County profile

Meade County

Kansas · ACS 2020–2024

Download data

Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
3,903
Median household income
$71,852
People below poverty
11%
Median home value
$148,900

Income

The median income of households in Meade County, Kansas was $71,852. An estimated 4.4% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 6.3% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Less than $10,000 4.4
$10,000 to $14,999 3
$15,000 to $24,999 6.9
$25,000 to $34,999 9.7
$35,000 to $49,999 10.3
$50,000 to $74,999 17.8
$75,000 to $99,999 13.3
$100,000 to $149,999 23
$150,000 to $199,999 5.4
$200,000 or more 6.3

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Dollars
Male 65352
Female 45147

An estimated 76% of households received earnings. An estimated 34.4% of households received Social Security and an estimated 19.2 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $23,713. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Earnings 76
Social Security 34.4
Retirement income 19.2
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 2.4
Cash public assistance income 3.1

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 11 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 14.4% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 12.2% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 9.1% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
People in poverty 11
Children under 18 years below poverty 14.4
People 65 years old and over below poverty 12.2
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 9.1

In 2020-2024, 6.5 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 45.4% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 38.1% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 25.8% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024, 89.5% had health insurance coverage and 10.5% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 70.4% and public coverage was 33.1%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 9.8%.


In 2020-2024, Meade County, Kansas had a total population of 3,903 - 1,877 (48.1%) females and 2,026 (51.9%) males. The median age was 38.8 years. An estimated 26% of the population was under 18 years, 26.8% was 19 to 44 years, 26.4% was 45 to 64 years, and 18.2 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 158 120
5 to 9 162 152
10 to 14 143 125
15 to 19 166 89
20 to 24 127 120
25 to 29 119 106
30 to 34 118 97
35 to 39 80 102
40 to 44 88 91
45 to 49 154 134
50 to 54 139 139
55 to 59 116 80
60 to 64 124 144
65 to 69 172 128
70 to 74 60 64
75 to 79 39 57
80 to 84 12 77
85 and over 49 52

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 74.5% were White; 0.4% were Black or African American; 7.2% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 2.2% were Asian; 0.3% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 13.7% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 24.3% of the people in Meade County, Kansas were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 69.8% of the people in Meade County, Kansas were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 1,502 households in Meade County, Kansas. The average household size was 2.54 people.

Married-couple households made up 45.2% of the households in Meade County, Kansas while cohabiting couple households made up 9.8% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 26.4% of all households, while 18.6% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 14.9% of households were male householders living alone, and 19.3% were female householders living alone, for a total of 34.2% of all households.

In Meade County, Kansas, 29.8% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 34.7% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Married-couple households 45.2
Cohabiting Couples 9.8
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
18.6
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
26.4

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 48.9% of males and 53.7% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 27.9 19.4
Now married, except separated 48.9 53.7
Separated 1.4 0.6
Widowed 5.6 10.9
Divorced 16.2 15.3

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Meade County, Kansas, 101 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 22.8% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 88.6% of the people living in Meade County, Kansas were U.S. natives. 59.3% of the Meade County, Kansas population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 11.4% of Meade County, Kansas residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 48.9% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 83.8 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Meade County, Kansas come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Meade County, Kansas.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Latin America 89.6
Asia 7.7
Europe 0
Africa 1.1
Northern America 1.6
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024, 23.2 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 18.4% of people at least five years old; 7.4% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Spanish 18.4
Other Indo-European languages 3.7
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.9
Other languages 0.1

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 86.2 % of the people at least one year old living in Meade County, Kansas were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Same house 86.2
Different house, same county 6.8
Different county, same state 5.3
Different state 1
Abroad 0.7

Education

In 2020-2024, 88.7 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 26.5% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 11.3% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Meade County, Kansas was 1,007 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 102 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 735. College or graduate school enrollment was 170.

Educational Attainment of People in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Less than high school diploma 11.3
High school diploma or equivalency 26.4
Some college, no degree 23.1
Associate's degree 12.7
Bachelor's degree 17.7
Graduate or professional degree 8.8

Disability

In Meade County, Kansas, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 12.4 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 1.7% of people under 18 years old, to 11.3% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 32.4% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Meade County, Kansas, 59.9 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 39.1% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 66.8% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 22.7% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 10.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 1,201 66.8
Federal, state, or local government workers 408 22.7
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 187 10.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Meade County, Kansas worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 18
Construction 6
Manufacturing 6.7
Wholesale trade 3.1
Retail trade 7.1
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 8.8
Information 1.6
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 3.4
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 2.7
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 28.6
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 4.4
Other Services, except public administration 5.1
Public administration 4.6

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 773 43
Service occupations 282 15.7
Sales and office occupations 326 18.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 201 11.2
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 216 12

Commuting to Work

An estimated 73.2% of Meade County, Kansas workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 13.4% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 17.2 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 73.2
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 13.4
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.2
Walked 5
Other means 0.4
Worked from home 7.8

In 2020-2024, Meade County, Kansas had a total of 1,898 housing units. Of these housing units, 87.3% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 6% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 6.8% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Single-family houses 87.3
Apartments in multi-unit structures 6
Mobile homes 6.8
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

0.8% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 30.5% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Meade County, Kansas was 6.7 rooms, and of these housing units 69% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Meade County, Kansas had 1,502 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 396 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 74% while renters occupied 26%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.7 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.11.

6.5% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 15.4% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 4.6% and another 31.6% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Meade County, Kansas:

House Heating Fuel Used in Meade County, Kansas in 2020-2024

View Data Table ↓

Percent
Gas 79.1
Electricity 19.2
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0
All other fuels 1.5
No fuel used 0.1

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Meade County, Kansas was $148,900.

Of the owner-occupied households, 41.8 % had a mortgage. 58.2% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,637 and for owners without a mortgage it was $562.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Meade County, Kansas was $790. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.