county

Barton County, KS

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

AI Overview

Barton County is a small south-central Kansas county of 25,275 residents with an economy rooted in agriculture and energy extraction, reflected in a GDP per capita of $50,432 that outpaces median household income of $58,851. The workforce is modest in size with a 63.1% labor force participation rate, low unemployment at 3.3%, and limited college attainment at 21.7% with bachelor's degrees or higher, keeping median worker earnings at $36,779. Housing costs are low—median home value of $117,200 and median gross rent of $742/month—though the county has shed 5.7% of its population over the past five years.

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

Population

25,275

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$58,851

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

38.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-5.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone20,421 (81.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race2,642 (10.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races963 (3.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone659 (2.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone203 (0.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone159 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,050
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic35
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic15
  4. 4.Other Indo-European8
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island2

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,498

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$50,432

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,835

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,800
  2. 2.Construction (Group)1,250
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,054
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,027
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining995

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,205
  2. 2.Service Occupations2,289
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations2,241
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,664
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,529

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.38×)1,040
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.29×)740
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.24×)1,041
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.17×)668
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 0.98×)2,768

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$117,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$742/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

65.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999855 (12.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999807 (11.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999697 (10.3%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999459 (6.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999413 (6.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999389 (5.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

63.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,779

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

15.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone9,558 (81.0%)
  • Worked At Home1,022 (8.7%)
  • Carpooled813 (6.9%)
  • Walked272 (2.3%)
  • Other58 (0.5%)
  • Bicycle54 (0.5%)

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.