on July 9, 2015. An additional {{Convert|3.2|mi|adj=on}} extension on the east side runs south to Kirby Billingsley Hydro Park. A short extension slated for completion in Fall 2017 is planned from the west end of the Odabashian bridge to the corner of Easy Street and the highway. In the winter, cross-country skiers and snowshoers also use the trail. The trail connects in the south at the historic Columbia River Bridge, also known as the pipeline bridge, and in the north at the Richard Odabashian Bridge. It passes through Wenatchee Confluence State Park. Much of the hillside areas surrounding the city of Wenatchee have been purchased by or have their rights held by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust which protects them as a natural resource and as a site for hiking in the foothills.{{Cite web |title=Chelan County PUD Parks |url=https://www.chelanpud.org/parks-and-recreation/our-parks}}{{Cite web |title=Wenatchee Confluence Park |url=https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/wenatchee-confluence-state-park}}{{Cite web |title=Chelan Douglas County Land Trust |url=https://www.cdlandtrust.org/}}

Wenatchee has a non-partisan mayor–council form of government, with five council members elected in districts and the mayor and two council positions elected at-large. The terms are staggered four-year terms elected in November of odd years.{{cn|date=October 2024}} The current mayor of Wenatchee is Mike Poirier, who was first elected in 2023.{{Cite web |title=City of Wenatchee Homepage |url=https://www.wenatcheewa.gov/government/mayor-s-office/meet-the-mayor}}

The city lies within the 8th congressional district, which includes all of Chelan County and crosses the Cascades to the rural areas of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.{{cite map |date=July 2024 |title=Washington State Legislative & Congressional District Map |url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/Road%20Map_01.pdf |at=[https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/Road%20Map%20Inset_01.pdf Puget Sound inset] |publisher=Washington State Redistricting Commission |accessdate=October 24, 2024}} The district was enlarged to include Chelan County during the 2012 redistricting; Wenatchee was previously part of the 4th congressional district.{{cite news |last=Brunner |first=Jim |date=January 11, 2012 |title=The new 8th district: a bridge across the state? |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/the-new-8th-district-a-bridge-across-the-state/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=October 24, 2024}} The city is also within the 7th legislative district, which has two state representatives and one state senator. Wenatchee was part of the 12th legislative district with the rest of Chelan County until it was redrawn in 2024 to comply with a U.S. District Court order for districts in Yakima County.{{cite news |last=Bonny |first=Dominick |date=October 24, 2024 |title=How redistricting changed WA's 12th Legislative District |url=https://www.cascadepbs.org/politics/2024/10/how-redistricting-changed-was-12th-legislative-district |work=Cascade PBS |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Lucia |first1=Bill |last2=Cornfield |first2=Jerry |date=April 3, 2024 |title=Here's how Washington's legislative districts will change for this year's elections |url=https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/04/03/heres-how-washingtons-legislative-districts-will-change-for-this-years-elections/ |work=Washington State Standard |accessdate=October 24, 2024}}

Public safety in Wenatchee is provided by three law enforcement agencies (Wenatchee Police Department, Chelan County Sheriff's Office, and the Washington State Patrol), one fire department (Chelan County Fire District No. 1), and two private ambulance companies (Ballard Ambulance and Lifeline Ambulance). East Wenatchee Police and Douglas County Fire District No. 2 (East Wenatchee) also assist with police and fire protection services within the city through mutual aid agreements. On September 30, 2022, The Chelan County Fire District #1 and the Douglas County Fire District #2 joined to form one agency known as the Wenatchee Valley Fire Department with Regional Fire Authority in the Wenatchee Valley.{{Cite web |title=Wenatchee Valley Regional Fire Authority |url=https://www.wenatcheevalleyfire.org/copy-of-announcements}}

Image:Wenatchee, WA - Carnegie Library 01.jpg

Image:Wenatchee, WA - Wells House 02.jpg.]]

