3,339 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.2% since 2020)
639 square miles of land · 5 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
10 active community water systems list Chautauqua County in the area they serve, reporting 2,840 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| SEDAN, CITY OF buys surface water · local government · KS2001903 | 1,005 served |
| CEDAR VALE, CITY OF buys surface water · local government · KS2001902 | 475 served |
| CHAUTAUQUA CO RWD 4 buys surface water · local government · KS2001911 | 475 served |
| CHAUTAUQUA CO RWD 2 buys surface water · local government · KS2001908 | 278 served |
| CHAUTAUQUA CO RWD 3 buys surface water · local government · KS2001909 | 200 served |
| CHAUTAUQUA CO RWD 1 buys surface water · local government · KS2001905 | 135 served |
| CHAUTAUQUA, CITY OF buys surface water · local government · KS2001907 | 110 served |
| PERU, CITY OF buys surface water · local government · KS2001906 | 105 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 10 people were held in Chautauqua County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 517 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 7.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
2 school districts have their office in Chautauqua County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $6.9 million — $6.7 million to run schools, about $16,867 per student, plus $206,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $913,000 local (mostly property tax), $5.5 million state, $927,000 federal.
Spent $3.2 million — $2.7 million to run schools, about $18,020 per student, plus $499,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $367,000 local (mostly property tax), $2.1 million state, $549,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Chautauqua County about $4.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
130 bridges in Chautauqua County: 55 in good condition, 62 fair, and 13 poor (10.0%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| OL US166 C.1-14 over CANEY RIVER OVERFLOW · built 1930 | 1,095 vehicles a day |
| RS 97 over STREAM · built 1983 | 145 vehicles a day |
| A8150 Heritage Rd over CEDAR CREEK · built 1930 | 50 vehicles a day |
| S3132 W County Rd over DEER CREEK · built 1930 | 50 vehicles a day |
| Road 30 over LAKE CREEK · built 1940 | 50 vehicles a day |
| 31st Road over STREAM · built 1930 | 50 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2.4 million of work in Chautauqua County in fiscal 2025, about $718 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Kansas are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Chautauqua County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Chautauqua County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Kansas: the state government and every county in Kansas.
Nearby counties: Elk County (21 mi) · Montgomery County (28 mi) · Cowley County (33 mi) · Washington County, OK (36 mi) · Osage County, OK (38 mi) · Wilson County (39 mi).