Seward County, Kansas Demographics

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

Seward 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
    Among the 5 least healthy counties in Kansas
  • C
    Income Below average
    Less wealthy than 72% of counties in Kansas
  • F
    Education Well below average
    Least educated county in Kansas

Source: Map AI Methodology

Seward County
Click a county to open it Explore the map →
Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Seward County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Population 21,486 2,945,842 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 33.6 35.8 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.94% 0.19% 0.59%
Median age 32.4 38.7 37.3
Households 7,257 1,173,585 130,235,071

Population in Seward County declined by 5.1% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 21,486 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Seward County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Seward County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 25.5% of residents. That is 2.7 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 47.8% of the people living in Seward County and men 52.2%.

How many residents match a customer profile?

Who to count

Residents matching this profile

21,486

100% of everyone living in Seward County

Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.

Economy

Seward County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.

Metric Seward County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $63,877 $74,287 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 3.71% 4.08% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.9% 3.8% 5.2%

The median household income in Seward County is about 14% lower than in Kansas.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Seward County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $44,000 $104,644 $248,835
Median rent $905 $1,060 $1,407
Homeownership rate 61.8% 67.1% 65.2%

The median home price in Seward County is about 4.1 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $905 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Seward County spend about 23 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 94 hours, about 3.9 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Seward County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 11.3 17.2 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 22.5 34.4 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 94 143 187
Estimated yearly cost $2,912 $4,448 $5,790
Work from home 3.4% 11.8% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 1,696 4,500 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 456 662 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 Seward 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

Seward County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.

Metric Seward County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 10.7% 31.5% 31.6%
Average household size 2.91 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

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

Metric Seward County Kansas Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 79.7 78.6 78.3
Self-rated poor health 20.4% 15.3% 16.3%
Smokers 21.6% 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 Seward County, Kansas.

How many people live in Seward County, Kansas?

About 21,486 people live in Seward County, Kansas, in 7,257 households of 2.9 people on average. The median age is 32.4, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 5 years.

How densely populated is Seward County, Kansas?

Averaged over its land area, Seward County, Kansas has 34 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 39% of the U.S. average of 86.

Is Seward County, Kansas an affordable place to live?

The median home costs 0.7 times the median household income ($44,000 against $63,877), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $905 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

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

10.7% of adults in Seward County, Kansas hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 9), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

Analyze any area in the US

Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.

Explore the map →