Kansas

Population 2,947,197

6 Sources Updated September 10, 2026

2.9M

Population

334,922,499 U.S.

$74,275

Median Income

$80,734 national

$230.5B

GDP (current $), change real

3.5%

Unemployment

4.0% national

Community Data / United States / Kansas

County Map Demographics Economy Industry Concentration Housing Workforce Counties AI Insights

County Map

Click a county to view its economic profile

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Median Household

$74,275

Per Capita

$40,978

Mean Household

$100,417

Poverty Rate

11.3%

Age & Race / Ethnicity

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B01001, B02001, B03003

Cohorts

Under 18 · 23.8%

18-34 · 23.1%

35-54 · 24.1%

55-64 · 12.2%

65+ · 17%

Race & Ethnicity

White76%

Two or More Races10.6%

Black or African American5.3%

Some Other Race4.2%

Asian2.9%

American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander0.1%

Hispanic or Latino(any race)13.6%

Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+

92%

High School+

National: 89.6%

+2.4 pts

35.6%

Bachelor's+

National: 35.7%

0.1 pts

13.4%

Graduate+

National: 14.1%

0.7 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

2,947,197

Population

1,519,375

Labor Force

Employed

1,460,125

Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2024 annual

3.5%

2025 is not shown for Kansas: a state annual average needs all 12 months and the Bureau of Labor Statistics has published 11. County pages draw on the separate annual series and may show 2025.

Mean Commute 7 min below national avg

19.7 min

Work From Home vs 15.1% national

11.8%

Labor Force and Employed are ACS 5-Year survey estimates; the Unemployment Rate above comes from BLS LAUS, a separate monthly survey with its own methodology. The two won't reconcile by subtracting one from the other.

Kansas's median household income sits 8% below the national median. At 11.3%, its poverty rate runs 1.2 pts below the ~12.5% national level, relevant for federal funding eligibility narratives. Bachelor's-or-higher attainment of 35.6% trails the national average of 35.7%.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates (released December 2025). Figures reflect the most recent Census release, older news reports may cite prior vintages.

Key Takeaways

Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, affecting retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base statewide.
Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, education, and age.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$230.5B

Gross Domestic Product · 2024

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP2 Regional GDP

90.068

Cost of Living - Below Avg

Top Private-Sector Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual · Private sector only, with government shown below

Top private-sector industries by employment in Kansas, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage. Government employment is excluded and reported separately below the table.
Industry	Employment	% of Top Sectors	Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance	200,436	19.4%	$60,415
2Manufacturing	173,891	16.8%	$76,353
3Retail Trade	140,999	13.6%	$37,080
4Accommodation and Food Services	114,861	11.1%	$22,923
5Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	78,885	7.6%	$98,132
6Construction	73,307	7.1%	$76,952
7Administrative and Support and Waste Management	72,575	7.0%	$57,182
8Transportation and Warehousing	63,334	6.1%	$60,936
9Wholesale Trade	58,096	5.6%	$92,749
10Finance and Insurance	58,005	5.6%	$104,572

Government employment · context only

247,084

Public-sector jobs are not in the table above and are not part of any share or location quotient on this page. Both are measured on the private economy only, 1,185,542 private jobs in 2025: every location quotient divides by that total, and the % of Top Sectors column divides by the sectors listed above. Private employment is the standard basis for measuring industry concentration because government employment mostly serves the resident population rather than an outside market. Nothing on this card is expected to add up with the government figure.

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Key Takeaways

Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 200,436 workers (19.4% of the tracked sectors), at an average wage of $60,415. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 247,084 and is counted separately.
Economic scale: State GDP of $230.5B (2024).
Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $104,572 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $22,923, a 4.6x spread in the same economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP (CAGDP2).

Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Chart source: BLS QCEW · broad NAICS supersector · private sector · Location Quotient vs. national private-sector employment share. The same supersector axes appear on every profile, so the shape can be compared across geographies.

Concentrated Industries

List source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · private sector · Location Quotient vs. national private-sector employment share.
Same source and same private-sector basis as the Top Industries table above. These sit at a finer level than the chart's supersector axes, so the two sets of values are not directly comparable. The sub-sector view surfaces specialization the supersector view masks, such as Animal Production and Aquaculture here.

