Prosser, Washington
Location of Prosser, Washington
Coordinates: 46°12′25″N 119°45′56″W / 46.20694, -119.76556
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Benton
Area
- Total	4.4 sq mi (11.5 km²)
- Land	4.3 sq mi (11.1 km²)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²)
Elevation	666 ft (203 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	4,838
- Density	1,125.1/sq mi (434.4/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	99350
Area code(s)	509
FIPS code	53-56450[1]
GNIS feature ID	1512582[2]

Benton County court house in Prosser.

Prosser is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Washington, United States,^[3] along the Yakima River with only one zip code 99350. The population was 4,838 at the 2000 census.

Annual events

A hot air balloon floats over the Yakima River in Prosser

• Prosser Community Awards Banquet In January we honor our hard working citizens and volunteers.
• Red Wine & Chocolate In February various wineries around the valley offer tasting and special prices.
• Sweet Retreat 2nd Saturday in March the Columbia Valley Winery Association hosts the pairing of sweet wine with food.
• Spring Barrel Tasting In April various wineries offer tasting.
• Wine Country Spring Fair In May on Mother's Day weekend arts and crafts in the park.
• Farmers Market Usually starts in May sometime and runs every weekend through harvest.
• The Dash Race for the Kids Early June after school lets out we have a bicycle competition a 62 mile "Metric Century" and youth fun run. Wine tasting after for the adults.
• Kestrel Festival Sponsored by Kestrel Wines. This takes place in June each year.
• Old Fashioned 4th of July 4th of July Weekend, includes a kiddie parade, car show, fireworks, bingo, stage shows, and food vendors in the park.
• Art Walk and Wine Gala Wine tasting event in the middle of July.
• Prosser's Wine and Food Fair" One of the top events of the year on the 2nd Saturday of August. Thirty-some Washington Wineries and food from 20 vendors come together to offer sampling and tasting. Located at Art Fiker Stadium.
• A Night Out Beginning of September. Fundraising benefit of food and fun for the Prosser Memorial Foundation.
• Prosser State's Day Celebration Another on of the top events of the year. On Labor Day. There is a carnival in the city park, and a parade in the morning. Miss Prosser is crowned.
• The Great Prosser Balloon Rally The last of the top events. On September 26, 27, & 28th 2008 Hot air balloons are scheduled to launch just after dawn from the Prosser airport. Balloons glow from within at Art Fiker Stadium during The Great Prosser Balloon Rally Night Glow show.
• Annual Harvest Festival Same weekend as the Balloon Rally. Arts and crafts downtown with fun and food.
• Annual Caren Mercer-Andreason Street Painting Festival Same weekend as the Prosser Balloon Rally and Harvest Festival. Watch local and regional artists create works of art on the pavement in downtown Prosser.
• Thanksgiving in Wine Country Sunday after Thanksgiving. Sample all the newly released wines.
• Family Christmas Festival Early December Santa comes to town. The annual lighting of the Christmas tree takes place with carolers and holiday music.

Geography

Prosser is located at 46°12′25″N, 119°45′56″W (46.206921, -119.765612).^[4] It is 665 ft above sea level. One river, the Yakima River, runs through it.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.5 km²), of which, 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (2.93%) is water.

Climate

Temperature

Snowfall

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 4,838 people 1,697 households, and 1,240 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,125.1 people per square mile (434.4/km²). There were 1,800 housing units at an average density of 418.6/sq mi (161.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.89% White, 0.54% African American, 0.91% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.29% Pacific Islander, 15.11% from other races, and 2.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.37% of the population. Ancestries: German (17.3%), English (10.8%), Irish (9.3%), United States (6.8%), Norwegian (4.3%), French (4.2%), 12.5% Foreign born (99.1% mexican).

There were 1,697 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median age is 32 years old. The median house value was $98,500 (2000). The median income for a household in the city was $39,185, and the median income for a family was $45,162. Males had a median income of $36,750 versus $26,146 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,302. About 11.5% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

For population 15 years and over in Prosser city

• Never married: 18.1%
• Now married: 64.1%
• Separated: 1.9%
• Widowed: 7.5%
• Divorced: 109%

For population 20 years and over in Prosser:

• High school or higher: 68.0%
• Bachelor's degree or higher: 16.2%
• Graduate or professional degree: 6.0%
• Unemployed: 6.6%
• Mean travel time to work: 18.9 minutes

Economy

The economy of Prosser is based on agriculture. In addition to fruit orchards and fruit packing plants, Prosser is an important center of wine making in the Yakima Valley American Viticultural Area.

