ELLSWORTH ? Once it claimed to be the wickedest cowtown of the West. It had days of boom and bust, and it settled into being one of the scores of small towns in Kansas.

Much of the economy has been tied to wheat and cattle, but in recent years companies and small industries set up shop. But the big economic boost was the Ellsworth Correctional Facility that opened in 1988.

A corrections department employee patrols outside the fence of the Ellsworth Correctional Facility in Ellsworth. The prison has been cited as a major factor in Ellsworth County's jump in median household income between 1990 and 2000.

“We’ve had a lot of businesses that have flourished in the last 10 years, but the biggest would be the prison,” said Ellsworth County Clerk Jan Andrews. “It brought higher-paying jobs and jobs period.”

Even so, it came as a surprise to many that Ellsworth County led the state with highest percentage increase of median household income.

Based on Census Bureau data from 1990 and 2000, Ellsworth County saw a 78.3 percent increase in median household income. The statewide increase was 48.9 percent.

“It takes me by surprise. I would not have guessed it. There’s got to be a mistake somewhere,” said Lewis McAtee, chairman and CEO of Citizens State Bank and Trust Co.

McAtee then looked at the census numbers along with an associate, jotted down a few numbers and concluded things may not be that out of whack.

Explaining it

“You know, our bank has grown by $12 million in assets over the last decade, and that money had to come from somewhere, so maybe it is right,” McAtee said.

He recalled that 1989 was a drought year so 1990 figures might have been down somewhat.

“We had two or three bumper crops of wheat and milo previous to this year, and cattle prices haven’t been bad either,” he said of the 2000 figures.

Another consideration is more retired people and families with young children are moving into the Ellsworth area, adding to the income level, he said.

In simplest terms, median household income is an indicator of an area’s prosperity. It is the income level where exactly half of the households are above and the other half below.

“Most people think looking at median income is more accurate because it avoids distortions,” said Pat Oslund, a Kansas University Policy Research Institute economist.

She noted the census figures weren’t adjusted for inflation, but she said that didn’t matter in ranking counties since all would have the same adjustment.

Since 1990, the number of full-time employees at the prison went from 185 to 223 to be the county’s top employer. Since opening, the facility expanded from a capacity of 516 to 832 inmates.

Income up, households down

The prison’s total spending, much of it salaries, jumped from $6.5 million to a current $10.5 million. Currently, the starting salary for a correctional officer is $25,521.

Several factors seem to have converged to give Ellsworth County this little piece of statistical distinction.

Median household income went from $20,064 to $34,772 while the number of households declined by 15 to 2,495 during the same period. Per capita income total income divided by total population went from $9,801 to $16,569.

Fewer households coupled with more people making more money pushes up the median household income.

“For a typical household, an increase in median income is an increase in monetary prosperity, but you have to consider how hard people are working to achieve that median income,” Oslund said.

‘Snowball’ effect

Andrews said while she was glad to have the prison in her county, she also liked the idea of other employers. She noted that a valve manufacturer has about 160 workers and a nursing home employs around 105.

“They are small, but they are there, and most pay good money for this area,” she said. “I’m glad we have it because if one place closed, it won’t have as big of an impact as if there was just one big plant.”

Bob Homolka, Ellsworth mayor for 20 years, has seen how times have changed over the years.

“In these small towns, it use to be just the husband worked,” Homolka said. “Now you have two incomes in a household, and that makes a lot of difference.”

Gary Urbenek, president of Ellsworth County Economic Development Inc., said the prison and other industries in the area have helped.

“I know people who were living on minimum wage and now they are living a whole lot better,” Urbenek said. “There standard of living and quality of life has improved. This is a snowball rolling down the hill fairly nicely.”