# Jefferson County, Kansas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Rock Creek Township, Oskaloosa Township and Delaware Township

Jefferson County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Construction employs 879, up 85.1% since 2019, and construction is 4.3 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. Jefferson County is home to Rock Creek Township, Oskaloosa Township, Delaware Township and Fairview Township. Next door, Shawnee County has 2 data centers. Unemployment was 4.2% in August 2026, against 3.2% in 2019. 1 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar.

4.3×
the U.S. share of jobs in construction

+3.5%
total jobs since 2019, now 3,824

1 MW
of operating power plants, mostly solar

## Cities and towns in Jefferson County

Jefferson County is home to Rock Creek Township, Oskaloosa Township, Delaware Township and Fairview Township.

Rock Creek Township2,773 residents
Oskaloosa Township2,145 residents
Delaware Township1,785 residents
Fairview Township1,660 residents
Union Township1,646 residents
Ozawkie Township1,638 residents
Kentucky Township1,546 residents
Kaw Township1,402 residents
Jefferson Township1,063 residents
Oskaloosa1,060 residents
Valley Falls1,055 residents
Sarcoxie Township1,000 residents
Perry848 residents
Norton Township839 residents
McLouth832 residents
Rural Township799 residents
Meriden709 residents
Ozawkie617 residents
Nortonville579 residents
Winchester440 residents

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Grantville, Williamstown.

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Jefferson County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kansas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 18,330 | 18,296 | ▼ 0.2% | 30th of 105 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 3,693 | 3,824 | ▲ 3.5% | 32nd of 105 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $37,269 | $56,326 | ▲ 51.1% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 475 | 879 | ▲ 85.1% | 6th of 51 by growth |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.2% | 4.2% | ▲ 1.0pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 1 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

Employers here counted 3,824 jobs in 2025, up 3.5% from 2019. Its power plants have 1 MW of capacity, 100% of it solar. Evergy Kansas Central, Inc is the largest utility serving Jefferson County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.29¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.97¢ median for Kansas utilities. 18,296 people live here, down 0.2% since 2020.

## Who powers Jefferson County

### Utilities with service territory in Jefferson County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evergy Kansas Central, Inc | Investor Owned | Bundled | 341,806 | 14.29¢ | 44% |
| FreeState Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 17,514 | 16.41¢ | 13% |
| Brown-Atchison E C A Inc | — | — | — | — | — |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

### Operating power plants 

| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 1 MW | 100% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oskaloosa | Today's Power, Inc. | Solar | 1 MW | 2021 |

## The Jefferson County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 3,824 | $56,326 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 879 | $83,557 | 4.34 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Jefferson County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Jefferson County. Kansas has 24 local measures on record statewide, and 3 neighboring counties have one: [Douglas County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/douglas-county), [Leavenworth County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/leavenworth-county), [Shawnee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/shawnee-county).

## Jefferson County and its neighbors

Of the 5 counties that border Jefferson County, Douglas County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 18,296 | ▲ 3.5% | 1 MW | — | — | — |
| Atchison County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/atchison-county) | 16,172 | ▲ 1.8% | — | — | — | — |
| Douglas County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/douglas-county) | 120,920 | ▲ 2.3% | 540 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Jackson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/jackson-county) | 13,438 | ▲ 6.0% | 22 MW | — | — | — |
| Leavenworth County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/leavenworth-county) | 84,590 | ▲ 3.9% | — | — | — | 1 |
| Shawnee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/shawnee-county) | 178,607 | ▲ 6.3% | 8 MW | — | 2 | 1 |

## More of Kansas

[All Kansas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas)[Shawnee County178,607 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/shawnee-county)[Douglas County120,920 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/douglas-county)[Leavenworth County84,590 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/leavenworth-county)[Atchison County16,172 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/atchison-county)[Jackson County13,438 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/jackson-county)

## Jefferson County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Jefferson County, Kansas?

3 utilities have service territory in Jefferson County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, FreeState Electric Coop, Brown-Atchison E C A Inc. The largest, Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, charged residential customers 14.29¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Jefferson County?

1 operating plant with 1 MW of capacity. The largest is Oskaloosa (1 MW, solar).

### Are there data centers in Jefferson County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Jefferson County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Shawnee County.

### Is Jefferson County adding jobs?

Employers counted 3,824 jobs in 2025 against 3,693 in 2019 (+3.5%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 475 to 879.

### Does Jefferson County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Jefferson County. Kansas has 24 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/jefferson-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
