How to Meet People if You're From Selah, Washington
If you're from Selah, Washington, you know the feeling: you open a dating app, scroll through the options, and you've seen everyone before. Selah is a city of about 8,700 people in Yakima County, Washington, and a pool that size only goes so far.
Selah in numbers
| Population (2025 estimate) | 8,678 |
|---|---|
| County | Yakima County |
| Change since 2020 | +5.4% |
| Size rank in Washington | 102 of 281 cities and towns |
| Larger than | 64% of Washington's cities and towns |
| Other cities and towns within 30 miles | 12 (155,000 people combined) |
| Nearest city of 25,000 or more (OR, ID, WA, MT) | Yakima, Washington: 4 miles (97,000 people) |
Population estimates by year:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8,245 | 8,288 | 8,534 | 8,687 | 8,724 | 8,678 |
Why dating close to home runs out
Add up every incorporated city and town within 30 miles of Selah and you get 12 places with about 155,000 people between them, not counting Selah itself. Within 60 miles it's 29 places and about 290,000 people. Those totals count incorporated places only, so people outside city limits would add to them, but the point stands: that's the circle a distance-sorted app draws first, and it runs out fast.
| Distance from Selah | Other cities and towns | People in them |
|---|---|---|
| Within 10 miles | 4 | 109,923 |
| Within 30 miles | 12 | 154,967 |
| Within 60 miles | 29 | 289,740 |
| Within 100 miles | 114 | 1,775,807 |
Why Yakima is out of reach for you on the big apps
The city next to a small town is often the hardest place to date from it. Yakima (about 97,000 people, 4 miles from Selah) has plenty of singles, but a distance-ranked app lists them for each other first; Tinuiti's analysis of Tinder's algorithm says proximity is a key factor in who it shows you. A member in Selah ends up behind every closer profile in the deck of everyone in Yakima, so the matches that should be easiest to reach are the ones the app makes hardest.
Yakima has about 11 times as many people as Selah, so a member from Selah is outnumbered there roughly 11 to 1 before the ranking even starts. There is 1 other incorporated place closer to Yakima than Selah is, with about 6,600 people between it, and it tends to come ahead of you in Yakima's deck.
On Amarbis, ranking isn't based on distance. Choose Washington as your region and Yakima is in your pool with everyone else in Washington, so you aren't placed behind the person's next-door neighbor because of where you live.
Bigger places within reach of Selah, each with its own guide:
- Yakima, WA: 97,458 people, 4 miles away
- Wenatchee, WA: 35,547 people, 55 miles away
- Richland, WA: 65,258 people, 64 miles away
- Moses Lake, WA: 27,469 people, 68 miles away
- Kennewick, WA: 88,366 people, 72 miles away
How region-based dating changes it
Your region is your choice on Amarbis. Pick Washington and the whole state is your pool: about 8.0 million people instead of roughly 8,700 in Selah. Want to look further? There are no distance limits, so you can also meet people in other states and countries.
Other places near Selah
- Yakima, WA: 97,458 people, 4 miles away
- Union Gap, WA: 6,617 people, 7 miles away
- Moxee, WA: 4,765 people, 9 miles away
- Naches, WA: 1,083 people, 9 miles away
- Tieton, WA: 1,657 people, 11 miles away
- Wapato, WA: 4,469 people, 15 miles away
Browse every city and town in Washington.
Other places in Yakima County
Yakima County has 14 incorporated places with 171,356 people between them. Nearby places in the county include:
- Yakima: 97,458 people, 4 miles away
- Union Gap: 6,617 people, 7 miles away
- Moxee: 4,765 people, 9 miles away
- Naches: 1,083 people, 9 miles away
- Tieton: 1,657 people, 11 miles away
- Wapato: 4,469 people, 15 miles away
- Zillah: 3,111 people, 21 miles away
- Toppenish: 8,635 people, 21 miles away
How to start from Selah
- Create a free profile with a clear photo of your face. Every photo on Amarbis is screened, and every profile is reviewed by a real person.
- Choose the region you want to meet people from. Starting with all of Washington gives you the widest local pool.
- Open with a specific question rather than "hey", then decide whether a meeting is worth the drive. When you're ready to meet, read how to meet safely first.
It costs nothing to look. Amarbis gives you 25 free likes a day, unlimited messaging with your matches and built-in chat translation (5 free translations a month), with no credit card needed. Start at Amarbis.
More from Amarbis
- Why Amarbis is the best dating app for small towns
- Singles in the United States
- International dating guide
- Overcoming language barriers in love
- Meeting someone safely for the first time
- Plans and pricing
Population figures are U.S. Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025. Distances are straight-line miles between place center points, so road distances are longer. Counts of nearby places include incorporated cities and towns in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana only.