Ellis County, Kansas

Ellis County
County
Ellis County Courthouse in Hays (1979)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	1867
Named for	George Ellis
Seat	Hays
Largest city	Hays
Area
• Total	900 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Land	899 sq mi (2,330 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1 km2)  0.05%
Population  (2020)
• Total	28,934
• Density	32.2/sq mi (12.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	785
Congressional district	1st
Website	ellisco.net

Ellis County (county code EL) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In the 2020 census, 28,934 people lived there. The county seat and biggest city is Hays.

History

Ellis County was created on February 26, 1867.

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 900 square miles (2,300 km²). Of that 900 square miles (2,300 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (0.05%) is water.

Bordering counties

• Rooks County (north)
• Osborne County (northeast)
• Russell County (east)
• Rush County (south)
• Ness County (southwest)
• Trego County (west)

Major highways

• Interstate 70
• US-183

People

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	1,336		—
1880	6,179		362.5%
1890	7,942		28.5%
1900	8,626		8.6%
1910	12,170		41.1%
1920	14,138		16.2%
1930	15,907		12.5%
1940	17,508		10.1%
1950	19,043		8.8%
1960	21,270		11.7%
1970	24,730		16.3%
1980	26,098		5.5%
1990	26,004		−0.4%
2000	27,507		5.8%
2010	28,452		3.4%
2020	28,934		1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Age pyramid

The Hays Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Ellis County.

Government

Presidential Elections Results

Presidential Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	70.4% 9,758	27.0% 3,737	2.6% 361
2016	70.2% 8,466	22.7% 2,742	7.1% 854
2012	71.7% 8,399	26.1% 3,057	2.2% 258
2008	65.9% 8,207	32.2% 4,010	1.9% 230
2004	64.8% 7,891	33.1% 4,033	2.2% 263
2000	58.4% 6,516	35.2% 3,926	6.4% 718
1996	57.0% 6,809	34.7% 4,142	8.4% 1,001
1992	32.0% 3,985	36.5% 4,544	31.5% 3,924
1988	48.7% 5,194	49.6% 5,289	1.8% 189
1984	67.7% 7,509	31.2% 3,457	1.2% 133
1980	52.5% 5,634	36.7% 3,940	10.7% 1,150
1976	42.0% 4,719	55.9% 6,280	2.1% 241
1972	55.7% 5,463	41.9% 4,113	2.4% 237
1968	46.7% 3,944	45.1% 3,809	8.2% 688
1964	30.4% 2,440	69.2% 5,553	0.3% 27
1960	35.2% 3,156	64.8% 5,815	0.1% 6
1956	59.3% 4,466	40.6% 3,058	0.1% 4
1952	65.9% 4,882	34.1% 2,528	0.0% 3
1948	40.5% 2,676	58.5% 3,863	1.0% 67
1944	60.1% 3,369	39.6% 2,218	0.3% 16
1940	52.2% 3,622	47.5% 3,299	0.4% 25
1936	25.1% 1,622	74.7% 4,834	0.2% 13
1932	24.5% 1,465	74.5% 4,449	0.9% 56
1928	33.5% 1,700	66.3% 3,364	0.2% 11
1924	46.4% 1,763	22.2% 842	31.5% 1,197
1920	75.2% 2,385	23.3% 740	1.5% 48
1916	32.9% 1,186	64.7% 2,335	2.4% 87
1912	8.2% 175	64.9% 1,381	26.9% 573
1908	34.5% 768	63.8% 1,421	1.7% 37
1904	51.1% 1,009	47.0% 928	2.0% 39
1900	33.6% 627	65.7% 1,228	0.8% 14
1896	30.0% 460	68.6% 1,051	1.4% 22
1892	33.5% 546		66.5% 1,083
1888	44.4% 690	48.7% 756	6.9% 107

Education

Unified school districts

• Ellis USD 388
  • western third of county; small portion in extreme eastern Trego County
• Victoria USD 432
  • eastern third of county to Russell county line
• Hays USD 489
  • extends to Rooks and Rush county lines and about five miles each way on I-70 from city center

Private schools

• Holy Family Elementary in Hays
• St. Mary's Elementary in Ellis
• Thomas More Prep-Marian High in Hays

Colleges and Universities

• Fort Hays State University
• North Central Kansas Technical College

Communities

2005 Kansas Department of Transportation Map of Ellis County (map legend)

Cities

• Ellis
• Hays
• Schoenchen
• Victoria

Census-designated places

• Catharine
• Munjor

Other unincorporated places

The town of Antonino

• Antonino
• Emmeram
• Pfeifer
• Toulon
• Turkville
• Walker
• Yocemento

Defunct settlements

• Chetolah
• Hog Back
• Rome
• Smoky Hill City
• Stockrange

Townships

Ellis County is divided into nine townships. The cities of Ellis and Hays are considered governmentally independent and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Sources: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau; Census Data Explorer from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population (2020)	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Big Creek	06650		2,077	8 (22)	249 (96)	0 (0)	0.01%	38°52′2″N 99°21′54″W
Buckeye	08950		391	1 (3)	352 (136)	0 (0)	0.05%	39°1′35″N 99°20′19″W
Catherine	11050		281	1 (3)	208 (80)	0 (0)	0.03%	39°1′25″N 99°11′43″W
Ellis	20475		452	1 (3)	456 (176)	0 (0)	0.02%	38°59′41″N 99°30′38″W
Freedom	24625		106	1 (2)	117 (45)	0 (0)	0%	38°44′0″N 99°7′31″W
Herzog	31525		839	3 (7)	325 (126)	1 (0)	0.18%	38°59′19″N 99°6′44″W
Lookout	42700		523	2 (4)	317 (122)	0 (0)	0.08%	38°45′37″N 99°27′11″W
Victoria	73800		804	6 (15)	139 (54)	0 (0)	0%	38°48′46″N 99°7′25″W
Wheatland	77650		387	3 (7)	140 (54)	0 (0)	0%	38°45′44″N 99°15′50″W

Other websites

County

• Ellis County - Official
• Ellis County - Directory of Public Officials

Maps

• Ellis County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society