• county
  • FIPS 20159
  • Largest town: Lyons

Rice County, Kansas

Rice County had 9,284 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 726.2 square miles of land. It ranks 41st of 105 in Kansas by population and 55th by land area.

Population
9,284
#41 of 105 in Kansas · #2,466 in US
Area
726.2 sq mi
#55 of 105 in Kansas · #1,223 in US
Density
13 / sq mi
#44 of 105 in Kansas · #2,473 in US
Median household income
$62,922
#51 of 105 in Kansas · #1,565 in US

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

Rice County within Kansas. Pin: Topeka.

Measure from here

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Rice County population, land area and income

Rice County had 9,284 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 726.2 square miles of land. It ranks 41st of 105 in Kansas by population and 55th by land area. That works out to 12.8 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Kansas has 6,946 residents; Rice County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $62,922 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

9,284

3144th1st

2466th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

726 sq mi

3144th1st

1223rd of 3,144 (US)

Density

12.8 / sq mi

3144th1st

2473rd of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$62,922

3143rd1st

1565th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Kansas (105)

Population

9,284

105th1st

41st of 105 (KS)

Land area

726 sq mi

105th1st

55th of 105 (KS)

Density

12.8 / sq mi

105th1st

44th of 105 (KS)

Median household income

$62,922

105th1st

51st of 105 (KS)

How Rice County's population changed since 2020

Rice County lost 101 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.1%. That ranks 55th 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, Rice County recorded 482 births and 608 deaths, a natural change of -126. Net international migration added +67 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -78. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 126 people.

9,38520209,38820219,38720229,30520239,2842024
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
482
Deaths
608
Net international migration
+67
Net domestic migration
-78
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-21

Where Rice County is

The Census internal point of Rice County is at 38.347200, -98.201400. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades Kansas's 105 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Rice 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: Rice County internal point. Dark pin: Topeka.

Internal point

Decimal
38.347200, -98.201400
DMS
38°20'49.92"N 98°12'5.04"W
UTM
14N 569783.6E 4244640.5N
Geohash
9yf4jkgut
Plus code
86C38QWX+VC

Towns in Rice County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Rice County, 5,808 people together, or 63% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Rice County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Lyons with 3,499.

  1. 01Lyons3,499
  2. 02Sterling2,309
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Rice County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Rice County. The most populous is Reno County, KS, with 61,417 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Topeka and the nearest big city

Topeka is 144.4 miles ENE of Rice County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Wichita, KS (population 400,991), 65.0 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Hutchinson, KS (population 39,561), 25.2 miles away.

Rice County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Rice County is 20159: state code 20 for Kansas plus county code 159. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $62,922.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Rice County, Kansas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 9,284. That is down 101 people (1.1%) from the July 2020 estimate of 9,385.

What is the FIPS code of Rice County?

20159. The first two digits (20) are Kansas; the last three (159) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Rice County?

Lyons, with 3,499 residents inside Rice County in 2024.

Which counties border Rice County?

5 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Reno County, KS; McPherson County, KS; Barton County, KS; Ellsworth County, KS; Stafford County, KS.

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.