Public K-12 education in Wenatchee is provided by the Wenatchee School District, which also serves the communities of Malaga, Olds Station, South Wenatchee, Sunnyslope, and Wenatchee Heights. The city has seven elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school (Wenatchee High School). The Wenatchee School District voted to close Columbia Elementary at the end of the 2024 School year reducing the number of elementary schools to six.{{Cite web |title=Wenatchee School Closure |url=https://www.wenatcheeschools.org/schoolclosure}} The School District also maintains Westside High School, an alternative high school, and the Valley Academy of Learning, which is an alternative education program where parents play the active role in education of their children.

In 2006, the Wenatchee School District began offering students of Wenatchee High School and Westside High School the ability to take selected classes online at the Wenatchee Internet Academy. These classes employ use of Moodle and Blackboard software packages for managing the distance-learning program. All classes are designed by educators at Wenatchee High School and operated by local instructors within the Wenatchee School District.

The city also has several private schools, most of which are religious: Children's Gate Montessori School, Cascade Christian Academy, The River Academy, St. Joseph Catholic School, and St. Paul's Lutheran School.

Wenatchee is also the home of the North Central Educational Service District, serving all of north-central Washington, and the Wenatchee Valley College, a two-year community college with its main campus in Wenatchee and a satellite campus in Omak, Washington. Its main campus has an average student population of 3500 of all ages. Wenatchee Valley College has one of the largest community college service areas in the State of Washington, covering more than {{convert|10000|sqmi|km2|-4}}.{{Cite web|title=About WVC {{!}} Wenatchee Valley College|url=https://www.wvc.edu/about/index.html|access-date=July 8, 2020|website=www.wvc.edu}}

The Washington State University is represented in Wenatchee by the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, the North Central Washington Learning Center, and Chelan Co. Cooperative Extension.

The city is served by U.S. Route 2 passing by in Sunnyslope, less than a mile north of city limits. U.S. Route 97 also passes north of the city, while State Route 28 passes through East Wenatchee just across the river.

Columbia River can be crossed by three bridges: the Richard Odabashian Bridge and the Senator George Sellar Bridge for motor vehicles, and the Old Wenatchee Bridge for pedestrians.

{{main|Link Transit}}

Transit services within Wenatchee is provided by Link Transit, which serves all of Chelan County and parts of Douglas County. Link Transit also runs commuter bus service from Wenatchee to many outlying communities in the region, including Leavenworth and Chelan. The agency adopted its first electric buses with batteries in 2014, running on three trolley routes in Wenatchee branded as "The Current".{{cite news |date=December 22, 2014 |title=Link Transit launched Five Battery-electric Trolleys |url=http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12029899/link-transit-launched-five-battery-electric-trolleys |magazine=Mass Transit Magazine |access-date=September 7, 2015}}{{cite web |date=August 2011 |title=Electric Trolley Buses Cut Energy Use, Emissions at Link Transit |url=http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/CLEAN_ENERGY_Wenatchee_Link_Transit_case_study.pdf |publisher=Federal Transit Administration |access-date=September 7, 2015 |archive-date=February 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202143114/http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/CLEAN_ENERGY_Wenatchee_Link_Transit_case_study.pdf |url-status=dead }} In 2021 Link Transit moved to a "fare free" model and every trip is now "zero fare".{{Cite web |title=Fare Free Link Transit |url=https://www.linktransit.com/fares_and_passes/index.php}} In 2024, Link Transit was awarded grant funding to implement a 100% electric transit fleet (fixed urban routes) by 2026{{Cite web |title=Link Electrification |url=https://www.linktransit.com/news_detail_T2_R229.php}} including construction of a new bus garage facility to support the vehicles.

Columbia Station, the city's Amtrak station, is also served by intercity coach buses from Greyhound, the Washington State Department of Transportation's AppleLine, and Northwestern Trailways.

