• county
  • FIPS 20021
  • Largest town: Baxter Springs

Cherokee County, Kansas

Cherokee County had 19,133 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 587.6 square miles of land. It ranks 28th of 105 in Kansas by population and 85th by land area.

Population
19,133
#28 of 105 in Kansas · #1,874 in US
Area
587.6 sq mi
#85 of 105 in Kansas · #1,668 in US
Density
33 / sq mi
#22 of 105 in Kansas · #1,850 in US
Median household income
$55,853
#81 of 105 in Kansas · #2,245 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Cherokee County within Kansas. Pin: Topeka.

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Tools and pages that start from Cherokee County

Cherokee County population, land area and income

Cherokee County had 19,133 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 587.6 square miles of land. It ranks 28th of 105 in Kansas by population and 85th by land area. That works out to 32.6 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Kansas has 6,946 residents, so Cherokee County is 2.8 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $55,853 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

19,133

3144th1st

1874th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

588 sq mi

3144th1st

1668th of 3,144 (US)

Density

32.6 / sq mi

3144th1st

1850th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$55,853

3143rd1st

2245th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Kansas (105)

Population

19,133

105th1st

28th of 105 (KS)

Land area

588 sq mi

105th1st

85th of 105 (KS)

Density

32.6 / sq mi

105th1st

22nd of 105 (KS)

Median household income

$55,853

105th1st

81st of 105 (KS)

How Cherokee County's population changed since 2020

Cherokee County lost 168 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.9%. That ranks 47th of 105 in Kansas for growth. The median Kansas county changed by -1.0%, and the state as a whole by +1.1%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Cherokee County recorded 753 births and 1,277 deaths, a natural change of -524. Net international migration added -4 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +312. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 524 people.

19.3k202019.2k202119.0k202219.1k202319.1k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
753
Deaths
1,277
Net international migration
-4
Net domestic migration
+312
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+38

Where Cherokee County is

The Census internal point of Cherokee County is at 37.169400, -94.845700. It sits in UTM zone 15N. The map shades Kansas's 105 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Cherokee County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Harper County: -1.0%Phillips County: -4.6%Seward County: -2.7%Grant County: -3.1%Pawnee County: -3.8%Haskell County: -4.5%Ness County: -2.3%Logan County: -1.8%Wichita County: -3.6%Greenwood County: -1.7%Stanton County: -0.7%Edwards County: -5.3%Gray County: +1.6%Franklin County: +1.0%Saline County: -1.5%Allen County: -0.9%Lyon County: +1.3%Cloud County: -3.3%Brown County: -3.6%Rice County: -1.1%Lincoln County: -0.6%Osborne County: -4.0%Rooks County: -2.8%Russell County: -0.8%Jefferson County: +0.0%Jewell County: -1.0%Lane County: -5.6%Sheridan County: -1.9%Gove County: -2.1%Trego County: -1.1%Montgomery County: -3.0%Sumner County: +0.1%Graham County: -1.5%Marion County: -1.0%Washington County: +0.8%Stevens County: -4.0%Kiowa County: -0.7%Mitchell County: +0.4%Cheyenne County: +1.3%Ellis County: +0.2%Rush County: -4.6%Scott County: -4.3%Comanche County: +0.7%Wallace County: -2.6%Nemaha County: -2.0%Linn County: +2.6%Ford County: -0.4%Dickinson County: +1.4%Ellsworth County: -0.9%Labette County: -2.3%Cowley County: -1.0%Neosho County: -2.2%Wilson County: -2.2%Thomas County: -1.7%Greeley County: -9.6%Osage County: -0.0%Finney County: +0.1%Kearny County: -3.8%Kingman County: -6.4%Republic County: -1.3%Ottawa County: +2.1%Smith County: -0.5%Crawford County: -0.1%Elk County: -1.5%Miami County: +4.4%Hodgeman County: -3.7%Morris County: -1.7%Morton County: -8.1%Harvey County: -1.0%Meade County: -4.2%Sedgwick County: +2.1%Geary County: -3.6%Woodson County: +0.4%Bourbon County: +0.6%Chase County: -2.6%Pratt County: -0.0%Reno County: -0.8%Chautauqua County: -1.2%Norton County: -2.1%Marshall County: -0.7%Doniphan County: +1.4%Cherokee County: -0.9%Barton County: -2.3%Riley County: +0.8%Butler County: +2.6%Stafford County: -3.7%Anderson County: +0.9%Sherman County: -1.8%Rawlins County: -5.5%Pottawatomie County: +5.7%McPherson County: +0.5%Coffey County: -0.7%Hamilton County: +0.0%Atchison County: -0.5%Shawnee County: -0.4%Leavenworth County: +3.3%Jackson County: +2.2%Clark County: -5.3%Douglas County: +2.7%Clay County: -1.9%Barber County: -3.2%Johnson County: +3.5%Wabaunsee County: +3.2%Decatur County: -1.1%Wyandotte County: +0.3%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -3.6%
  2. < -1.7%
  3. < -0.7%
  4. < +0.6%
  5. ≥ +0.6%
no data

Orange pin: Cherokee County internal point. Dark pin: Topeka.

Internal point

Decimal
37.169400, -94.845700
DMS
37°10'9.84"N 94°50'44.52"W
UTM
15N 336134.2E 4115259.7N
Geohash
9yse3wrrr
Plus code
86975593+QP

Towns in Cherokee County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Cherokee County, 9,489 people together, or 50% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Cherokee County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Baxter Springs with 3,844.

  1. 01Baxter Springs3,844
  2. 02Columbus2,878
  3. 03Galena2,767
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Cherokee County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Cherokee County, including 4 across a state line. The most populous is Jasper County, MO, with 126,479 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Topeka and the nearest big city

Topeka is 137.4 miles NNW of Cherokee County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Fayetteville, AR (population 103,134), 84.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Pittsburg, KS (population 20,547), 18.7 miles away.

Cherokee County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Cherokee County is 20021: state code 20 for Kansas plus county code 021. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $55,853.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Cherokee County, Kansas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 19,133. That is down 168 people (0.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 19,301.

What is the FIPS code of Cherokee County?

20021. The first two digits (20) are Kansas; the last three (021) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Cherokee County?

Baxter Springs, with 3,844 residents inside Cherokee County in 2024.

Which counties border Cherokee County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Jasper County, MO; Newton County, MO; Crawford County, KS; Ottawa County, OK; Labette County, KS; Craig County, OK.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.