County · Kansas

Rice County, Kansas

Rice County, Kansas. Rice County had 9,266 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, down 1.6% since 2020, while Kansas grew 1.3%. It holds 29 places (9 cities, villages and boroughs and 20 towns and townships) and 3 census tracts. GEOID 20159.

Residents, July 2025 estimate

9,266

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 9,427 · ACS 2020-2024: 9,350

Median household income

$63,925

±$4,435 (90% margin)
Kansas: $74,275

Median home value

$104,600

±$7,916 (90% margin)
Kansas: $217,200

Median gross rent

$753

±$74 (90% margin)
Kansas: $1,060

How many people live in Rice County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 9,427 residents in Rice County. The Census Bureau estimates 9,266 for July 1, 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, while Kansas grew 1.3%. The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 9,350 over 726 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 +2 (9,384)
2021→2022 −7 (9,377)
2022→2023 −89 (9,288)
2023→2024 −11 (9,277)
2024→2025 −11 (9,266)

Rice County in Kansas. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Rice County	Kansas	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	9,350	2,947,197	−308
Households	3,714±157	1,174,060	no clear change
Average household size	2.36±0.10	2.44	no clear change
Housing units	4,384±41	1,293,635	−206

Rice County's population since 2000

From 10,761 in 2000 to 9,266 in 2025: down 13.9%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 10,761
2005 (estimate) 10,396
2010 Census 10,083
2015 (estimate) 9,926
2020 Census 9,427
2025 (estimate) 9,266

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Rice County?

Rice County holds 29 places: 9 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places) and 20 towns and townships (county subdivisions with their own government). The largest is Lyons with 3,488 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Rice County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

Lyons	city	3,611	3,553±17	$62,569	$104,800	9.1%	100%
Sterling	city	2,248	2,411±216	$54,922	$133,000	5.7%	100%
Union Township, Rice County	township	661	570±107	$74,375	$127,600	3.7%	100%
Little River	city	472	402±90	$66,667	$116,100	4.4%	100%
Lincoln Township, Rice County	township	450	540±96	$60,139	$76,500	12.8%	100%
Chase	city	396	490±92	$59,375	$75,300	13.7%	100%
Victoria Township	township	333	475±138	$49,167	$52,500	8.0%	100%
Farmer Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015923100	township	312	293±103	$38,333	$48,600	5.5%	100%
GeneseoGEOID 2026075	city	236	213±81	$46,563	$44,700	15.0%	100%
Valley Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015973100	township	208	205±90	$130,000	not published	11.9%	100%
BushtonGEOID 2009700	city	203	201±83	$38,958	$47,300	8.0%	100%
Sterling Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015968225	township	201	224±98	$143,125	$241,100	17.4%	100%
Raymond TownshipGEOID 2015958575	township	169	162±54	$62,321	$137,500	14.8%	100%
Harrison Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015930425	township	142	57±42	$87,188	$288,600	0.0%	100%
East Washington TownshipGEOID 2015919725	township	138	176±100	$69,357	$275,000	4.5%	100%
Atlanta TownshipGEOID 2015903075	township	125	57±42	not published	$220,800	12.3%	100%
AldenGEOID 2000950	city	122	87±39	$39,375	$55,000	28.9%	100%
West Washington TownshipGEOID 2015977425	township	118	81±59	$81,458	not published	0.0%	100%
Mitchell Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015947525	township	118	67±36	not published	not published	0.0%	100%
Rockville TownshipGEOID 2015960725	township	112	30±22	$106,250	not published	0.0%	100%
Wilson Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015979775	township	109	40±26	$64,583	$87,500	10.0%	100%
Center Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015912075	township	107	106±60	$86,250	$300,000	0.0%	100%
RaymondGEOID 2058550	city	85	109±53	$56,250	$56,100	22.0%	100%
Pioneer Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015955925	township	84	30±16	$63,906	not published	6.7%	100%
Galt TownshipGEOID 2015925175	township	81	96±54	not published	$212,500	0.0%	100%
Odessa Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015952150	township	59	137±70	$177,885	$321,700	0.0%	100%
Eureka Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015921900	township	31	40±40	$38,831	$65,000	0.0%	100%
Bell Township, Rice CountyGEOID 2015905375	township	10	0±11	not published	not published	–	100%
FrederickGEOID 2024550	city	8	40±40	$38,831	$65,000	0.0%	100%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Rice County?

