19,133 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.9% since 2020)
588 square miles of land · 33 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.
16 active community water systems list Cherokee County in the area they serve, reporting 18,273 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| BAXTER SPRINGS, CITY OF surface water · local government · KS2002109 | 3,852 served |
| COLUMBUS, CITY OF buys surface water · local government · KS2002110 | 2,882 served |
| GALENA, CITY OF buys surface water · local government · KS2002113 | 2,743 served |
| CHEROKEE CO RWD 3 buys surface water · local government · KS2002107 | 1,900 served |
| CHEROKEE CO RWD 4 groundwater · local government · KS2002102 | 1,500 served |
| CHEROKEE CO RWD 8 groundwater · local government · KS2002121 | 1,235 served |
| CHEROKEE CO RWD 2 groundwater · local government · KS2002106 | 943 served |
| CHEROKEE CO RWD 9 buys surface water · local government · KS2002120 | 900 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 65 people were held in Cherokee County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 548 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 65.
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.
4 school districts have their office in Cherokee County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $21.4 million — $13.8 million to run schools, about $14,603 per student, plus $7.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.6 million local (mostly property tax), $10.5 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.8 million.
Spent $14.8 million — $13.4 million to run schools, about $15,044 per student, plus $1.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.8 million local (mostly property tax), $11.3 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.1 million.
Spent $13.1 million — $12.3 million to run schools, about $14,881 per student, plus $658,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.4 million local (mostly property tax), $12.3 million state, $2.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.5 million.
Spent $11.3 million — $10.5 million to run schools, about $14,950 per student, plus $486,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2 million local (mostly property tax), $9.1 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.6 million.
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: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Cherokee County about $17 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
325 bridges in Cherokee County: 146 in good condition, 165 fair, and 14 poor (4.3%). “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.
| E Boston Mills Rd over SHAWNEE CREEK · built 1942 | 310 vehicles a day |
| 7TH. STREET over BRANCH OF SPRING RIVER · built 1942 | 200 vehicles a day |
| LOCAL RD. 24.2-I.4 over FOURMILE CREEK · built 1930 | 100 vehicles a day |
| W Grove Rd over BRANCH OF TAR CREEK · built 1930 | 90 vehicles a day |
| Belleview Rd over SHAWNEE CREEK · built 1970 | 65 vehicles a day |
| SW 50th/RS 1170 over DENNY BRANCH · built 1930 | 60 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $6.3 million of work in Cherokee County in fiscal 2025, about $327 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Kansas: the state government and every county in Kansas.
Nearby counties: Ottawa County, OK (23 mi) · Crawford County (23 mi) · Labette County (25 mi) · Jasper County, MO (28 mi) · Newton County, MO (33 mi) · Craig County, OK (34 mi).