Schools

• Prosser High School Grades 9-12, 843 Students
• Prosser Falls Education Center Grades 9-12, 69 Students
• Housel Middle School Grades 6-8, 676 Students
• Prosser Hights Elementary Grades 3-5, 676 Students
• Keene-Riverview Elementary Grades K-2, 480 students
• Whitstran Elementary Grades K-5, 285 Students

Sports

High School

• Prosser Mustangs

Football, Track, Cross-Country, Volleyball, Basketball (boys and girls), Tennis (boys and girls), Golf, Swim Team (boys and girls), Soccer (boys and girls),Softball,Baseball, Dance Team, and Cheer. 1st Place State Football Champions 2007

Crime

Crime statistics provided are from 2001, 2002, and 2003. There were 0 murders, 1 rape and only 2 robberies in this time frame. An average of 3 assaults , 31 burglaries, 151 larceny counts, and 9 auto thefts per year. City-data.com crime index average for 3 years is 203.66 per 100,000. The US average is 329.7. Lower is better.

Major highways and closest cities

• Interstate 82
• U.S. Route 12
• State Route 221
• State Route 22
• Grandview, Washington 8 miles
• Mabton, Washington 12 miles
• Sunnyside, Washington 15 miles
• Benton City, Washington 17 miles

Citizens of note

• Kelly Blair-LaBounty--U.S. athlete (400 meter dash), 2000 Sydney Olympics
• Colonel William Farrand Prosser--city founder, U.S. Army Colonel in the Civil War
• Harold McCluskey -- "The Atomic Man"
• Walter Clore -- Father of Washington wine

See also

• List of Harvest Festivals

External links

• Prosser, Washington is at coordinates 46°12′25″N 119°45′56″W / 46.206921, -119.765612 (Prosser, Washington)Coordinates: 46°12′25″N 119°45′56″W / 46.206921, -119.765612 (Prosser, Washington)
• Prosser Chamber Of Commerce
• The Great Prosser Balloon Rally
• Prosser High School Mustangs Football
• Prosser Memorial Hospital

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Benton County, Washington County seat: Prosser Cities Benton City | Kennewick | Prosser | Richland | West Richland CDPs Finley | Highland Unincorporated community Kiona

	v â€¢ d â€¢ e State of Washington Olympia (capital)
Topics	State Government | Cities | Towns | Congressional Delegation | City Governments | Governors | History | Geography | People | Legislative Initiatives | Popular Initiatives | Legislature | Music | Parks | Highways | Symbols
Regions	Cascade Range | Central Washington | Columbia Gorge | Columbia Plateau | Columbia River | Eastern Washington | Inland Empire | Kitsap Peninsula | Long Beach Peninsula | Okanogan Country | Olympic Peninsula | Palouse | Puget Sound | San Juan Islands | Skagit Valley | Western Washington | Yakima Valley
Larger Cities & Metro Areas	Seattle | Tacoma | Spokane | Tri-Cities | Vancouver | Bellevue | Everett
Smaller Cities	Aberdeen | Anacortes | Arlington | Auburn | Bainbridge Island | Battle Ground | Bellingham | Bonney Lake | Bothell | Bremerton | Burien | Camas | Centralia | Cheney | Cle Elum | Covington | Des Moines | East Wenatchee | Edmonds | Ellensburg | Enumclaw | Federal Way | Fort Lewis | Grandview | Issaquah | Kelso | Kenmore | Kennewick | Kent | Kirkland | Lacey | Lake Forest Park | Lakewood | Longview | Lynden | Lynnwood | Maple Valley | Marysville | Mercer Island | Mill Creek | Monroe | Moses Lake | Mountlake Terrace | Mount Vernon | Mukilteo | Oak Harbor | Olympia | Pasco | Port Angeles | Port Orchard | Prosser | Pullman | Puyallup | Redmond | Renton | Richland | Sammamish | SeaTac | Sedro-Woolley | Shelton | Shoreline | Spokane Valley | Sunnyside | Tukwila | Tumwater | University Place | Walla Walla | Washougal | Wenatchee | West Richland | Woodinville | Yakima | Zillah
Counties	Adams | Asotin | Benton | Chelan | Clallam | Clark | Columbia | Cowlitz | Douglas | Ferry | Franklin | Garfield | Grant | Grays Harbor | Island | Jefferson | King | Kitsap | Kittitas | Klickitat | Lewis | Lincoln | Mason | Okanogan | Pacific | Pend Oreille | Pierce | San Juan | Skagit | Skamania | Snohomish | Spokane | Stevens | Thurston | Wahkiakum | Walla Walla | Whatcom | Whitman | Yakima