county

Meade County, KS

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

AI Overview

Meade County is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county in southwest Kansas with a population of 3,949 and a 1.2% unemployment rate, indicating an extremely tight labor pool. The workforce of roughly 2,480 participants carries a 22.8% bachelor's attainment rate and median worker earnings of $41,370, with housing costs well below national norms at a $122,000 median home value and $799 median monthly rent. The county has shed 7.3% of its population over five years, and a GDP per capita of $51,916 against per capita income of $44,359 points to output concentration in capital-intensive sectors relative to the resident workforce.

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

Population

3,949

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$71,852

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

38.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-7.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone2,908 (74.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race450 (11.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone282 (7.2%)
  • Asian Alone85 (2.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races85 (2.2%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone78 (2.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish659
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic82
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)22

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

26.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

16.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

11.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

111

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$51,916

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$44,359

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

6.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance515
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining323
  3. 3.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities158
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)128
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)120

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations773
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations326
  3. 3.Service Occupations282
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations216
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations201

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 10.35×)311
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.89×)246
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.41×)125
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.28×)141
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.09×)478

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$122,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$799/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999222 (20.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999146 (13.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999109 (9.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,99980 (7.2%)
  • $90,000 to $99,99973 (6.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,99958 (5.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,370

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

17.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,304 (73.2%)
  • Carpooled238 (13.4%)
  • Worked At Home139 (7.8%)
  • Walked89 (5.0%)
  • Other8 (0.4%)
  • Public Transit4 (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.