Editing Kennewick, Washington (section)

==Economy==
[[File:DowntownKennewick.jpg|thumb|left|A retail building in downtown Kennewick.]]Kennewick's economy is closely tied to the rest of the Tri-Cities and is heavily influenced by the Hanford Site and the national laboratory. The agriculture and healthcare industries also employ many residents.<ref name=EconomicDevelopment>{{cite web |url=https://go2kennewick.com/956/Major-Employers |title=Major Employers |publisher=City of Kennewick |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102204135/https://go2kennewick.com/956/Major-Employers |url-status=live }}</ref> It has developed to become the retail hub of the Tri-Cities and hosts the only mall in the area—[[Columbia Center Mall]].<ref name=HistoryLink /> As such, Kennewick draws in shoppers from a significant portion of southeast Washington and northeast Oregon.<ref name=Forbes>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/places/wa/kennewick/ |title=Kennewick, WA |magazine=[[Forbes]] |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020085433/https://www.forbes.com/places/wa/kennewick/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Aside from the commercial area around the mall, the other significant retail districts include the historic downtown area and the newly developed Southridge district.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visittri-cities.com/what-to-see-and-do/shopping/ |title=Shopping |publisher=Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024063643/http://www.visittri-cities.com/what-to-see-and-do/shopping/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.go2kennewick.com/766/Southridge |title=Southridge |publisher=City of Kennewick |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119184708/https://www.go2kennewick.com/766/Southridge |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many agricultural commodities are grown near Kennewick, and many of these pass through the city to be processed and/or transported to other markets for consumption. [[Boise, Idaho]]-based Lamb Weston, a division of [[ConAgra Foods]], has corporate offices in Kennewick and [[Tyson Foods]] does processing in town.<ref name=EconomicDevelopment /> Volcanic ash is mixed in with the rich soil of the region, creating ideal growing conditions for numerous crops.<ref name=SoilSurvey>{{cite report |first=Jack J. |last=Rasmussen |year=1971 |title=SOIL SURVEY OF BENTON COUNTY AREA, WASHINGTON |url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/washington/WA605/0/wa605_text.pdf |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225194339/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/washington/WA605/0/wa605_text.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Irrigation]] enhanced the region through further diversification of agricultural products coming from the Columbia Basin to include vineyards and a variety of vegetables and tree fruit. In higher elevations, like much of the Horse Heaven Hills, there is no access to irrigation water, limiting agricultural activities in that area to ranching and growing wheat.<ref name=HistoryLink /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.joelane.com/kennewicks-industry-and-economy.php |title=An Introduction to Kennewick |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120100035/https://www.joelane.com/kennewicks-industry-and-economy.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/washington/counties/benton.html |title=Washington CropMAP - Benton |publisher=[[Purdue University]] |access-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316133637/https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/washington/counties/benton.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The region is experiencing consistent job growth, which is creating a large population boom. Home prices have increased by about 10% annually in Kennewick for the past several years, with slower increases having occurred before 2016.<ref name=Forbes /> Despite this growth, unemployment remained above both the national and state averages in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemployment/washington/kennewick/ |title=Kennewick-Richland, Washington Unemployment |publisher=Department of Numbers |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116175704/https://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemployment/washington/kennewick/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Recently, industrial growth in Hermiston and at the [[Port of Morrow]] in [[Boardman, Oregon|Boardman]] has led to an increase in the number of Kennewick residents who commute to those areas for work.<ref>{{cite report |title=Morrow County/Umatilla County Transit Development Strategy |url=https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/RPTD/STIFDiscretionary/Umatilla_Transit_Strategies.pdf |year=2018 |publisher=[[Oregon Department of Transportation]] |pages=19, 51 |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102204135/https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/RPTD/STIFDiscretionary/Umatilla_Transit_Strategies.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This is further enhanced by a housing shortage in northeast Oregon.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jade |last=McDowell |title=Housing market still tight in Hermiston |date=March 18, 2016 |url=https://www.eastoregonian.com/news/local/housing-market-still-tight-in-hermiston/article_47b594c5-2fc9-5fa1-805a-61ba8e6984c6.html |publisher=[[East Oregonian]] |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=September 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908141844/https://www.eastoregonian.com/news/local/housing-market-still-tight-in-hermiston/article_47b594c5-2fc9-5fa1-805a-61ba8e6984c6.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Kevin |last=McCullen |title=Booming Boardman has jobs but lacks housing |date=June 27, 2010 |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article31780869.html |work=Tri-City Herald |access-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104040544/https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article31780869.html |url-status=live }}</ref>