Hays is home to 21,143 people in Kansas. This skews young, with a median age of 30.2. Getting to work takes 11 minutes on average. 74% were living in the same home a year earlier. The foreign-born share is 3%. Density works out to 2,446 people per square mile.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $58,459, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 30.2
US median: 38.9
More educated
43% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 39%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Hays
What changed most since 1990
White share98.1% → 86.1%(−12.0 pts)US over the same years: −17.8 pts
Poverty rate15.3% → 20.1%(+4.8 pts)US over the same years: −0.8 pts
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)14.6%(84)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)18.4%(106)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era42.6%(245)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War3.5%(20)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II5.9%(34)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 575 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Hays, decade by decade
Hays population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
17,767
$55,823
$130,324
27.5%
4.7
2000
20,013
$57,384
$162,674
32.9%
13.6
2010
20,510
$63,624
$197,660
38.8%
21.9
2020
21,116
$63,190
$220,712
41.0%
32.3
2024
21,143
$58,459
$225,500
42.7%
31.4
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
