Finney County, Kansas

Finney County (county code FI) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020, 38,470 people lived there.^[1] Its county seat is Garden City. Its biggest city is also Garden City.^[2]

Finney County Historical Museum in Garden City is located in Finnup Park.

Finney County
County
Finney County Courthouse in Garden City (2015)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°57′38″N 100°51′21″W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 22, 1883
Named for	David W. Finney
Seat	Garden City
Largest city	Garden City
Area
• Total	1,303 sq mi (3,370 km2)
• Land	1,302 sq mi (3,370 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (2 km2)  0.05%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	38,470
• Density	29.5/sq mi (11.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	FinneyCounty.org

History

Finney County was created around 1880. It was called Buffalo County and Sequoyah County. They were named after Sequoyah, the Cherokee Indian responsible for the creation of the Cherokee alphabet. The two counties were renamed Finney County. It was named after Lieutenant Governor David Wesley Finney.^[3]

Charles "Buffalo" Jones was the first member of the Kansas House of Representatives from Finney County. He tried to stop the buffalo from extinction.^[4]

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 1,303 square miles (3,370 km²). Of that, 1,302 square miles (3,370 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (0.05%) is water.^[5] It is the second-largest county in Kansas by area.

Demographics

Census	Pop.		%±
1890	4,231		—
1900	3,469		−18.0%
1910	6,908		99.1%
1920	7,674		11.1%
1930	11,014		43.5%
1940	10,092		−8.4%
1950	15,092		49.5%
1960	16,093		6.6%
1970	18,947		17.7%
1980	23,825		25.7%
1990	33,070		38.8%
2000	40,523		22.5%
2010	36,776		−9.2%
2020	38,470		4.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[1]

Population pyramid

Finney County is included in the Garden City, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

2020 Census

The 2020 census says that there were 38,470 people living in Finney County. They made up 13,064 households. Of the people in the county, 51.7% were Hispanic or Latino, 37.7% were non-Hispanic White, 3.9% were non-Hispanic Asian, 3.5% were non-Hispanic Black, and 3.1% were other races or ethnicities.^[10]

Government

Presidential election results

Finney County has often supported Republican presidential candidates. The last time it supported a Democrat was in 1976. This was when Jimmy Carter won the county by only 102 votes.

Presidential election results

Presidential election results^[11]

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	61.1% 7,236	36.5% 4,325	2.4% 285
2016	61.7% 6,350	31.1% 3,195	7.2% 740
2012	68.5% 6,219	29.5% 2,682	2.0% 183
2008	66.9% 6,926	31.6% 3,275	1.5% 153
2004	75.3% 7,479	23.7% 2,351	1.0% 103
2000	70.4% 6,442	26.6% 2,431	3.0% 277
1996	65.4% 6,188	25.6% 2,420	9.0% 849
1992	48.3% 5,278	23.9% 2,612	27.8% 3,043
1988	60.1% 5,381	38.1% 3,408	1.8% 158
1984	73.1% 6,938	25.9% 2,458	1.0% 98
1980	58.6% 4,831	32.6% 2,689	8.8% 726
1976	48.4% 3,711	49.7% 3,813	1.9% 143
1972	65.7% 4,335	31.2% 2,062	3.1% 205
1968	52.1% 3,295	39.9% 2,521	8.0% 507
1964	37.4% 2,201	61.9% 3,639	0.7% 43
1960	59.6% 3,720	39.9% 2,490	0.5% 30
1956	66.9% 3,576	32.8% 1,752	0.4% 20
1952	72.3% 4,290	26.9% 1,597	0.8% 45
1948	50.0% 2,508	47.2% 2,367	2.8% 140
1944	58.2% 2,366	41.0% 1,667	0.8% 32
1940	53.4% 2,349	46.1% 2,027	0.6% 24
1936	40.9% 1,863	58.8% 2,682	0.3% 13
1932	47.0% 2,116	51.1% 2,300	1.9% 84
1928	76.7% 2,433	22.3% 709	1.0% 32
1924	61.7% 1,753	21.6% 614	16.7% 476
1920	69.0% 1,573	27.1% 619	3.9% 89
1916	42.8% 1,238	47.3% 1,370	10.0% 288
1912	18.0% 283	36.4% 573	45.7% 719[a]
1908	61.5% 1,000	33.9% 551	4.7% 76
1904	66.8% 598	24.0% 215	9.2% 82
1900	59.9% 525	38.3% 336	1.8% 16
1896	57.9% 505	41.9% 366	0.2% 2
1892	58.3% 478		41.7% 342
1888	63.0% 694	31.6% 348	5.5% 60

Education

Unified school districts

• Holcomb USD 363
• Garden City USD 457

Communities

2005 KDOT Map of Finney County (map legend)

Cities

• Garden City
• Holcomb