county

Harper County, KS

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

AI Overview

Harper County is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county in south-central Kansas with a population of 5,446 that has contracted by 4.0% over the past five years. The labor force participation rate is 55.6%, unemployment sits at 3.5%, and just 21.7% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher, reflecting a workforce oriented toward trades and agricultural occupations rather than professional sectors. Housing costs are notably low—median home value of $77,300 and median gross rent of $693/month—and a mean commute of 16.3 minutes points to a compact, self-contained local economy, though a poverty rate of 15.3% and per capita income of $28,555 indicate modest household resources.

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

Population

5,446

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$53,488

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone4,825 (89.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races189 (3.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone172 (3.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race139 (2.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone45 (0.8%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone15 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish84
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic7
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)6
  4. 4.Arabic6
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island4

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

52.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

286

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$54,450

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,555

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance535
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)364
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining319
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)277
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing134

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations847
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations438
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations399
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations327
  5. 5.Service Occupations277

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 8.75×)317
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.53×)346
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.21×)129
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.16×)617
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.06×)114

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$77,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$693/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $40,000 to $49,999174 (10.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999174 (10.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999146 (8.8%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999136 (8.2%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999125 (7.5%)
  • $20,000 to $24,999122 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,481

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

16.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,739 (77.2%)
  • Carpooled220 (9.8%)
  • Worked At Home113 (5.0%)
  • Walked108 (4.8%)
  • Bicycle34 (1.5%)
  • Other27 (1.2%)

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.