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

Home to Ionia

Jewell 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. Jewell County is home to Center Township and Mankato. Unemployment was 5.0% in August 2026, against 2.9% in 2019. Next door, Cloud County has 202 MW of planned generation. Employers here counted 701 jobs in 2025, down 7.9% from 2019. Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc is the largest utility serving Jewell County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.29¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.97¢ median for Kansas utilities.

-7.9%
total jobs since 2019, now 701

14.29¢
per kWh for Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc residential customers, 2024

2,830
residents, 2025

## Cities and towns in Jewell County

Jewell County is home to Center Township and Mankato.

Center Township908 residents
Mankato803 residents
Buffalo Township428 residents
Jewell345 residents
Burr Oak Township194 residents
Grant Township167 residents
Prairie Township146 residents
Burr Oak136 residents
Esbon Township125 residents
Jackson Township107 residents
Formoso90 residents
Randall84 residents
Esbon67 residents
Montana Township67 residents
Athens Township63 residents
Walnut Township60 residents
Calvin Township55 residents
Washington Township55 residents
Sinclair Township53 residents
Ionia Township52 residents

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Ionia.

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 Jewell County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kansas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 2,928 | 2,830 | ▼ 3.3% | 82nd of 105 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 761 | 701 | ▼ 7.9% | 92nd of 105 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $30,282 | $37,565 | ▲ 24.1% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.9% | 5.0% | ▲ 2.1pts | — |

2,830 people live here, down 3.3% since 2020.

## Who powers Jewell County

### Utilities with service territory in Jewell County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 13,273 | 14.29¢ | 28% |
| City of Mankato - (KS) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rolling Hills Electric Coop | — | — | — | — | — |
| WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration | Federal | Bundled | — | — | 0% |

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

No operating power plant is located in Jewell County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere.

## The Jewell County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 701 | $37,565 | 1.00 |

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 Jewell County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Jewell County. Kansas has 24 local measures on record statewide.

## Jewell County and its neighbors

Of the 7 counties that border Jewell County, Cloud 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewell County | 2,830 | ▼ 7.9% | — | — | — | — |
| Cloud County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/cloud-county) | 8,833 | ▲ 2.0% | 201 MW | 202 MW | — | — |
| Mitchell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/mitchell-county) | 5,590 | ▼ 1.4% | 21 MW | — | 1 | — |
| Nuckolls County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/nuckolls-county) NE | 4,100 | ▲ 10.0% | 1 MW | — | — | — |
| Osborne County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/osborne-county) | 3,285 | ▼ 15.8% | 7 MW | — | — | — |
| Republic County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/republic-county) | 4,640 | ▲ 5.3% | 653 MW | 6 MW | — | — |
| Smith County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/smith-county) | 3,566 | ▲ 2.1% | — | — | — | — |
| Webster County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/webster-county) NE | 3,336 | ▲ 1.7% | 347 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Kansas

[All Kansas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas)[Cloud County8,833 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/cloud-county)[Mitchell County5,590 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/mitchell-county)[Republic County4,640 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/republic-county)[Smith County3,566 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/smith-county)[Osborne County3,285 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/osborne-county)

## Jewell County, answered from the record

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

4 utilities have service territory in Jewell County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc, City of Mankato - (KS), Rolling Hills Electric Coop, WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration. The largest, Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc, charged residential customers 14.29¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### Are there data centers in Jewell County?

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

### Is Jewell County adding jobs?

Employers counted 701 jobs in 2025 against 761 in 2019 (-7.9%, BLS QCEW).

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

No county-level measure is on record for Jewell 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/jewell-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/).