State food-access profile · 105 counties

Food access in Kansas

How far Kansas residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

26.4%
low-access pop.: 139
food-desert tracts: 6.8%
on SNAP: 105
counties

The statewide picture

About 753K Kansas residents - 26.4% - live in a low-access area, and 139 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

753K
low-access residents: 241K
food-desert residents: 5.1%
households, no vehicle: 11.3%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Kansas stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Kansas is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Kansas against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 105 counties and 2.9M residents, Kansas's population-weighted low-access share is 26.4%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 139 tracts in Kansas, home to roughly 241K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 6.8% of households, and 5.1% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

105

Counties

26.4%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

753K

Low-access residents

6.8%

Avg. SNAP

Clark

100
Gove

97.4
Chase

93.7
Sherman

78.3
Thomas

67.1
Coffey

59.1
Riley

53.5
Meade

51

All counties in Kansas

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Clark County	2K	100.0%	4.8%	2.9%	9.9%
Gove County	3K	97.4%	2.7%	1.5%	5.1%
Chase County	3K	93.7%	5.6%	4.9%	8.4%
Sherman County	6K	78.3%	3.5%	3.4%	10.2%
Thomas County	8K	67.1%	3.8%	3.8%	6.5%
Coffey County	8K	59.1%	8.6%	5.2%	10.7%
Riley County	72K	53.5%	6.7%	4.0%	19.9%
Meade County	4K	51.0%	6.5%	4.6%	11.0%
Washington County	6K	50.7%	5.4%	2.4%	9.3%
Greenwood County	6K	48.5%	12.2%	5.6%	13.9%
Franklin County	26K	47.2%	5.7%	3.1%	8.7%
Cherokee County	19K	46.4%	13.1%	4.9%	14.1%
Leavenworth County	83K	45.8%	5.6%	4.8%	8.8%
Gray County	6K	45.5%	2.2%	2.3%	8.5%
Kingman County	7K	42.4%	6.5%	4.8%	10.3%
Wabaunsee County	7K	41.8%	4.6%	2.6%	8.5%
Kiowa County	2K	39.7%	4.3%	2.7%	5.9%
Phillips County	5K	39.2%	6.2%	4.5%	15.4%
Brown County	9K	37.7%	11.6%	4.7%	13.8%
Smith County	4K	37.4%	5.6%	3.9%	7.3%
Geary County	36K	36.9%	9.2%	6.2%	18.0%
Elk County	2K	36.8%	7.3%	7.2%	10.4%
Cloud County	9K	36.7%	5.0%	6.5%	10.0%
Chautauqua County	3K	36.6%	14.0%	4.0%	14.9%
Marshall County	10K	36.6%	3.8%	4.5%	11.3%
Rawlins County	3K	35.7%	9.3%	2.1%	6.8%
Pawnee County	6K	35.0%	2.5%	7.1%	11.5%
Barton County	25K	34.4%	7.0%	4.5%	15.4%
Sheridan County	2K	34.4%	4.1%	2.1%	8.9%
Morris County	5K	33.0%	3.9%	5.9%	12.1%
Wallace County	1K	32.8%	7.2%	1.5%	12.3%
Doniphan County	8K	32.7%	7.5%	2.7%	9.6%
Mitchell County	6K	32.6%	5.1%	7.5%	12.2%
Cheyenne County	3K	32.0%	3.9%	2.9%	17.0%
Pratt County	9K	32.0%	5.1%	5.5%	12.3%
Hodgeman County	2K	31.9%	4.3%	3.6%	6.3%
Russell County	7K	31.7%	15.2%	2.9%	14.7%
Lincoln County	3K	31.6%	6.6%	2.9%	11.3%
Ellsworth County	6K	31.3%	6.7%	3.0%	10.4%
Clay County	8K	30.8%	7.2%	6.8%	13.4%
Nemaha County	10K	30.6%	3.3%	4.3%	9.3%
Stevens County	5K	30.5%	0.6%	3.6%	14.2%
Crawford County	39K	30.1%	11.9%	7.5%	20.6%
Rush County	3K	29.8%	6.3%	3.6%	11.1%
Reno County	62K	29.1%	8.3%	4.8%	12.5%
Wyandotte County	168K	28.9%	12.0%	6.9%	15.8%
Atchison County	16K	28.7%	10.9%	7.7%	13.0%
Cowley County	34K	28.5%	11.6%	7.0%	14.3%
