Ness County, Kansas Demographics

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

Ness 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.

  • B
    Health Around average
  • B
    Income Around average
    Wealthier than 88% of counties in Kansas
  • D
    Education Well below average

Source: Map AI Methodology

Ness County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Ness County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Population 2,653 2,945,842 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 2.5 35.8 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -1.71% 0.19% 0.59%
Median age 45.3 38.7 37.3
Households 1,161 1,173,585 130,235,071

Population in Ness County declined by 10.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 2,653 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Ness County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Ness County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 23.3% of residents. That is 6.6 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 49.5% of the people living in Ness County and men 50.5%.

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2,653

100% of everyone living in Ness County

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Economy

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

Metric Ness County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $71,352 $74,287 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 5.45% 4.08% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 1.0% 3.8% 5.2%

The median household income in Ness County is about 4% lower than in Kansas.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Ness County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $67,999 $104,644 $248,835
Median rent $537 $1,060 $1,407
Homeownership rate 81.6% 67.1% 65.2%

The median home price in Ness County is about 10.6 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $537 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Ness County spend about 20 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 85 hours, about 3.5 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Ness County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 10.2 17.2 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 20.4 34.4 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 85 143 187
Estimated yearly cost $2,631 $4,448 $5,790
Work from home 7.6% 11.8% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) — 4,500 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 205 662 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 Ness County is 10 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

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

Metric Ness County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 20.6% 31.5% 31.6%
Average household size 2.23 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

Ness County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Ness County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 78.4 78.6 78.3
Self-rated poor health 15.9% 15.3% 16.3%
Smokers 17.4% 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 Ness County, Kansas.

How big is Ness County, Kansas by population?

About 2,653 people live in Ness County, Kansas, in 1,161 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 45.3, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 8 years.

How densely populated is Ness County, Kansas?

Averaged over its land area, Ness County, Kansas has 2 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 3% of the U.S. average of 86.

Can a typical household afford a home in Ness County, Kansas?

The median home costs 1.0 times the median household income ($67,999 against $71,352), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $537 a month takes about 9% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

Is it hard to find a job in Ness County, Kansas?

Unemployment in Ness County, Kansas is only 1.0%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

What share of adults in Ness County, Kansas have a college degree?

20.6% of adults in Ness County, Kansas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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