Hays, KS, Kansas: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+66 in 1892.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+46MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 28,9202024 5-year
- Median household income
- $63,0842024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+57 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+66 in 1892MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Hays, KS, KSOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,511 | 9,743 | 13,568 | ||
| R | 3,737 | 9,758 | 13,800 | ||
| R | 2,742 | 8,466 | 12,062 | ||
| R | 3,057 | 8,399 | 11,714 | ||
| R | 4,010 | 8,207 | 12,447 | ||
| R | 4,033 | 7,891 | 12,187 | ||
| R | 3,926 | 6,516 | 11,160 | ||
| R | 4,142 | 6,809 | 11,952 | ||
| D | 4,544 | 3,985 | 12,453 | ||
| D | 5,289 | 5,194 | 10,672 | ||
| R | 3,457 | 7,509 | 11,099 | ||
| R | 3,940 | 5,634 | 10,724 | ||
| D | 6,280 | 4,719 | 11,240 | ||
| R | 4,113 | 5,463 | 9,813 | ||
| R | 3,809 | 3,944 | 8,441 | ||
| D | 5,553 | 2,440 | 8,020 | ||
| D | 5,815 | 3,156 | 8,977 | ||
| R | 3,058 | 4,466 | 7,528 | ||
| R | 2,528 | 4,882 | 7,413 | ||
| D | 3,863 | 2,676 | 6,606 | ||
| R | 2,218 | 3,369 | 5,603 | ||
| R | 3,299 | 3,622 | 6,946 | ||
| D | 4,834 | 1,622 | 6,469 | ||
| D | 4,449 | 1,465 | 5,970 | ||
| D | 3,364 | 1,700 | 5,075 | ||
| R | 842 | 1,763 | 3,802 | ||
| R | 740 | 2,385 | 3,173 | ||
| D | 2,335 | 1,186 | 3,608 | ||
| D | 1,381 | 175 | 2,129 | ||
| D | 1,421 | 768 | 2,226 | ||
| R | 928 | 1,009 | 1,976 | ||
| D | 1,228 | 627 | 1,869 | ||
| D | 1,051 | 460 | 1,533 | ||
| R | 0 | 1,069 | 1,629 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
46.1%
Irish
12.0%
English
8.8%
Italian
3.7%
American
3.0%
French
1.6%
Scottish
1.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 33.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$63,084
Hays, KS ranks near the middle of US counties.
Hays, KS$63,084
Kansas$74,275
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.4%
Working age (18–64)19.9%
Seniors (65+)9.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.8%
speak English only
Spanish4.1%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 30.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
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.
The Democratic margin in Hays, KS has rarely exceeded fifty-seven points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded sixty-six points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by forty-six points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 89% non-Hispanic-white share, a 18% poverty rate, and a median household income of $63,084 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Hays, KS, Kansas — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/25700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Hays, KS, Kansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Hays, KS, Kansas voted Republican by 45.9 points (R+46), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 13,568 votes cast, 3,511 went Democratic and 9,743 went Republican.
What is Hays, KS, Kansas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Hays, KS, Kansas as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 14 times, Republican 20 times, and other 0 times.
When did Hays, KS, Kansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Hays, KS, Kansas voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in Hays, KS, Kansas?
Hays, KS, Kansas has a population of 28,920 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Hays, KS, Kansas?
Median household income in Hays, KS, Kansas is $63,084 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kansas state median is $74,275.
What is the political history of Hays, KS, Kansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Hays, KS, Kansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.