The median resident of Rice County is 38.6 years old; 23.4% are under 18 and 19.0% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 77.6%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 14.0%. 4.9% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Rice County	Kansas	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	38.6±1.6	37.4	no clear change
Under 18 years	23.4%±0.4 pts	23.8%	–
65 years and over	19.0%±0.5 pts	17.0%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	14.0%	13.6%	+2.6 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	77.6%±1.3 pts	72.7%	−5.5 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	1.8%±0.4 pts	5.2%	no clear change
Asian alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.1 pts	2.9%	–
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0.5%±0.4 pts	0.4%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.3 pts	0.1%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	6.0%±1.4 pts	4.8%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0.2%±0.2 pts	0.4%	–
Born outside the United States	4.9%±1.9 pts	7.4%	no clear change
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	9.5%±2.5 pts	12.1%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	7.4%±2.1 pts	6.8%	–
With a disability	15.7%±2.3 pts	13.5%	–
No health insurance coverage	7.9%±2.5 pts	8.8%	no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	90.9%±2.4 pts	92.0%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	25.9%±3.6 pts	35.6%	no clear change
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	9.1%±2.3 pts	13.4%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	3.6%±1.6 pts	3.0%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Rice County earn?

Half of Rice County's 3,714 households earn less than $63,925 a year (±$4,435), against $74,275 in Kansas. In 2015-2019 it was $65,242 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 7.7% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Rice County	Kansas	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$63,925±$4,435	$74,275	no clear change
Mean household income	$81,167±$7,947	$100,417	–
Per capita income	$33,232±$2,456	$40,978	no clear change
People below the poverty line	7.7%±2.6 pts	11.3%	−6.5 pts
Children under 18 below the poverty line	9.7%±6.9 pts	13.1%	–
Households receiving SNAP	7.2%±2.1 pts	6.8%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	89.8%±2.9 pts	90.7%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Rice County?

Owners occupy 77.4% of Rice County's occupied homes and renters 22.6%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $104,600 by its owner (±$7,916). The median renter pays $753 a month including utilities, and 17.6% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Rice County	Kansas	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$104,600±$7,916	$217,200	+$12,667
Median gross rent	$753±$74	$1,060	no clear change
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	17.6%±8.5 pts	34.5%	no clear change
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$1,179±$72	$1,689	–
Owner-occupied homes	77.4%±3.8 pts	67.2%	no clear change
Housing units	4,384±41	1,293,635	−206
Homeowner vacancy rate	3.6%±3.3 pts	0.9%	–
Rental vacancy rate	4.5%±3.6 pts	6.2%	–
Single-family detached homes	87.1%±3.2 pts	71.8%	–
Mobile homes	2.9%±1.3 pts	4.0%	–
Built 2020 or later	1.0%±0.9 pts	1.4%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	34.4%±4.4 pts	15.4%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Rice County building?

Builders took permits for 15 new housing units across Rice County in 2025 (15 single-family), 1.6 per 1,000 residents.

2019 8 units
2020 7 units
2021 26 units
2022 22 units
2023 21 units
2024 9 units
2025 15 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Rice County get to work?

76.2% of Rice County's workers drive alone and 6.0% work from home. The average trip to work takes 20.9 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 4.4%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Rice County	Kansas	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	63.3%±2.6 pts	66.1%	–
Unemployment rate	4.4%±2.3 pts	3.9%	no clear change
Drove alone to work	76.2%±3.6 pts	75.4%	–
Carpooled	10.6%±3.0 pts	8.7%	–
Public transportation	0.0%±0.1 pts	0.4%	–
Walked	6.3%±1.6 pts	2.3%	–
Worked from home	6.0%±1.9 pts	11.8%	+3.3 pts
Mean travel time to work	20.9 min±3.1	19.7 min	no clear change

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What are Rice County's census tracts?

Rice County is divided into 3 census tracts. Among those with a reliable estimate, median household income runs from $63,218 (Tract 9672) to $66,522 (Tract 9673).

Census tracts of Rice County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates; sort by any column

Tract 967120159967100	Chase (9%)	2,170	2,264±151	$63,385	$77,200	$760	6.5%
Tract 967220159967200	Lyons (79%)	3,787	3,633±59	$63,218	$106,700	$760	8.9%
Tract 967320159967300	Sterling (26%)	3,470	3,453±151	$66,522	$148,700	$699	7.3%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Rice County compare with Kansas's other counties?

Rice County's rank among Kansas's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	41st of 105
Growth 2020-2025	50th of 105
Residents per square mile	44th of 105
Median household income	55th of 105
Median home value	72nd of 105
Median gross rent	61st of 104
Poverty rate	86th of 102
Bachelor's degree or higher	35th of 105
Median age	80th of 105

Every county in Kansas

Source: PlainCities ranks from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Rice County are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.