September 28, 2021
Keeping Up with the Changing Kansas
The new programming year for KSRE is quickly approaching! It has been great seeing all the innovation over the last couple years and we are looking forward to seeing the continual advancement of new ideas. Thinking about our comprehensive program planning with clientele, external stakeholders and PDC members is an exciting time. It’s an opportunity to plant seeds, address changing needs or confirm that we are on the right track. As always, a good place to start your planning is with a review of the changing demographics of Kansas and our local communities!
To whet your appetite, I’m including some Kansas statistics as presented by The Kansas Health Institute. They regularly publish interesting demographics of Kansas that that have strong implications on KSRE programming. In their August article, (https://www.khi.org/policy/article/21-40), they discuss the following statistical trends that occurred in Kansas from 2010 to 2020 and some of the implications as the data pertains to health.
*Kansas is aging, with 75.9% of the population above 18 years old compared to 74.5% in 2010.
*Kansans are increasingly living in urban counties, increasing from 54.9% in 2010 to 57.3% in 2020.
*80 of the 105 counties in Kansas experienced a loss of population.
*Minority populations grew in all but three Kansas counties.
Don’t be shy! Dig into some of those stats and see how your community is changing!
Here is a link to county Ag statistics:
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Online_Resources/County_Profiles/Kansas/index.php.