Hays, KS, Kansas: Stable Rural Right metro. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+66 in 1892.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+46MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic 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
2024 presidential election
Hays, KS
TrumpR+46
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.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 71.8% | 9,743 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 25.9% | 3,511 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 2.3% | 314 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −65.6% |
| 1896 | +38.6% |
| 1900 | +32.2% |
| 1904 | −4.1% |
| 1908 | +29.3% |
| 1912 | +56.6% |
| 1916 | +31.8% |
| 1920 | −51.8% |
| 1924 | −24.2% |
| 1928 | +32.8% |
| 1932 | +50.0% |
| 1936 | +49.7% |
| 1940 | −4.7% |
| 1944 | −20.5% |
| 1948 | +18.0% |
| 1952 | −31.8% |
| 1956 | −18.7% |
| 1960 | +29.6% |
| 1964 | +38.8% |
| 1968 | −1.6% |
| 1972 | −13.8% |
| 1976 | +13.9% |
| 1980 | −15.8% |
| 1984 | −36.5% |
| 1988 | +0.9% |
| 1992 | +4.5% |
| 1996 | −22.3% |
| 2000 | −23.2% |
| 2004 | −31.7% |
| 2008 | −33.7% |
| 2012 | −45.6% |
| 2016 | −47.5% |
| 2020 | −43.6% |
| 2024 | −45.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
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 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2020 religion census
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.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of fifty-seven points in 1912 and a Republican high of sixty-six points in 1892. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-six points.
A population of 28,920, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $63,084 describe the metro.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Hays, KS, Kansas. Akashic. https://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 typology?
Akashic places Hays, KS, Kansas in the "Stable Rural Right" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. 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 typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.