Decatur County	3K	27.9%	5.1%	3.8%	12.7%
Sedgwick County	528K	27.7%	9.3%	5.7%	13.9%
Bourbon County	14K	27.5%	7.8%	4.2%	13.6%
McPherson County	30K	27.0%	2.7%	2.9%	9.5%
Butler County	68K	26.9%	6.5%	4.0%	8.5%
Ness County	3K	26.8%	3.3%	2.2%	11.2%
Jewell County	3K	26.7%	4.7%	1.8%	10.6%
Morton County	3K	26.1%	8.1%	2.6%	14.8%
Harper County	5K	25.8%	9.8%	4.6%	17.3%
Miami County	35K	25.7%	2.3%	2.2%	7.9%
Ottawa County	6K	25.7%	7.4%	3.3%	10.4%
Rice County	9K	25.5%	7.2%	3.8%	7.7%
Republic County	5K	25.4%	4.5%	5.5%	10.6%
Stafford County	4K	25.4%	3.3%	2.0%	10.5%
Montgomery County	31K	24.5%	11.7%	6.8%	15.9%
Scott County	5K	24.4%	9.0%	3.2%	6.5%
Labette County	20K	24.2%	9.3%	5.3%	16.0%
Ford County	34K	23.9%	7.4%	4.2%	14.0%
Shawnee County	178K	23.8%	9.0%	7.4%	12.7%
Marion County	12K	23.7%	6.1%	3.5%	9.2%
Osborne County	3K	23.1%	8.2%	2.3%	8.4%
Lane County	1K	22.3%	2.8%	1.6%	7.0%
Norton County	5K	22.3%	8.1%	2.5%	7.2%
Graham County	2K	22.2%	6.2%	3.4%	14.8%
Douglas County	120K	22.1%	5.3%	7.5%	14.7%
Finney County	38K	21.9%	11.4%	5.5%	11.1%
Grant County	7K	21.7%	1.4%	5.1%	9.3%
Ellis County	29K	21.4%	6.0%	3.8%	18.3%
Haskell County	4K	20.4%	2.7%	3.4%	11.2%
Jackson County	13K	20.0%	6.9%	6.1%	6.1%
Saline County	54K	20.0%	8.9%	7.0%	11.9%
Johnson County	621K	19.4%	2.0%	3.5%	5.4%
Wilson County	9K	19.4%	10.0%	5.6%	15.5%
Woodson County	3K	18.6%	7.4%	5.7%	12.4%
Anderson County	8K	18.5%	5.2%	7.2%	11.0%
Logan County	3K	18.2%	7.9%	4.7%	15.0%
Trego County	3K	18.0%	5.3%	2.6%	5.5%
Comanche County	2K	17.8%	7.5%	3.4%	9.2%
Lyon County	32K	17.5%	6.5%	5.7%	14.6%
Linn County	10K	16.0%	8.3%	5.0%	8.4%
Edwards County	3K	15.7%	4.5%	6.1%	18.9%
Seward County	21K	15.6%	9.8%	9.6%	12.2%
Hamilton County	2K	15.5%	2.9%	1.7%	7.0%
Allen County	12K	15.4%	9.3%	7.7%	9.9%
Rooks County	5K	14.5%	3.6%	6.4%	5.5%
Neosho County	16K	14.4%	9.7%	4.6%	13.1%
Osage County	16K	14.1%	7.2%	3.0%	9.7%
Dickinson County	18K	14.0%	5.7%	4.7%	8.1%
Greeley County	1K	13.8%	2.0%	4.4%	7.1%
Sumner County	22K	13.6%	9.9%	6.2%	10.6%
Barber County	4K	11.5%	2.8%	3.3%	11.8%
Wichita County	2K	11.5%	5.7%	4.4%	16.5%
Pottawatomie County	26K	10.5%	4.4%	1.7%	6.7%
Stanton County	2K	10.5%	4.9%	6.8%	1.5%
Kearny County	4K	8.8%	5.5%	2.0%	4.5%
Harvey County	34K	4.1%	5.7%	4.5%	8.2%
Jefferson County	18K	1.1%	3.0%	4.2%	5.6%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

26.4% of Kansas residents, about 753K people, live in a low-access area.
139 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 241K low-income, low-access residents.
6.8% of households receive SNAP, and 5.1% have no vehicle.
Clark County has the state's highest low-access share at 100.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Kansas has low food access?▼

26.4% of Kansas residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Kansas?▼

139 census tracts in Kansas are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 241K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Kansas?▼

Across Kansas counties, an average of 6.8% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Kansas has the worst food access?▼

Clark County has the highest low-access share in Kansas at 100.0%, with 4.8% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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