Released: January 18, 2002

Reports Details Economic, Social Health Indicators for Every Kansas County

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State University Research and Extension’s Office of Local Government has released the 2002 Situation and Trends reports for each Kansas county.

Ranking counties against statewide averages, the reports highlight the direction of the county by using long-term economic and social health indicators. The information outlined in the report includes county’s population, income, economy, housing, household composition, education, health, social environment, public finance and agriculture, said Janet Griesel, an Extension associate at K-State.

"The information was originally produced for Extension agents to use with program planning," Griesel said. "Now, we feel the audience is much wider."

The data can assist local officials making decisions, community organizations applying for grants or citizens curious about changes in their counties, Griesel said.

The last edition was released in 1999. Designed for readers to evaluate their county’s current situation and performance over time , the 2002 edition incorporates data from Census 2000 and a variety of other sources.

"We tried to condense a large quantity of data into a limited number of easy to understand indicators " she said. "Our goal was to make the information as user-friendly as possible "

Booklets for each Kansas county are available at county Extension offices. Downloadable formats of the complete reports are posted on the Direct Resource Referral Service website at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/direct/Sit&Trends.htm.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Lucas Shivers, Communications Assistant, Communications Assistant
lshivers@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News