A fast-growing college town anchoring northwest Kansas's regional economy
Home to Fort Hays State University, the Hays metro has absorbed steady population gains that complicate its traditionally lopsided Republican margins, though the area still ranks among Kansas's most reliably conservative labor markets.
| Group | Hays, KS | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 91.5% | 57.4% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(9) | 4.6% | 19.3% |
Multiracial / Other | 1.4% | 4.0% |
▶Asian(5) | 1.2% | 6.0% |
▶Black / African American(3) | 1.1% | 12.2% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(4) | 0.2% | 0.9% |
Catholic-Evangelical edge: +51.5pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Catholic-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Democratic-leaning urban and suburban communities.
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49.2% | 70.6% | — | — | |
| 10.2% | 14.6% | — | — | |
| 8.1% | 11.7% | — | — | |
| 2.2% | 3.1% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 1.4% | 1.9% | — | — |
Non-religiousPopulation | 30.4% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Hays, KS metro area? 112,811 residents across 4 counties.
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate vs Governor | R+54.0 | R+16.3 | 37.7pp |