Animal Production and Aquaculture

3.30x

7,946

Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing

2.72x

2,648

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

2.45x

37,822

Food Manufacturing

2.39x

37,772

Printing and Related Support Activities

2.07x

6,358

Machinery Manufacturing

2.01x

19,430

Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing

1.65x

10,287

Oil and Gas Extraction

1.62x

1,685

Attraction Opportunities - Below-Average Industries

LQ < 0.5, below-average employment, screened against industrial power cost. Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector

0.17x

Web Search Portals, Libraries, and Archives

264 employed

0.24x

Monetary Authorities - Central Bank

43 employed

0.28x

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

85 employed

0.40x

Apparel Manufacturing

283 employed

0.43x

Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry

1,459 employed

0.44x

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries

1,420 employed

0.45x

Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related

2,345 employed

0.48x

Textile Product Mills

396 employed

Screened on industrial power cost only. Industrial electricity in Kansas costs 8.03¢/kWh against 8.62¢/kWh nationally (2025). Land area and freight access are not assessed at state level. Source: EIA.

Key Takeaways

Top specialization: Animal Production and Aquaculture concentrates at 3.30x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy.
Cluster depth: 8 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base across the state.
Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment.

Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.

Industry Employment Composition

Kansas's Top Sectors by Workforce Share

Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of the top private supersectors. Hover for exact employment.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064

$217,200

Median Home Value vs 2019

$1,060

Rent/Mo

67.2%

Owner-Occ

9.2%

Vacancy

2.9x

Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable

vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents (Statewide)

Renter-household-weighted average across 105 Fair Market Rent areas · Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026 · Affordability threshold and renter cost burden from Census ACS B25119, B25070

Studio

$859/mo$605 to $1,095

1 Bedroom

$925/mo$668 to $1,197

2 Bedroom

$1,129/mo$877 to $1,426

3 Bedroom

$1,483/mo$1,052 to $1,769

4 Bedroom

$1,750/mo$1,161 to $2,103

30% of monthly median renter household income (~$1,178/mo, from a renter median of $47,106) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.

Measured: 40.4% of renter households already pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 19.1% pay 50% or more.

Key Takeaways

Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction.
Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $47,106 can pay without cost burden (~$1,178/mo), and 40.4% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.

Source: Census ACS housing tables.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301

1,747,134

Working Age (18-64) vs 2019

vs 2019

Mean Commute 7 min below national avg

19.7 min

Work From Home vs 15.1% national

11.8%

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard

Bachelor's+

35.6%

HS Diploma+

92%

6 Largest Institutions by Credentials Awarded

Degrees, certificates, and other credentials awarded last academic year (College Scorecard).

University of Kansas 7,733/yr

Kansas State University 6,027/yr

Fort Hays State University 3,925/yr

Wichita State University 3,714/yr

Johnson County Community College 2,809/yr

Emporia State University 2,021/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables

20.5%

55-64 of working-age population (18-64)

Same cohort is 12.2% of total population, the basis used in the Demographics cohort chart.

Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+

Management / Professional

41.9%

Service

15.4%

Sales & Office

19.2%

Construction / Maint.

Production / Transport

14.5%

Bars are drawn on a 0% to 60% axis, so bar length is proportional to actual share. Labels give each group's share of 1,460,125 employed workers.

Key Takeaways

Healthy participation: 68.6% of the population aged 18+ is in the labor force, reflecting a steady, available workforce statewide.
Short commutes: 19.7-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage for site selectors.

Source: ACS workforce data.

County Profiles

105 counties in Kansas

AI Insights

Sample output. Pulse AI analysis draws on 6 federal data sources.

Sample AI Insight

Kansas shows meaningful potential for animal production and aquaculture attraction, with a 3.30x concentration and 7,946 jobs in this sub-sector.

Cluster depth across animal production and aquaculture, petroleum and coal products manufacturing, and transportation equipment manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk

High

Healthcare Growth Forecast

+4.2% CAGR

Remote Work Migration

67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing

92/100

Life Sciences

84/100

Data Centers

71/100

Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024

BLS QCEW2025

BEA Regional GDP2024

Census CBP2024

HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026

USAspending.govFY2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Kansas, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Kansas?

2,947,197 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Kansas?

$74,275 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Kansas?

3.5% (2024 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Kansas?

$230.5B (BEA CAGDP2 (Regional)).

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