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

Home to Washington

No data center or power plant project is on record in Washington County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Washington County is home to Washington, Hanover Township, Hanover and Linn Township. Next door, Cloud County has 202 MW of planned generation. 2 MW has retired here since 2019, including Washington (petroleum, 2 MW, 2022). Owners plan to retire 88 MW more by 2035, led by Clifton in 2028. 4 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly natural gas.

2 MW
of generating capacity retired since 2019

99 MW
of operating power plants, mostly natural gas

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

## Cities and towns in Washington County

Washington County is home to Washington, Hanover Township, Hanover and Linn Township.

Washington1,063 residents
Hanover Township936 residents
Hanover690 residents
Linn Township518 residents
Greenleaf Township432 residents
Linn386 residents
Clifton Township373 residents
Greenleaf354 residents
Clifton272 residents · 60% of the city
Sherman Township266 residents
Barnes Township223 residents
Mill Creek Township178 residents
Farmington Township171 residents
Washington Township171 residents
Haddam Township164 residents
Barnes162 residents
Palmer126 residents
Morrowville113 residents
Haddam108 residents
Strawberry Township108 residents
Logan Township105 residents
Sheridan Township101 residents
Independence Township94 residents
Franklin Township85 residents

And 5 smaller places.
- Clifton also extends into [Clay County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/clay-county).

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 Washington County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Kansas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 5,544 | 5,533 | ▼ 0.2% | 62nd of 105 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 2,015 | 2,024 | ▲ 0.4% | 49th of 105 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $30,109 | $42,350 | ▲ 40.7% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 93 | 93 | ● 0.0% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.1% | 3.8% | ▲ 0.7pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 4 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 2 MW |  | — |

Unemployment was 3.8% in August 2026, against 3.1% in 2019. Its power plants have 99 MW of capacity, 95% of it natural gas. Evergy Kansas Central, Inc is the largest utility serving Washington County, one of 6 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 14.29¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.97¢ median for Kansas utilities. Employers here counted 2,024 jobs in 2025, up 0.4% from 2019. 5,533 people live here, down 0.2% since 2020.

## Who powers Washington County

### Utilities with service territory in Washington 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% |
| Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 13,273 | 14.29¢ | 28% |
| Nemaha-Marshall E C A, Inc | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rolling Hills Electric Coop | — | — | — | — | — |
| City of Washington - (KS) | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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.

### Operating power plants 

| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 94 MW | 95% |
| Petroleum | 5 MW | 5% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | Sunflower Electric Power Corp | Natural gas | 88 MW | 1974 |
| Washington | City of Washington - (KS) | Natural gas | 11 MW | 1958 |

### Retired since 2019

| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Petroleum | 2 MW | 2022 |

### Scheduled to retire

| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | Natural gas | 85 MW | 2028 |
| Clifton | Petroleum | 2 MW | 2028 |

## The Washington County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 2,024 | $42,350 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 93 | $44,835 | 0.87 |

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 Washington County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Washington County. Kansas has 24 local measures on record statewide, and 2 neighboring counties have one: [Gage County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/gage-county), [Riley County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/riley-county).

## Washington County and its neighbors

Of the 8 counties that border Washington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County | 5,533 | ▲ 0.4% | 99 MW | — | — | — |
| Clay County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/clay-county) | 7,990 | ▼ 4.8% | 30 MW | — | — | — |
| Cloud County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/cloud-county) | 8,833 | ▲ 2.0% | 201 MW | 202 MW | — | — |
| Gage County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/gage-county) NE | 21,711 | ▼ 2.2% | 247 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Jefferson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/jefferson-county) NE | 7,070 | ▲ 4.0% | 79 MW | 50 MW | — | — |
| Marshall County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/marshall-county) | 9,852 | ▼ 5.5% | 374 MW | — | — | — |
| Republic County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/republic-county) | 4,640 | ▲ 5.3% | 653 MW | 6 MW | — | — |
| Riley County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/riley-county) | 72,598 | ▲ 3.7% | 4 MW | — | — | 1 |
| Thayer County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/nebraska/thayer-county) NE | 4,842 | ▼ 3.5% | 59 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Kansas

[All Kansas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas)[Riley County72,598 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/riley-county)[Marshall County9,852 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/marshall-county)[Cloud County8,833 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/cloud-county)[Clay County7,990 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/clay-county)[Republic County4,640 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/republic-county)

## Washington County, answered from the record

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

6 utilities have service territory in Washington County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, Prairie Land Electric Coop Inc, Nemaha-Marshall E C A, Inc, Rolling Hills Electric Coop. The largest, Evergy Kansas Central, Inc, charged residential customers 14.29¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Washington County?

2 operating plants with 99 MW of capacity. The largest is Clifton (88 MW, natural gas).

### Are there data centers in Washington County?

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

### Is Washington County adding jobs?

Employers counted 2,024 jobs in 2025 against 2,015 in 2019 (+0.4%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 93 to 93.

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

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

---
Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/washington-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/).