photo by: Jackson Barton/Journal-World File Photo

The Douglas County Courthouse and downtown Lawrence are pictured in an aerial photo Saturday, July 13, 2019.

Douglas County still has a poverty rate above national and state averages, but over the last five years, its poverty number has posted the second largest decline of any county in Kansas, new data from the Census shows.

Douglas County finished 2023 with an overall poverty rate of 13.3%, meaning that about 14,920 residents were making less than what the federal government says individuals and families need to reasonably live.

That rate was above both the Kansas average of 11.2% and the U.S. average of 12.5%. It also was higher than all but three comparable or neighboring counties.

However, a deeper dive into the data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Program did show Douglas County to be a standout in one area. In 2018, Douglas County had an overall poverty rate of 17%. Five years later it had dropped to 13.3%.

That 3.7 percentage point drop was the second largest drop of any of Kansas’ 105 counties during the time period. Only Cloud County — home to Concordia in north central Kansas — had a larger drop, 3.9 percentage points, during the five year period.

The Census report didn’t shed any light on why Douglas County experienced a far-above-average drop in its rate — statewide the poverty rate declined by just 0.7 of a percentage point. But the drop coincides with a time period when Douglas County and the city of Lawrence invested large amounts of their federal stimulus dollars into social service and homeless service programs. Both governments have continued to invest local taxpayer dollars into those programs as well.

Douglas County Administrator Sarah Plinsky told the Journal-World via email that she couldn’t say with any certainty why Douglas County experienced an above-average drop in the poverty rate. She said the county hadn’t yet reviewed the new data, but indicated county officials would do so.

One factor that doesn’t appear to be a likely answer is rising incomes. The Census Bureau report also included new figures for median household incomes. The report found that the median income in Douglas County has increased slightly less than the statewide average since 2018. It also found Douglas County incomes grew significantly less than the national average, trailing the U.S. growth rate by 5.5 percentage points during the five-year period.

The Census report also measured poverty for children 5 to 17 years old. Douglas County has a much smaller poverty rate for children, and does come in below state and national averages in that category. Douglas County’s childhood poverty rate was 9.4% in 2023. Statewide the rate was at 12%, and 15.3% nationally. The Douglas County childhood poverty rate in 2023 was the 10th lowest among the state’s 105 counties.

Douglas County did not have as much success in reducing that rate over the last five years, as it dropped by 0.5 of a percentage point since 2018. However, the fact that Douglas County’s childhood poverty rate is less than its overall poverty rate is not the norm. Statewide, the childhood poverty rate is about 0.8 of a percentage point higher than the overall poverty rate. Among neighboring or comparable counties, most had childhood poverty rates higher than their overall poverty rates.

The report also measured childhood poverty rates for school districts across the state. The data shows that two of Douglas County’s smaller school districts had some of the lower poverty rates in the state. The Baldwin school district had a childhood poverty rate of 5.7%, which was tied for the 23rd lowest among the state’s 287 school districts. The Eudora school district had a childhood poverty rate of 6.5%, which ranked it tied for 34th lowest.

The Lawrence school district, the largest in the county, was more middle of the pack with a childhood poverty rate of 10%, tied for 89th lowest in the state. The small district that serves Lecompton and Perry was just above that at 10.3%.

While the report showed Douglas County making strong progress on reducing its poverty rate, the numbers still rank Douglas County’s overall poverty rate among the highest in the state. The 2023 numbers were the 31st highest in the state. In 2018, the county had the 8th highest poverty rate in the state.

Below-average household incomes continue to be a factor in Douglas County’s poverty environment. The latest numbers show Douglas County’s median household income is about $1,800 below the statewide average, compounded by the fact that housing costs in Lawrence are higher than the statewide average.

Douglas County’s median income continued to trail most of its neighboring counties, although not all. Douglas County’s household income is now about $5,000 higher than Shawnee County’s figure. But every other neighbor was higher than Douglas County, with even smaller, less commercial counties far exceeding Douglas County’s figures.

