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

Home to Alma Township, Maple Hill Township and Newbury Township

Wabaunsee 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. Wabaunsee County is home to Alma Township, Maple Hill Township, Newbury Township and Alma. Construction employs 128, down 10.5% since 2019, and construction is 1.7 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. Next door, Shawnee County has 2 data centers. Employers here counted 1,399 jobs in 2025, up 4.3% from 2019. Unemployment was 4.1% in August 2026, against 3.5% in 2019.

1.7×
the U.S. share of jobs in construction

+4.3%
total jobs since 2019, now 1,399

14.29¢
per kWh for Evergy Kansas Central, Inc residential customers, 2024

## Cities and towns in Wabaunsee County

Wabaunsee County is home to Alma Township, Maple Hill Township, Newbury Township and Alma.

Alma Township1,221 residents
Maple Hill Township1,172 residents
Newbury Township1,093 residents
Alma830 residents
Maple Hill628 residents
Plumb Township604 residents
Wabaunsee Township594 residents
Wilmington Township584 residents
Garfield Township556 residents
Mission Creek Township527 residents
Eskridge427 residents
Alta Vista401 residents
McFarland274 residents
Kaw Township256 residents
Mill Creek Township214 residents
Paxico203 residents
Harveyville172 residents
Farmer Township76 residents
Washington Township73 residents

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Newbury, Wabaunsee.

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 Wabaunsee County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kansas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 6,895 | 7,018 | ▲ 1.8% | 53rd of 105 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,341 | 1,399 | ▲ 4.3% | 23rd of 105 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $33,156 | $43,836 | ▲ 32.2% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 143 | 128 | ▼ 10.5% | 46th of 51 by growth |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.5% | 4.1% | ▲ 0.6pts | — |

Evergy Kansas Central, Inc is the largest utility serving Wabaunsee County, one of 5 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.29¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.97¢ median for Kansas utilities. 7,018 people live here, up 1.8% since 2020.

## Who powers Wabaunsee County

### Utilities with service territory in Wabaunsee 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% |
| City of Alma - (KS) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Flint Hills Rural E C A, Inc | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bluestem 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.

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

## The Wabaunsee County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 1,399 | $43,836 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 128 | $49,852 | 1.73 |

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 Wabaunsee County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Wabaunsee County. Kansas has 24 local measures on record statewide, and 5 neighboring counties have one: [Geary County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/geary-county), [Lyon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/lyon-county), [Pottawatomie County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/pottawatomie-county), [Riley County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/riley-county).

## Wabaunsee County and its neighbors

Of the 7 counties that border Wabaunsee County, Pottawatomie 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wabaunsee County | 7,018 | ▲ 4.3% | — | — | — | — |
| Geary County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/geary-county) | 36,338 | ▼ 2.5% | 1 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Lyon County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/lyon-county) | 32,266 | ▼ 3.3% | 932 MW | — | — | 2 |
| Morris County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/morris-county) | 5,348 | ▲ 3.9% | — | — | — | — |
| Osage County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/osage-county) | 15,693 | ▲ 4.1% | 21 MW | — | — | — |
| Pottawatomie County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/pottawatomie-county) | 27,186 | ▲ 2.9% | 2,188 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Riley County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/riley-county) | 72,598 | ▲ 3.7% | 4 MW | — | — | 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)[Riley County72,598 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/riley-county)[Geary County36,338 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/geary-county)[Lyon County32,266 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/lyon-county)[Pottawatomie County27,186 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/pottawatomie-county)

## Wabaunsee County, answered from the record

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

5 utilities have service territory in Wabaunsee County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, FreeState Electric Coop, City of Alma - (KS), Flint Hills Rural E C A, Inc. The largest, Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, charged residential customers 14.29¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### Are there data centers in Wabaunsee County?

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

### Is Wabaunsee County adding jobs?

Employers counted 1,399 jobs in 2025 against 1,341 in 2019 (+4.3%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 143 to 128.

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

No county-level measure is on record for Wabaunsee 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/wabaunsee-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/).