county

Ford County, KS

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

AI Overview

Ford County's economy is anchored in meat processing and agriculture, reflected in a foreign-born population of 25.1%—a common indicator of meatpacking labor demand—alongside a young median age of 32.3 and a labor force participation rate of 70.5%. The workforce of roughly 34,000 residents skews toward lower formal educational attainment, with only 20.7% holding a bachelor's degree, though median worker earnings reach $42,472 against notably low housing costs: a median home value of $132,700 and median rent of $960 per month. GDP per capita of $76,716 outpaces per capita income of $28,834, pointing to significant industrial output, while a slight population decline of 1.0% over five years and a poverty rate of 14.4% round out the economic picture.

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

Population

34,133

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$70,781

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

32.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,956 (46.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone8,151 (23.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race6,548 (19.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,306 (3.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,184 (3.5%)
  • Asian Alone424 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish13,850
  2. 2.Arabic213
  3. 3.Vietnamese62
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)40
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)26

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

30.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

11.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

25.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

924

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$76,716

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,834

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)4,612
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,991
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,478
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,436
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,266

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,704
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,420
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations3,104
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,671
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,925

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.29×)877
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.66×)4,433
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.16×)448
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.07×)1,572
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.07×)1,237

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$132,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$960/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

62.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999886 (12.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999705 (9.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999695 (9.4%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999614 (8.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999614 (8.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999531 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

77.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

70.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$42,472

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

12.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone13,168 (80.1%)
  • Carpooled2,270 (13.8%)
  • Worked At Home476 (2.9%)
  • Walked280 (1.7%)
  • Other164 (1.0%)
  • Taxi68 (0.4%)

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.