Norton County, Kansas Demographics

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

Norton 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
    Healthier than 82% of counties in Kansas
  • D
    Income Well below average
    Less wealthy than 92% of counties in Kansas
  • D
    Education Well below average
    Less educated than 86% of counties in Kansas

Source: Map AI Methodology

Norton County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Norton County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Population 5,359 2,945,842 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 6.1 35.8 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.45% 0.19% 0.59%
Median age 41.9 38.7 37.3
Households 2,000 1,173,585 130,235,071

Population in Norton County declined by 1.8% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 5,359 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Norton County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Norton County is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 22.8% of residents. That is 1.9 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 44.5% of the people living in Norton County and men 55.5%.

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Economy

Norton County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.

Metric Norton County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $55,799 $74,287 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 2.07% 4.08% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 1.7% 3.8% 5.2%

The median household income in Norton County is about 25% lower than in Kansas.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Norton County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $6,477 $104,644 $248,835
Median rent $609 $1,060 $1,407
Homeownership rate 76.2% 67.1% 65.2%

The median home price in Norton County is about 0.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $609 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Norton County spend about 16 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 67 hours, about 2.8 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Norton County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 8.0 17.2 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 16.0 34.4 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 67 143 187
Estimated yearly cost $2,065 $4,448 $5,790
Work from home 16.9% 11.8% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 1,066 4,500 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 153 662 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 Norton County is 8 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

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

Metric Norton County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 19.1% 31.5% 31.6%
Average household size 2.17 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

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

Metric Norton County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 80.4 78.6 78.3
Self-rated poor health 14.8% 15.3% 16.3%
Smokers 19.9% 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 Norton County, Kansas.

How big is Norton County, Kansas by population?

About 5,359 people live in Norton County, Kansas, in 2,000 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 41.9, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 5 years.

Is Norton County, Kansas urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Norton County, Kansas has 6 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 7% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Norton County, Kansas an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 0.1 times the median household income ($6,477 against $55,799), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $609 a month takes about 13% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

How strong is the job market in Norton County, Kansas?

Unemployment in Norton County, Kansas is only 1.7%, 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 Norton County, Kansas?

19.1% of adults in Norton 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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