Decatur County, Kansas Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Decatur County, KS Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • C
    Health Below average
    Less healthy than 85% of counties in Kansas
  • B
    Income Around average
    Wealthier than 73% of counties in Kansas
  • D
    Education Well below average

Source: Map AI Methodology

Decatur County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Decatur County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Population 2,726 2,945,842 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 3.0 35.8 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.71% 0.19% 0.59%
Median age 50.1 38.7 37.3
Households 1,327 1,173,585 130,235,071

Population in Decatur County declined by 8.1% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 2,726 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Decatur County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Decatur County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 25.8% of residents. That is 9.1 points above Kansas as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Kansas, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 49.1% of the people living in Decatur County and men 50.9%.

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2,726

100% of everyone living in Decatur County

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Economy

Decatur County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.

Metric Decatur County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $54,563 $74,287 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 3.73% 4.08% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.1% 3.8% 5.2%

The median household income in Decatur County is about 27% lower than in Kansas.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Decatur County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $212,500 $104,644 $248,835
Median rent $675 $1,060 $1,407
Homeownership rate 77.7% 67.1% 65.2%

The median home price in Decatur County is about 26.2 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $675 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Decatur County spend about 22 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 90 hours, about 3.7 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Decatur County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 10.8 17.2 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 21.6 34.4 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 90 143 187
Estimated yearly cost $2,787 $4,448 $5,790
Work from home 15.3% 11.8% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 610 4,500 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 81 662 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in Kansas: Wichita County (7.0 min), Scott County (7.1 min), Greeley County (7.2 min).
Slowest: Linn County (31.3 min), Miami County (30.8 min), Jefferson County (30.3 min).

The average commute time in Decatur County is 11 minutes, shorter than the 17 minutes in Kansas.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Decatur County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Decatur County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 23.8% 31.5% 31.6%
Average household size 2.01 2.44 2.53

Highest education index among counties in Kansas: Johnson County (0.4), Douglas County (0.4), Riley County (0.3).
Lowest: Seward County (0.2), Grant County (0.2), Kearny County (0.2).

Health

Decatur County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.

Metric Decatur County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 77.5 78.6 78.3
Self-rated poor health 17.2% 15.3% 16.3%
Smokers 17.6% 18.7% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in Kansas: Johnson County (0.8), Riley County (0.8), Douglas County (0.8).
Lowest: Wyandotte County (0.8), Woodson County (0.8), Chautauqua County (0.8).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Decatur County, Kansas.

How big is Decatur County, Kansas by population?

About 2,726 people live in Decatur County, Kansas, in 1,327 households of 2.0 people on average. The median age is 50.1, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 13 years.

How densely populated is Decatur County, Kansas?

Averaged over its land area, Decatur County, Kansas has 3 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 4% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Decatur County, Kansas an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 3.9 times the median household income ($212,500 against $54,563), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $675 a month takes about 15% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

Is unemployment high in Decatur County, Kansas?

Unemployment in Decatur County, Kansas is only 4.1%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

How educated are people in Decatur County, Kansas?

23.8% of adults in Decatur County, Kansas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 4), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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