Hays, Kansas demographics

Hays, KS demographics: median age 30.2; 42.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Hays city, Kansas · Incorporated city · GEOID 2031100. The survey estimates a population of 21,143 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Hays is 30.2 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.0 years. There are 9,003 households (±265). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	30.2 ±1.0	37.4 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Under 18	3,902 ±302	18.5% ±1.4 pp	23.8%	22.0%
18–34	7,818 ±464	37.0% ±2.2 pp	23.1%	22.8%
35–64	6,091 ±491	28.8% ±2.3 pp	36.2%	38.0%
65 and older	3,332 ±373	15.8% ±1.8 pp	17.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Male	10,726 ±207	50.7% ±1.0 pp	50.2%	49.5%
Female	10,417 ±209	49.3% ±1.0 pp	49.8%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
White alone	18,653 ±324	88.2% ±1.5 pp	76.0%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	277 ±90	1.3% ±0.4 pp	5.3%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	51 ±41 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.9%
Asian alone	401 ±102	1.9% ±0.5 pp	2.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	11 ±21 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	465 ±238 · low precision	2.2% ±1.1 pp · low precision	4.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,285 ±372	6.1% ±1.8 pp	10.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	19,570 ±238	92.6% ±1.1 pp	86.4%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,573 ±238	7.4% ±1.1 pp	13.6%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 9,003
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Married-couple family	3,648 ±320	40.5% ±3.3 pp	49.1%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	373 ±149	4.1% ±1.7 pp	4.5%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	635 ±157	7.1% ±1.7 pp	9.8%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,769 ±391	30.8% ±4.2 pp	30.0%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,578 ±257	17.5% ±2.8 pp	6.5%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 9,003
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,434 ±213	27.0% ±2.2 pp	30.1%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	6,569 ±345	73.0% ±3.2 pp	69.9%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 9,003
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,769 ±391	30.8% ±4.2 pp	30.0%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,114 ±408	34.6% ±4.4 pp	35.2%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,417 ±330	15.7% ±3.6 pp	13.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	939 ±217	10.4% ±2.4 pp	11.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	414 ±136	4.6% ±1.5 pp	5.7%	5.9%
Six-person households	227 ±129 · low precision	2.5% ±1.4 pp · low precision	2.4%	2.2%
Seven or more people	123 ±79 · low precision	1.4% ±0.9 pp · low precision	1.3%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 21,143
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Native	20,535 ±183	97.1% ±0.9 pp	92.6%	85.9%
Foreign born	608 ±183	2.9% ±0.9 pp	7.4%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 20,133
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
English only	18,677 ±320	92.8% ±1.5 pp	87.9%	77.7%
Spanish	1,018 ±239	5.1% ±1.2 pp	8.1%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	62 ±72 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	48 ±41 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	21 ±34 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	95 ±114 · low precision	0.5% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.6%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	144 ±145 · low precision	0.7% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	12 ±26 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	8 ±28 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	21 ±26 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	27 ±19 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 12,132
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	697 ±225	5.7% ±1.9 pp	8.0%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,036 ±426	25.0% ±3.5 pp	25.4%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	2,249 ±370	18.5% ±3.0 pp	21.8%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	974 ±266	8.0% ±2.2 pp	9.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,170 ±315	26.1% ±2.6 pp	22.2%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,006 ±379	16.5% ±3.1 pp	13.4%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 20,921
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Kansas	U.S.
Same house	15,424 ±667	73.7% ±3.2 pp	85.7%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,788 ±560	13.3% ±2.7 pp	7.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,939 ±368	9.3% ±1.8 pp	3.2%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	687 ±225	3.3% ±1.1 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	83 ±82 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

8.3% of Hays residents (±1.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 8.8% in Kansas and 8.4% nationally. 93.5% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Hays	Kansas	U.S.	Compared with Kansas
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	8.3% ±1.8 pp	8.8%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.5% ±0.9 pp	90.7%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.3% ±0.8 pp	6.8%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Hays . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Hays housing and cost context or return to the city profile.