# Rawlins County, Kansas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Atwood Township and Atwood Rawlins 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. Rawlins County is home to Atwood Township and Atwood. Unemployment was 3.4% in August 2026, against 2.5% in 2019. Employers here counted 992 jobs in 2025, up 5.0% from 2019. Midwest Energy Inc - (KS) is the largest utility serving Rawlins 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. 2,431 people live here, down 5.3% since 2020. +5.0% total jobs since 2019, now 992 11.44¢ per kWh for Midwest Energy Inc - (KS) residential customers, 2024 2,431 residents, 2025 ## Cities and towns in Rawlins County Rawlins County is home to Atwood Township and Atwood. Atwood Township1,273 residents Atwood1,229 residents Rocewood Township313 residents Center Township289 residents Herl Township257 residents McDonald115 residents Herndon114 residents Ludell Township93 residents Driftwood Township76 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Ludell. 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 Rawlins County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kansas | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 2,567 | 2,431 | ▼ 5.3% | 95th of 105 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 945 | 992 | ▲ 5.0% | 21st of 105 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $35,599 | $47,441 | ▲ 33.3% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 57 | 51 | ▼ 10.5% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.5% | 3.4% | ▲ 0.9pts | — | ## Who powers Rawlins County ### Utilities with service territory in Rawlins 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% | | Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 13,273 | 14.29¢ | 28% | | City of Herndon | — | — | — | — | — | 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 Rawlins County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere. ## The Rawlins County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 992 | $47,441 | 1.00 | | Construction | 51 | $73,165 | 0.97 | 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 Rawlins County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Rawlins County. Kansas has 24 local measures on record statewide, and 1 neighboring county has one: [Dundy County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dundy-county). ## Rawlins County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Rawlins County, Thomas 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Rawlins County | 2,431 | ▲ 5.0% | — | — | — | — | | Cheyenne County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/cheyenne-county) | 2,604 | ▼ 1.6% | 9 MW | — | — | — | | Decatur County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/decatur-county) | 2,716 | ▼ 10.5% | 6 MW | — | — | — | | Dundy County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/dundy-county) NE | 1,568 | ▲ 15.0% | — | — | — | 1 | | Hitchcock County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/hitchcock-county) NE | 2,467 | ▼ 0.5% | — | — | — | — | | Red Willow County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/red-willow-county) NE | 10,307 | ▼ 2.4% | 57 MW | — | — | — | | Sherman County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/sherman-county) | 5,763 | ▼ 3.5% | 19 MW | — | — | — | | Thomas County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/thomas-county) | 7,725 | ▼ 0.4% | 509 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Kansas [All Kansas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas)[Thomas County7,725 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/thomas-county)[Sherman County5,763 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/sherman-county)[Decatur County2,716 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/decatur-county)[Cheyenne County2,604 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/cheyenne-county) ## Rawlins County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Rawlins County, Kansas? 3 utilities have service territory in Rawlins County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Midwest Energy Inc - (KS), Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc, City of Herndon. The largest, Midwest Energy Inc - (KS), charged residential customers 11.44¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### Are there data centers in Rawlins County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Rawlins County. ### Is Rawlins County adding jobs? Employers counted 992 jobs in 2025 against 945 in 2019 (+5.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 57 to 51. ### Does Rawlins County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Rawlins County. Kansas has 24 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/rawlins-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/).