Lawrence grows, Liberal shrinks: How Kansas cities’ populations have changed since 2020

New residents have flocked to Kansas’ bigger cities since the pandemic began, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows .

The Star analyzed population change data for 18 Kansas metropolitan areas between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2023, to get a better idea of what cities and towns Kansans are leaving — and where they’re heading.

The city with the largest population growth over the just-over-three-year period was Lawrence, with an increase of 1.49%. The largest decrease was seen in Liberal, which experienced a 3.61% population decline between 2020 and 2023.

Here’s a closer look at which areas of the Sunflower State have grown and shrunk in recent years.

Which Kansas metro areas are growing the fastest?

Census data shows a migration trend into Kansas’ larger cities during the pandemic. After Lawrence, the metro areas that saw the biggest population increases were Kansas City with 1.19% growth and Wichita with 0.68% growth.

As of last July, Lawrence was the sixth-largest city in Kansas, with a population of around 120,500. Wichita, a metro area home to around 653,000 people, is Kansas’ largest city. And the Census data doesn’t differentiate between Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. The KC area’s combined population last summer was around 2.2 million people.

Only two other Kansas metro areas saw population growth during this time frame — and they were both under one half of 1%.

The Ottawa area saw growth of 0.48%, while the Emporia area grew by just 0.19%.

Which Kansas metro areas are shrinking the fastest?

Most of Kansas’ smaller cities — classified as “micropolitan” areas by the Census — saw their populations decline between April 2020 and July 2023.

The largest population decrease was in Liberal, which saw a 3.61% decline. The next largest were in Garden City at 2.19%, Great Bend at 2.08% and Atchison at 1.91%.

Overall, Kansas’ estimated population stayed almost exactly the same over the course of the pandemic. Census data shows that between April 2020 and July 2023, the state added only around 2,700 people to its population — an increase of 0.092%. That’s less than one new person for every 1,000 residents.

Do you have more questions about population or demographic changes in the metro? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com .