The city is served by Pangborn Memorial Airport which is located about {{Convert|5|mi|adj=on}} to the east, and supports commercial flights from Wenatchee to and from Seattle on Alaska Air. In 2023, Alaska Air began flying jet aircraft (replacing turbo prop aircraft) into Pangborn (EAT).{{Cite web |title=Pangborn Goodbye Turbo Prop |url=https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin/east-wenatchee-airport-to-say-goodbye-to-horizons-turboprops-and-hello-to-its-jets-in/article_b8843472-92b3-11ed-a07d-970ca8ec5acd.html}} Runway and Terminal improvements are expected to allow larger jet aircraft to service the airport in the future, and there is an ongoing campaign to spur Airline interest into providing routes and service to the California Bay Area.{{Cite web |title=Pangborn Larger Aircraft |url=https://kpq.com/airlines-opt-larger-aircraft-wenatchee/}}{{Cite web |title=Nonstop to Bay Area from Wenatchee |url=https://www.flywenatchee.com/bay-area-flight/}}

{{see also|Columbia Station (Washington)}}

Wenatchee is in the major railroad line of the BNSF Railway (formerly Great Northern Railway) to Seattle. Wenatchee was once the eastern terminus of the Great Northern electric-driven train service (1928/1929–1956) on its New Cascade Tunnel route via the Chumstick Valley, which went all the way to Skykomish. There, steam locomotives or diesel locomotives replaced electric locomotives along this route, as well as having a maintenance base for the electric locomotives. Today, Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger train serves Wenatchee at Columbia Station. The Cascade and Columbia River short line freight railroad interfaces with BNSF in Wenatchee, and runs north to Okanogan and further north to Oroville.

On August 6, 1974, a tank car belonging to Burlington Northern (now BNSF) exploded in the Appleyard Terminal in south Wenatchee, killing 2 people.{{cite web |last=McClary |first=Daryl C. |date=May 7, 2007 |title=Burlington Northern tank-car explodes in South Wenatchee killing two people and injuring 66 on August 6, 1974. |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8154 |work=HistoryLink |access-date=March 29, 2021}}

• Gary J. Coleman (b. 1941), Mormon leader
• Chris DeGarmo (b. 1963), member of the heavy metal band, Queensrÿche, born in Wenatchee
• Tyler Farrar (b. 1984), pro tour cyclist, born and raised in Wenatchee
• Dan Hamilton (1946-1994), lead singer for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds was raised in Wenatchee
• Susan Hart (b.1941), actress and producer
• Brad Lamm (b.1966), educator and author born in Wenatche
• Don Lanphere (1928–2003), jazz saxophonist, born in Wenatchee
• Noreen Nash (b. 1924-2023), actress, born in Wenatchee.
• Casey Parsons (b. 1954), baseball player, born in Wenatchee
• Joseph Rose (b. 1969), award-winning journalist, Episcopal priest and theologian, born and grew up in Wenatchee.
• Bud Sagendorf (1915–1994), cartoonist known for drawing Popeye, born in Wenatche
• Heidi Schreck (b. 1971), actress and playwright, grew up in Wenatchee.
• Kurt Schulz (b. 1968), NFL player who played for the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, born in Wenatchee
• Hailey Van Lith (b. 2001), college basketball player, born and raised in Wenatchee
• Sammy Charles White, (1927–1991), baseball player, born in Wenatchee
• Elizabeth Zharoff (b. 1986), opera singer, voice teacher, and YouTuber (The Charismatic Voice), born and raised in Wenatchee

Wenatchee has four sister cities:

• {{flagicon|Japan}} Kuroishi, Japan
• {{flagicon|Japan}} Misawa, Japan{{Cite web|title=Washington Sister Cities|url=https://www.ltgov.wa.gov/washington-sister-cities|access-date=September 9, 2020|website=Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib|language=en-US}}
• {{flagicon|Russia}} Tynda, Russia
• {{flagicon|South Korea}} Naju, South Korea

• Wenatchee Dome

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

{{wikivoyage|Wenatchee}}

• [http://www.wenatcheewa.gov/ City of Wenatchee]

{{Chelan County, Washington}}

{{Washington}}

{{Washington (state) county seats}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Archaeological sites in Washington (state)

Category:Cities in Washington (state)

Category:County seats in Washington (state)

Category:Populated places established in 1888

Category:Washington (state) populated places on the Columbia River

Category:Cities in Chelan County, Washington

Category:Wenatchee–East Wenatchee metropolitan area

Category:1888 establishments in Washington Territory

Category:Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin