Mabton is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,959 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 1,960 in 2024. By 1895, Mabton had several stores, a hotel, a railroad depot and a schoolhouse. The Mabton Townsite Company, formed by Sam P. Flower and J.A. Humphrey, made the first plat in 1902, and by 1904, it had more than a dozen businesses and a newspaper. The town of Mabton officially incorporated on November 7, 1905.
Today, residents primarily are employed in occupations related to agriculture, especially hop growing and grape growing.
The Mabton School District has been the repeated beneficiary of grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:
- $558,000 over five years (from 2000 to 2005) to enhance student access to technology;
- In 2001, Mabton High School was one of sixteen high schools chosen to participate in the Washington State Achievers Program; the school gets a share proportional to its student population (about 330 students) of more than $9 million to support school improvement and redesign efforts and more than $100 million for college scholarships for its students;
- Over $40,000 over five years (2001–2006) to improve high school education and access to higher education; and
- Over $125,000 over 34 months (2001–2004) to support professional development programs in partnership with Heritage College.
A small ranch near Mabton was home to the first confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States on December 23, 2003, later confirmed to be a cow of Canadian origin imported to the U.S.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.