Kansas covers 82,227 square miles, with a 2019 estimated population of 2,913,314 people – 911,973 living in rural Kansas (USDA-ERS). Topeka, the capital, is located in the north-eastern region of the state. The state's largest cities are Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City. According to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 86.3% of the state's population is white, 6.1% is African-American, 3.2% is Asian, 1.2% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% is Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 12.2% is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Kansas Rural Healthcare Facilities

According to data.HRSA.gov, as of April 2021 Kansas had:

• 82 Critical Access Hospitals
• 175 Rural Health Clinics
• 42 Federally Qualified Health Center sites located outside of Urbanized Areas
• 28 short term hospitals located outside of Urbanized Areas

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Kansas

9.2% of Kansas residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2019). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per capita income for Kansans in 2019 was $53,426, with the rural per capita income at $47,397. The ERS reports, based on 2019 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Kansas is 12.9%, compared with 10.6% in urban areas of the state. 11.2% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 8.0% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2015-2019 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Kansas is at 3.1%, and in urban Kansas it is at 3.2% (USDA-ERS, 2019).

Kansas Office of Primary Care & Rural Health
Email: kdhe.ruralhealth@ks.gov
Aids rural and medically underserved communities in Kansas and helps build sustainable access to quality, patient-centered primary health care services. Focuses on supporting the primary care and rural health workforce, connecting local providers and partners to resources and programs, and strengthening system-wide performance improvement capacity.
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