Population up slightly in the county

The population of Holton and Jackson County is growing — maybe not by leaps and bounds, but enough to show an upward trend in the county’s population from 2022 to 2023.

That’s according to the latest data released by the Kansas Division of Budget, which certifies populations of cities, counties and townships on July 1 of each year to determine the amount of state governmental assistance provided annually to local government units, it was reported.

According to the most recent data for 2023, released this past July 1, Jackson County’s population increased by 82 residents, from 13,286 in 2022 to 13,368 in 2023, an increase of 0.6 percent. That was greater than last year’s report, which noted the county had grown by 25 residents, or 0.2 percent. In comparison, the county’s population was listed at 13,232 in the 2020 federal census.

Holton also saw modest growth from 2022 to 2023, according to the state’s annual report, which listed the city’s population of 3,373 in 2022 increasing by nine, or 0.3 percent, to 3,382 in 2023. Last year’s report saw the city’s 2022 population growing by 44, or 1.3 percent.

The largest population increase was noted in Hoyt, where the state report listed an increase of six residents from 2022, when the city’s population was 589, to 2023, when the population was listed at 595 — an increase of a full percentage point. In 2022, Hoyt was reported as experiencing a population decrease of 10, of 1.7 percent, from 2021.

Four of Jackson County’s cities did not see any population changes from 2022 to 2023, according to this year’s report, which noted unchanged numbers for Circleville at 153, Denison at 144, Soldier at 103 and Whiting at 195. With the exception of Soldier, those cities experienced slight population declines from 2021 to 2022, it was reported.

The entire state of Kansas saw a growth rate of 0.1 percent from 2022, when the state’s population was listed at 2,937,150, to 2023, when the population was listed at 2,940,546, an increase of 3,396 residents. The 2020 federal census listed the state’s population at 2,937,880, it was reported.

This year’s report noted that the greatest increases in population from 2022 to 2023 could be found in areas around the state’s largest cities, as more people moved into the suburban areas of Johnson, Miami and Douglas counties in northeastern Kansas and into Sedgwick County, which contains Wichita, in the south-central part of the state.

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