Douglas County’s status as a college community likely has an impact on both its median income and poverty numbers, but it has been difficult to quantify how much of an impact. Here’s a look at variety of numbers for selected counties and school districts.

This list shows the overall poverty rates for 2023 and the percentage point change since 2018 for neighboring and comparable counties. Riley County — home to Manhattan, the state’s other large college town — had the highest rate among the group. Its 18% poverty rate also was the highest among any county in the state, topping the 17.3% rate posted in both Crawford and Montgomery counties.

• Riley: 18%, down 2.7 points

• Wyandotte: 17.1%, down 1.3 points

• Sedgwick: 13.6%, up 0.2 of a point

• Douglas: 13.3%, down 3.7 points

• Shawnee: 12.6%, down 1.3 points

• Franklin: 11.1%, up 1.8 points

• Osage: 10.8%, down 1.7 points

• Jefferson: 8.3%, up 0.7 of a point

• Leavenworth: 8.3%, down 2.3 points

• Johnson: 5.3%, down 0.2 of a point

This list shows the poverty rate for children 5 to 17 years old and the percentage point changes since 2018. Wyandotte, home to Kansas City, Kan., has a far higher rate than anyone else on this list. It is fourth-highest among the 105 counties. Wallace County had the highest rate at 24.2%.

• Wyandotte: 21.5%, down 3.6 points

• Sedgwick: 14.8%, down 0.7 of a point

• Osage: 13%, down 2.9 points

• Riley: 12.5%, down 0.3 points

• Shawnee: 12.3%, down 2.9 points

• Franklin: 12%, up 0.2 of a point

• Douglas: 9.4%, down 0.5 of a point

• Jefferson: 9%, down 0.2 of a point

• Leavenworth: 8.8%, down 2.9 points

• Johnson: 4.3%, down 0.9 of a point

This list shows median household incomes and how much they have grown since 2018.

• Johnson: $103,085, up 18.4%

• Leavenworth: $83,086, up 17.3%

• Jefferson: $81,301, up 17.4%

• Osage: $69,666, up 29.3%

• Douglas: $68,561, up 20%

• Franklin: $67,883, up 17%

• Sedgwick: $67,435, up 19.6%

• Shawnee: $63,612, up 18.7%

• Riley: $63,076, up 34%

• Wyandotte: $61,088, up 29.7%

• Kansas average: $70,316, up 20.9%

• U.S. average: $77,719, up 25.5%

This list shows childhood poverty rates and the number of children in poverty for area school districts and districts in major cities in Kansas. The school district on the Fort Leavenworth Army base had the lowest childhood poverty rate in the state at 1.7%.

• Kansas City, Kan.: 24.4%, 5,753 children

• Turner-K.C.: 20%, 778 children

• Wichita: 20%, 11,154 children

• Topeka: 18%, 2,702 children

• Leavenworth: 17.5%, 782 children

• Ottawa: 13.4%, 326 children

• Manhattan: 12.2%, 898 children

• Santa Fe Trail: 11%, 112 children

• Oskaloosa: 10.7%, 63 children

• West Franklin: 10.4%, 90 children

• Perry-Lecompton: 10.3%, 90 children

• Bonner Springs: 10.2%, 293 children

• Lawrence: 10%, 1,218 children

• Jeff Co. North: 9.7%, 35 children

• McLouth: 9%, 48 children

• Seaman-Topeka: 7.2%, 272 children

• Wellsville: 7.2%, 66 children

• Eudora: 6.5%, 98 children

• Tonganoxie: 6.3%, 135 children

• Baldwin: 5.7%, 86 children

• Jeff Co. West: 5.7%, 48 children

• Shawnee Mission: 5.5%, 1,870 children

• Olathe: 4.9%, 1,524 children

• Piper-KC: 4.7%, 131 children

• Basehor-Linwood: 3.4%, 99 children

• Spring Hill: 3.0%, 122 children

• De Soto: 2.5%, 205 children

• Blue Valley-Johnson County: 2.2%, 591 children

The school district figures produced by the Census Bureau will be used by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute Title I federal funding, which provides operating assistance to schools with high-percentages of low income students.