Saline County is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is Salina. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 54,303. The county was named after the Saline River.

History

Early history

For many millennia, the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1848, after the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

with Spain brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas. In 1854, the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th

19th century

In 1860, Saline County was founded.

20th century

Saline County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1994.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Ottawa County (north) * Dickinson County (east) * Marion County (southeast) * McPherson County (south) * Ellsworth County (west) * Lincoln County (northwest)

Demographics

Saline County is part of the Salina Micropolitan Statistical Area.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 53,597 people, 21,436 households, and 14,212 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,695 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.17%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.10%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.52% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.33% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. 6.02% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 21,436 households in the county, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,308, and the median income for a family was $46,362. Males had a median income of $31,509 versus $22,047 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $19,073. About 6.00% of families and 8.80% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Board of Commissioners

Saline County is governed by a

Board of Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to five ...

. The commission enacts the annual budget for the county, currently set at about $38,000,000, creates policy to be implemented by the county administrator, approves contracts, and oversees legislation relating to the health, safety, and well-being of the county's citizens. The Board of Commissioners has three members, one elected from each of the three commission districts. Commissioners are elected on a partisan basis. The districts are reapportioned every three years, with the three districts being equally populated. Term lengths are four years. Current representatives on the Board of Commissioners are John Price (District 3; vice chairman), Monte Shadwick (District 1; secretary), and Jim Gile (District 2; chairman). In 2014, citizens voted to change the number of commissioners from three to five. The group, “Drive for Five”, successfully campaigned for better representation of the people. Monte Shadwick defeated incumbent commissioner Randy Duncan, who finished last in a three-way race. Governor

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...

was tasked with appointing the two new commission members that will serve for two years and then be up for election by the people. On January 12, 2015, Luci Larson and Dave Smith were appointed to the newly created 4th and 5th Districts.

County administrator

The county administrator is hired by the Board of Commissioners and is the administrative officer for the county. The administrator is responsible for researching administrative and operational issues and then presenting suggestions for improvement in government efficiency to the Board of Commissioners and for reviewing all requests for action brought to the Board of Commissioners. The county administrator also implements policies enacted by the Board of Commissioners, prepares the annual budget, and "supervises accounts payable, payroll, human resource division and central purchasing for the county." As needed, the county administrator will represent the county on boards and commissions. The current county administrator is Andrew Manley.

Presidential elections

Saline County is a Republican stronghold: the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964, who was also the last Democrat to carry the state's electoral votes. Saline has voted for the statewide winner in every presidential election since 1872, including for James Weaver in 1892.

Laws

The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 55% to 45% despite backing

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

with 64% of the vote to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 33% in the 2020 presidential election.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus in Salina * Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina * Salina Area Technical College in Salina

Unified school districts

* Salina USD 305 * Southeast of Saline USD 306 * Ell-Saline USD 307 ;School district office in neighboring county * Twin Valley USD 240 * Solomon USD 393 * Smoky Valley USD 400

Private schools

St. John's Military School St. John's Military School, located in Salina, Kansas, was a private boarding school, boarding military school for male students from grades 6 to 12. It aimed to develop students' academic and leadership skills in a "military environment" overse ...

* Sacred Heart High School

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Saline County.

Cities

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county. * Assaria * Brookville *

Gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

* New Cambria * Salina (county seat) * Smolan *

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

‡

Unincorporated communities

† means a community is designated a

Census-Designated Place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) by the

. *

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

† *

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

† *

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

† * Glendale * Hedville *

Kipp The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) is a network of tuition-free, open-enrollment college-preparatory public charter schools serving students in historically underserved communities across the United States. Founded in 1994 by Mike Feinber ...

† *

Mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

† * Salemsborg * Shipton * Trenton

Townships

Saline County is divided into eighteen townships. The city of Salina is considered ''governmentally independent'' and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

References

External links

;County *
Saline County - Directory of Public Officials
;Maps * Saline County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
Current19961915
KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{coord, 38, 47, N, 97, 40, W, type:adm2nd_region:US-KS, display=title Kansas counties 1860 establishments in Kansas Territory Salina, Kansas micropolitan area Populated places established in 1860