• county
  • FIPS 20177
  • Largest town: Topeka

Shawnee County, Kansas

Shawnee County had 177,942 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 544.0 square miles of land. It ranks 3rd of 105 in Kansas by population and 94th by land area.

Population
177,942
#3 of 105 in Kansas · #390 in US
Area
544.0 sq mi
#94 of 105 in Kansas · #1,917 in US
Density
327 / sq mi
#4 of 105 in Kansas · #405 in US
Median household income
$63,612
#45 of 105 in Kansas · #1,497 in US

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

Shawnee County within Kansas. Pin: Topeka.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Shawnee County

Shawnee County population, land area and income

Shawnee County had 177,942 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 544.0 square miles of land. It ranks 3rd of 105 in Kansas by population and 94th by land area. That works out to 327.1 people per square mile, 3.4 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Kansas has 6,946 residents, so Shawnee County is 25.6 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $63,612 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

177,942

3144th1st

390th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

544 sq mi

3144th1st

1917th of 3,144 (US)

Density

327.1 / sq mi

3144th1st

405th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$63,612

3143rd1st

1497th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Kansas (105)

Population

177,942

105th1st

3rd of 105 (KS)

Land area

544 sq mi

105th1st

94th of 105 (KS)

Density

327.1 / sq mi

105th1st

4th of 105 (KS)

Median household income

$63,612

105th1st

45th of 105 (KS)

How Shawnee County's population changed since 2020

Shawnee County lost 769 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.4%. That ranks 36th 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, Shawnee County recorded 8,196 births and 9,232 deaths, a natural change of -1,036. Net international migration added +762 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -759. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 1,036 people.

178.7k2020178.4k2021177.5k2022177.6k2023177.9k2024
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
8,196
Deaths
9,232
Net international migration
+762
Net domestic migration
-759
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+346

Where Shawnee County is

The Census internal point of Shawnee County is at 39.041800, -95.755700. 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 Shawnee 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: Shawnee County internal point. Dark pin: Topeka.

Internal point

Decimal
39.041800, -95.755700
DMS
39°02'30.48"N 95°45'20.52"W
UTM
15N 261500.4E 4325029.4N
Geohash
9ygyj52ff
Plus code
86F626RV+PP

Towns in Shawnee County

4 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Shawnee County, 129,141 people together, or 73% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Shawnee County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Topeka with 125,467.

  1. 01Topeka125,467
  2. 02Silver Lake1,312
  3. 03Auburn1,272
  4. 04Rossville1,090
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Shawnee County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Shawnee County. The most populous is Douglas County, KS, with 121,989 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Topeka and the nearest big city

Topeka is 4.2 miles E of Shawnee County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Topeka, KS (population 125,467), 3.2 miles away.

Shawnee County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Shawnee County is 20177: state code 20 for Kansas plus county code 177. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $63,612.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Shawnee County, Kansas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 177,942. That is down 769 people (0.4%) from the July 2020 estimate of 178,711.

What is the FIPS code of Shawnee County?

20177. The first two digits (20) are Kansas; the last three (177) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Shawnee County?

Topeka, with 125,467 residents inside Shawnee County in 2024.

Which counties border Shawnee County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Douglas County, KS; Pottawatomie County, KS; Jefferson County, KS; Osage County, KS; Jackson County, KS; Wabaunsee 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.