# Ness County, Kansas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Center Township and Ness City No data center or power plant project is on record in Ness County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Ness County is home to Center Township and Ness City. Next door, Ellis County has 1 data center. Unemployment was 3.1% in August 2026, against 2.2% in 2019. Employers here counted 1,076 jobs in 2025, down 4.1% from 2019. Its power plants have 213 MW of capacity, 100% of it wind. -4.1% total jobs since 2019, now 1,076 213 MW of operating power plants, mostly wind 11.44¢ per kWh for Midwest Energy Inc - (KS) residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Ness County Ness County is home to Center Township and Ness City. Center Township1,325 residents Ness City1,313 residents Bazine Township367 residents Nevada Township355 residents Bazine268 residents Ransom257 residents Ohio Township157 residents Franklin Township112 residents Utica97 residents Forrester Township81 residents Waring Township75 residents Eden Township68 residents Johnson Township50 residents 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 Ness County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kansas | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 2,674 | 2,617 | ▼ 2.1% | 88th of 105 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,122 | 1,076 | ▼ 4.1% | 77th of 105 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $38,137 | $49,331 | ▲ 29.4% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.2% | 3.1% | ▲ 0.9pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Midwest Energy Inc - (KS) is the largest utility serving Ness County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.44¢/kWh in 2024, below the 13.97¢ median for Kansas utilities. 2,617 people live here, down 2.1% since 2020. ## Who powers Ness County ### Utilities with service territory in Ness County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Midwest Energy Inc - (KS) | Cooperative | Bundled | 29,832 | 11.44¢ | 25% | | Western Coop Electric Assn Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 5,799 | 14.17¢ | 79% | | Lane-Scott Electric Coop, 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 | |---|---|---| | Wind | 213 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Cedar Bluff Wind, LLC | Cedar Bluff Wind, LLC | Wind | 213 MW | 2015 | ## The Ness County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 1,076 | $49,331 | 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 Ness County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Ness County. Kansas has 24 local measures on record statewide. ## Ness County and its neighbors Of the 8 counties that border Ness County, Finney 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Ness County | 2,617 | ▼ 4.1% | 213 MW | — | — | — | | Ellis County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/ellis-county) | 29,075 | ▼ 0.8% | 308 MW | — | 1 | — | | Finney County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/finney-county) | 37,505 | ▲ 5.1% | 635 MW | — | — | — | | Gove County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/gove-county) | 2,631 | ▼ 11.9% | 3 MW | — | — | — | | Hodgeman County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/hodgeman-county) | 1,619 | ▲ 3.7% | 2 MW | — | — | — | | Lane County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/lane-county) | 1,508 | ▼ 7.9% | — | — | — | — | | Pawnee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/pawnee-county) | 5,991 | ▼ 5.2% | 16 MW | — | — | — | | Rush County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/rush-county) | 2,845 | ▼ 3.9% | 58 MW | — | — | — | | Trego County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/trego-county) | 2,740 | ▼ 17.2% | — | — | — | — | ## More of Kansas [All Kansas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas)[Finney County37,505 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/finney-county)[Ellis County29,075 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/ellis-county)[Pawnee County5,991 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/pawnee-county)[Rush County2,845 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/rush-county)[Trego County2,740 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/trego-county) ## Ness County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Ness County, Kansas? 3 utilities have service territory in Ness County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Midwest Energy Inc - (KS), Western Coop Electric Assn Inc, Lane-Scott Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Midwest Energy Inc - (KS), charged residential customers 11.44¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Ness County? 1 operating plant with 213 MW of capacity. The largest is Cedar Bluff Wind, LLC (213 MW, wind). ### Are there data centers in Ness County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Ness County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Ellis County. ### Is Ness County adding jobs? Employers counted 1,076 jobs in 2025 against 1,122 in 2019 (-4.1%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Ness County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Ness County. Kansas has 24 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/ness-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/).