Ottawa, KS

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

2024 Population

26,106

US Senator

Jerry Moran

Republican Party

US Senator

Roger Marshall

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

39.7

0.998% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

8.67%

10.1% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$77,207

7.02% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

Population & Diversity

Ottawa, KS is home to a population of 26.1k people, from which 98.9% are citizens.

As of 2024, 2% of Ottawa, KS residents were born outside of the country (522 people).

In 2024, there were 32.4 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (23.2k people) in Ottawa, KS than any other race or ethnicity. There were 717 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 510 Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.9%

2024 Citizenship

99%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.9% of Ottawa, KS residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Ottawa, KS was 99%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Ottawa, KS compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Ottawa, KS

White (Non-Hispanic)
23.2k ± 154
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
717 ± 143
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
510 ± 123

4.84%

Hispanic Population

1.26k people

4.84% of the people in Ottawa, KS are hispanic (1.26k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Ottawa, KS as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Kansas.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
84,373 ± 7,029 people
India
14,412 ± 2,940 people
Vietnam
10,201 ± 2,475 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Kansas was Mexico, the natal country of 84,373 Kansas residents, followed by India with 14,412 and Vietnam with 10,201.

Foreign-Born Population

2024 Foreign-Born Population

522 people

2.14%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

556 people

As of 2024, 2% of Ottawa, KS residents (522 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Ottawa, KS was 2.14%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Ottawa, KS compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Gulf War (2001-)
551 ± 205
Vietnam
532 ± 241
Gulf War (1990s)
174 ± 82

Ottawa, KS has a large population of military personnel who served in Gulf War (2001-), 1.04 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Ottawa, KS.

Economy

The economy of Ottawa, KS employs 13.3k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Ottawa, KS were Retail Trade (1,930 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (1,739 people), and Manufacturing (1,340 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($104,770), Information ($80,469), and Public Administration ($72,612).

Employment

Occupations

13.3k

2024 Value

± 798

−0.819%

1 Year decline

± 8.58%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Ottawa, KS declined at a rate of −0.819%, from 13.4k employees to 13.3k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Ottawa, KS, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,447 people), Sales & Related Occupations (1,331 people), and Management Occupations (1,059 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Ottawa, KS.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Kansas.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Kansas (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

13.3k

2024 Value

± 798

−0.819%

1 Year decline

± 8.58%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Ottawa, KS declined at a rate of −0.819%, from 13.4k employees to 13.3k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Ottawa, KS, are Retail Trade (1,930 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (1,739 people), and Manufacturing (1,340 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Ottawa, KS, though some of these residents may live in Ottawa, KS and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$52,605

Median earning men ± $2,985

$36,708

Median earning women ± $2,665

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Information ($87,969), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($79,833), and Public Administration ($77,607).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Construction ($72,083), Wholesale Trade ($57,550), and Manufacturing ($45,833).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Kansas.

Y-Axis

3.11%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.44M people employed in Kansas. This represents a 3.11% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.9%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Kansas.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

53
Construction
45
Other Services (except Public Administration)
26
Health Care and Social Assistance

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$137k
Transportation and Warehousing
$57.7k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$42.8k
Manufacturing

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

The student population of Ottawa, KS in 2024 is skewed towards men, with 615 male students and 384 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Ottawa, KS are White (99 and 53.5%), Hispanic or Latino (33 and 17.8%), Black or African American (28 and 15.1%), and Asian (11 and 5.95%).

The largest universities in Ottawa, KS by number of degrees awarded are Ottawa University-Ottawa (196 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Ottawa, KS are General Business Administration & Management (55 and 28.1%), Kinesiology & Exercise Science (24 and 12.2%), and Applied Psychology (18 and 9.18%).

The median tuition cost for private four year colleges is $32,380.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Ottawa, KS, the percentage of applicants admitted was 83%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 14.1%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 999 (61.6% men and 38.4% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 999 students enrolled in Ottawa, KS, 61.6% men and 38.4% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 487 records, of which 42.7% were women and 57.3% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Business Administration & Management
24 degrees awarded
Kinesiology & Exercise Science
24 degrees awarded
Applied Psychology
18 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Ottawa, KS was General Business Administration & Management with 24 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Ottawa, KS according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Ottawa University-Ottawa

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

196 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Ottawa University-Ottawa with 196 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 116 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Ottawa, KS, which is 1.45 times more than the 80 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 99 degrees mean that there were 3 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 33 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($32,380) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($3,500) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($1,200) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Ottawa, KS was $198,700 in 2024, which is 0.597 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $187,400 to $198,700, a 6.03% increase. The homeownership rate in Ottawa, KS is 72.2%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Ottawa, KS have an average commute time of 23.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Ottawa, KS is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$198,700

Median Property Value 2024

±$14,900

$7,518

Median Property Taxes

±$559

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Ottawa, KS the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Ottawa, KS compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

72.2%

Homeownership

2024

61.7%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 72.2% of the housing units in Ottawa, KS were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 73.5%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Ottawa, KS compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$77,207

Median Household Income

± $6,413

10.4k

Number of Households

± 717

In 2024, the median household income of the 10.4k households in Ottawa, KS grew to $77,207 from the previous year's value of $72,142.

The following chart displays the households in Ottawa, KS distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Ottawa, KS is from Kansas.

0.459

2024 Wage GINI in Kansas

0.458

2023 Wage GINI in Kansas

In 2024, the income inequality in Kansas was 0.459 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.185% growth from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat less even. The GINI for Kansas was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Kansas in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Kansas across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (75.7%)
Worked At Home (9.88%)
Carpooled (9.13%)

In 2024, 75.7% of workers in Ottawa, KS drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (9.88%) and those who carpooled to work (9.13%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

23.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Ottawa, KS have a shorter commute time (23.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.47% of the workforce in Ottawa, KS have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Ottawa, KS compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Ottawa, KS distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Ottawa, KS have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

8.67% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Ottawa, KS (2.21k out of 25.5k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 75+ and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Ottawa, KS is White, followed by Hispanic and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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