Because there are quite a few people attending college in Hays, it is thought of as a college town. To the benefit of the many students in the area, Hays provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards their needs and activities.
Hays, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 12.39 minutes getting to work every day.
Being a small city, Hays does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
Hays is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 43.01% of adults in Hays have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.
The per capita income in Hays in 2022 was $32,508, which is middle income relative to Kansas and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $130,032 for a family of four. However, Hays contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
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 Russian.
The most common language spoken in Hays is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
