Hays is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Hays enrolled in college, Hays has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.
Hays, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Hays spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 12.23 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
As is often the case in a small city, Hays doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The education level of Hays ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Hays, 43.85% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.
The per capita income in Hays in 2022 was $33,310, which is middle income relative to Kansas and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $133,240 for a family of four. However, Hays contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Hays is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Hays home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Hays residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Hays include German, Irish, English, Italian, and European.
The most common language spoken in Hays is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
