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Gray County
Gray County
County
	Former Gray County Courthouse in Cimarron (2015)
	Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
	Kansas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°44′00″N 100°25′59″W / 37.7333°N 100.433°W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	March 13, 1881
Named for	Alfred Gray
Seat	Cimarron
Largest city	Cimarron
Area
• Total	869 sq mi (2,250 km2)
• Land	869 sq mi (2,250 km2)
• Water	0.4 sq mi (1 km2) 0.05%
Population (2020)
• Total	5,653
• Density	6.5/sq mi (2.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	GrayCo.org

Gray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Cimarron.^[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,653.^[1] The county was named after Alfred Gray, a 19th century Kansas politician.

History

For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.

Gray County was founded in 1881 and named for Alfred Gray.^[3] Between 1887 and 1893, a county seat war took place in Gray County that involved several notable Old West figures, such as Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, and Ben Daniels. As a result of the dispute, Cimarron became the permanent county seat of Gray County.^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 869 square miles (2,250 km²), of which 869 square miles (2,250 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) (0.05%) is water.^[5]

Since 2001, NextEra Energy Resources has operated the largest wind farm in Kansas—170 turbines with a generating capacity of 110 megawatts—on a 12,000-acre (49 km²) site near Montezuma.^[6]

Adjacent counties

Finney County (north)
Hodgeman County (northeast)
Ford County (east)
Meade County (south)
Haskell County (west)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	2,415		—
1900	1,264		−47.7%
1910	3,121		146.9%
1920	4,711		50.9%
1930	6,211		31.8%
1940	4,773		−23.2%
1950	4,894		2.5%
1960	4,380		−10.5%
1970	4,516		3.1%
1980	5,138		13.8%
1990	5,396		5.0%
2000	5,904		9.4%
2010	6,006		1.7%
2020	5,653		−5.9%
2023 (est.)	5,743	^[7]	1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790–1960^[9] 1900–1990^[10] 1990–2000^[11] 2010–2020^[1]

As of the 2000 census,^[12] there were 5,904 people, 2,045 households, and 1,556 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile (2.7 people/km²). There were 2,181 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (0.77/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.31% White, 0.46% Native American, 0.19% Black or African American, 0.10% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 5.42% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.81% of the population.

There were 2,045 households, out of which 42.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.70% were married couples living together, 5.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.90% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 31.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,000, and the median income for a family was $45,299. Males had a median income of $31,519 versus $21,563 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,632. About 6.50% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

Gray County has by far the highest percentage of adherents of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite in the US. There were 1,032 members of the Church in Gray County in 2010, which is 17.18% of the population. It is the largest Church in the county.^[13]

Government

Presidential elections

Gray county is often carried easily by Republican candidates. The last time a Democratic candidate carried this county was in 1976 by Jimmy Carter.

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Gray County, Kansas^[14]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,911	83.52%	341	14.90%	36	1.57%
2016	1,698	82.19%	263	12.73%	105	5.08%
2012	1,603	81.87%	324	16.55%	31	1.58%
2008	1,643	77.54%	436	20.58%	40	1.89%
2004	1,816	80.89%	408	18.17%	21	0.94%
2000	1,631	75.51%	482	22.31%	47	2.18%
1996	1,457	71.53%	404	19.83%	176	8.64%
1992	1,039	47.81%	443	20.39%	691	31.80%
1988	1,180	61.55%	696	36.31%	41	2.14%
1984	1,580	74.32%	514	24.18%	32	1.51%
1980	1,310	63.68%	583	28.34%	164	7.97%
1976	837	42.08%	1,111	55.86%	41	2.06%
1972	1,235	69.15%	511	28.61%	40	2.24%
1968	952	55.25%	612	35.52%	159	9.23%
1964	643	35.86%	1,136	63.36%	14	0.78%
1960	1,150	60.56%	744	39.18%	5	0.26%
1956	1,278	66.77%	627	32.76%	9	0.47%
1952	1,515	73.51%	537	26.06%	9	0.44%
1948	1,035	53.68%	869	45.07%	24	1.24%
1944	1,057	57.01%	775	41.80%	22	1.19%
1940	1,056	51.87%	962	47.25%	18	0.88%
1936	764	34.34%	1,459	65.57%	2	0.09%
1932	910	39.27%	1,348	58.18%	59	2.55%
1928	1,294	67.47%	606	31.60%	18	0.94%
1924	959	59.34%	463	28.65%	194	12.00%
1920	962	62.18%	507	32.77%	78	5.04%
1916	660	38.66%	889	52.08%	158	9.26%
1912	112	15.95%	243	34.62%	347	49.43%
1908	372	46.79%	338	42.52%	85	10.69%
1904	285	64.48%	113	25.57%	44	9.95%
1900	188	55.79%	145	43.03%	4	1.19%
1896	153	53.50%	133	46.50%	0	0.00%
1892	274	54.37%	0	0.00%	230	45.63%
1888	417	53.81%	268	34.58%	90	11.61%

Laws

Although the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Gray County has remained a prohibition, or "dry", county.^[15]

Education

Unified school districts

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Gray County.^[16]

Cities and Towns

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Gray County is divided into seven townships. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Cimarron	13300	Cimarron	2,379	9 (24)	254 (98)	0 (0)	0.03%	37°48′22″N 100°20′52″W / 37.80611°N 100.34778°W / 37.80611; -100.34778
Copeland	15500	Copeland	540	2 (6)	233 (90)	0 (0)	0.15%	37°33′57″N 100°37′14″W / 37.56583°N 100.62056°W / 37.56583; -100.62056
East Hess	19525		372	1 (3)	281 (108)	0 (0)	0.03%	37°37′45″N 100°15′39″W / 37.62917°N 100.26083°W / 37.62917; -100.26083
Foote	23675		126	0 (1)	310 (120)	0 (0)	0.02%	37°55′44″N 100°20′46″W / 37.92889°N 100.34611°W / 37.92889; -100.34611
Ingalls	34250		646	2 (5)	349 (135)	0 (0)	0.03%	37°47′43″N 100°30′23″W / 37.79528°N 100.50639°W / 37.79528; -100.50639
Logan	41900		216	1 (2)	309 (119)	0 (0)	0.04%	37°55′20″N 100°33′52″W / 37.92222°N 100.56444°W / 37.92222; -100.56444
Montezuma	47900	Montezuma	1,625	3 (8)	514 (198)	0 (0)	0.07%	37°35′56″N 100°26′11″W / 37.59889°N 100.43639°W / 37.59889; -100.43639
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.