county

Norton County, KS

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

AI Overview

Norton County is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county with a population of 5,392 that has contracted 1.7% over five years, reflecting broader outmigration trends common to northwest Kansas. The labor force participation rate is low at 46.0%, with median worker earnings of $23,689 and only 19.4% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though the unemployment rate is notably tight at 0.6%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $106,300 and median gross rent of $642/month—and the 81.4% homeownership rate and 12.1-minute mean commute point to a settled, low-cost residential base.

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

Population

5,392

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$54,050

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone4,778 (89.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races181 (3.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone167 (3.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race84 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone83 (1.5%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone59 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish124
  2. 2.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic5
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)2
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic1
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)1

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

268

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$55,862

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,220

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

0.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

8.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance599
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining288
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)157
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)152
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing132

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations686
  2. 2.Service Occupations553
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations333
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations261
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations158

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 6.43×)208
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.27×)600
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.26×)254
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.21×)164
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 0.75×)105

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$106,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$642/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999176 (11.5%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999138 (9.1%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999138 (9.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999134 (8.8%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999112 (7.3%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999107 (7.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

19.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

46.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$23,689

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

11.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

1.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,466 (74.7%)
  • Worked At Home331 (16.9%)
  • Carpooled78 (4.0%)
  • Walked74 (3.8%)
  • Public Transit13 (0.7%)
  • Other1 (0.1%)

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.