county

Barber County, KS

Demographic and economic profile of Barber County, KS, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Barber County is a small, rural Kansas county of 4,153 residents with an economy built around agriculture and extractive industries, producing a GDP per capita of $49,797 against median worker earnings of $37,424. The labor pool is limited but highly employed, with a 2.3% unemployment rate and 94.0% high school attainment, though only 27.1% hold a bachelor's degree and the county has shed 12.3% of its population over the past five years. Housing costs are exceptionally low—median home value of $92,700 and median rent of $743/month—and an 81.3% homeownership rate reflects a stable, settled workforce with a median age of 42.5.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

4,153

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$61,926

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-12.3% since 2018

Barber County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone3,671 (90.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race153 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races128 (3.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone92 (2.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone22 (0.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone3 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish49
  2. 2.Vietnamese21
  3. 3.Other Indo-European5

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

51.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

187

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$49,797

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,620

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance671
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining476
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)190
  4. 4.Public Administration (Group)155
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)131

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations869
  2. 2.Service Occupations386
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations374
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations313
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations278

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 14.23×)478
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.29×)637
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.10×)109
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 0.85×)124
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 0.69×)159

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$92,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$743/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

81.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999172 (11.6%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999141 (9.5%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999139 (9.4%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999120 (8.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999102 (6.9%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99995 (6.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

27.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

66.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,424

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

15.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,884 (85.6%)
  • Carpooled162 (7.4%)
  • Worked At Home74 (3.4%)
  • Walked59 (2.7%)
  • Other15 (0.7%)
  • Bicycle5 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.