• county
  • FIPS 20161
  • Largest town: Manhattan

Riley County, Kansas

Riley County had 72,557 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 609.7 square miles of land. It ranks 7th of 105 in Kansas by population and 82nd by land area.

Population
72,557
#7 of 105 in Kansas · #766 in US
Area
609.7 sq mi
#82 of 105 in Kansas · #1,588 in US
Density
119 / sq mi
#7 of 105 in Kansas · #799 in US
Median household income
$63,076
#49 of 105 in Kansas · #1,557 in US

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

Riley County within Kansas. Pin: Topeka.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Riley County

Riley County population, land area and income

Riley County had 72,557 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 609.7 square miles of land. It ranks 7th of 105 in Kansas by population and 82nd by land area. That works out to 119.0 people per square mile, 1.2 times the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Kansas has 6,946 residents, so Riley County is 10.4 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $63,076 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

72,557

3144th1st

766th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

610 sq mi

3144th1st

1588th of 3,144 (US)

Density

119.0 / sq mi

3144th1st

799th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$63,076

3143rd1st

1557th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Kansas (105)

Population

72,557

105th1st

7th of 105 (KS)

Land area

610 sq mi

105th1st

82nd of 105 (KS)

Density

119.0 / sq mi

105th1st

7th of 105 (KS)

Median household income

$63,076

105th1st

49th of 105 (KS)

How Riley County's population changed since 2020

Riley County gained 546 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.8%. That ranks 20th 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, Riley County recorded 2,956 births and 1,717 deaths, a natural change of +1,239. Net international migration added +2,093 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -2,837. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 2,837 people.

72.0k202071.9k202171.6k202271.7k202372.6k2024
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
2,956
Deaths
1,717
Net international migration
+2,093
Net domestic migration
-2,837
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+884

Where Riley County is

The Census internal point of Riley County is at 39.291200, -96.727500. 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 Riley 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: Riley County internal point. Dark pin: Topeka.

Internal point

Decimal
39.291200, -96.727500
DMS
39°17'28.32"N 96°43'39.00"W
UTM
14N 695980.9E 4351554.1N
Geohash
9ygpwbtpv
Plus code
86F577RC+FX

Towns in Riley County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Riley County, 56,355 people together, or 78% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Riley County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Manhattan with 54,699.

  1. 01Manhattan (part)54,699
  2. 02Ogden1,656
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Riley County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Riley County. The most populous is Geary County, KS, with 35,459 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Topeka and the nearest big city

Topeka is 58.7 miles ESE of Riley County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Topeka, KS (population 125,467), 58.0 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Manhattan, KS (population 54,700), 9.6 miles away.

Riley County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Riley County is 20161: state code 20 for Kansas plus county code 161. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $63,076.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Riley County, Kansas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 72,557. That is up 546 people (0.8%) from the July 2020 estimate of 72,011.

What is the FIPS code of Riley County?

20161. The first two digits (20) are Kansas; the last three (161) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Riley County?

Manhattan, with 54,699 residents inside Riley County in 2024 (54,700 across all 2 counties it spans).

Which counties border Riley County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Geary County, KS; Pottawatomie County, KS; Marshall County, KS; Clay County, KS; Wabaunsee County, KS; Washington 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.