county

Smith County, KS

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

AI Overview

Smith County, KS is a small, agriculture-oriented rural county with a population of 3,579 and a median age of 49.1 years, reflecting an older workforce typical of frontier-plains communities. The labor force of roughly 2,175 active workers carries a 1.6% unemployment rate, median worker earnings of $37,719, and a 24.6% bachelor's degree attainment rate, with housing costs well below national norms at a $91,000 median home value and $601 median monthly rent. The county posted a -2.3% population decline over five years alongside an 84.8% homeownership rate and a poverty rate of just 7.8%, indicating a stable but contracting resident base with relatively low economic distress.

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

Population

3,579

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$59,135

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

49.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone3,347 (94.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races110 (3.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone47 (1.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race20 (0.6%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone12 (0.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone8 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish21
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic10
  3. 3.Other Indo-European3
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)1
  5. 5.Vietnamese1

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

51.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

28.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

261

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$52,316

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$35,983

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance424
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining356
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)246
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)140
  5. 5.Construction (Group)135

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations851
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations299
  3. 3.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations217
  4. 4.Service Occupations207
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations188

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 10.39×)291
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.45×)277
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.19×)144
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.04×)122
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 0.98×)402

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$91,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$601/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

84.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999120 (9.0%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999111 (8.3%)
  • $40,000 to $49,99997 (7.2%)
  • $60,000 to $69,99994 (7.0%)
  • $35,000 to $39,99991 (6.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99987 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,719

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

14.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,338 (77.3%)
  • Carpooled189 (10.9%)
  • Walked101 (5.8%)
  • Worked At Home68 (3.9%)
  • Other28 (1.6%)
  • Public Transit7 (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.