:Hays, Kansas

{{See also|History of Kansas}}

Before American settlement of the area, the site of Hays was located near where the territories of the Arapaho, Kiowa, and Pawnee met.{{cite web | last = Sturtevant | first = William C. | title = Early Indian Tribes, Culture Areas, and Linguistic Stocks [Map] | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | year = 1967 | url = http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/early_indian_west.jpg | access-date = June 18, 2014}} Claimed first by France as part of Louisiana and later acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it lay within the area organized by the U.S. as Kansas Territory in 1854.{{cite web | title = Louisiana Purchase | work = Kansapedia | publisher = Kansas Historical Society | date = Aug 2012 | url = http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/louisiana-purchase/17876 | access-date = March 5, 2014}}{{cite web | title = Kansas Territory | work = Kansapedia | date = Mar 2013 | url = http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-territory/14701 | access-date = March 5, 2013}} Kansas became a state in 1861. The state government delineated the surrounding area as Ellis County in 1867.{{Citation | contribution = Ellis County | title = Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. | editor-last = Blackmar | editor-first = Frank W. | volume = 2 | page = 578 | place = Chicago | publisher = Standard | year = 1912 | contribution-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=o8X5krq3fP8C&pg=PA578}}

In 1865, the U.S. Army established Fort Fletcher southeast of present-day Hays to protect stagecoaches traveling the Smoky Hill Trail. A year later, the Army renamed the post Fort Hays in honor of the late Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays, killed in The Battle of The Wilderness.{{cite web | url = http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/fort-hays/11793 | title = Fort Hays | work = Kansapedia | publisher = Kansas Historical Society | date = Nov 2011 | access-date = April 2, 2013}} In late 1866, anticipating the construction of the Kansas Pacific Railway as far west as Fort Hays, a party from St. Louis, Missouri led by William Webb selected three sections of land for colonization near the fort.{{Citation | last = Cutler | first = William G. | contribution = Hays City | title = History of the State of Kansas | place = Chicago | publisher = A.T. Andreas | year = 1883 | contribution-url = http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/ellis/ellis-co-p3.html#HAYS_CITY}} In June 1867, to better serve the railroad, the Army relocated Fort Hays 15 miles northwest to a site near where the railroad was to cross Big Creek, a tributary of the Smoky Hill River. Seeing a business opportunity, Buffalo Bill Cody and railroad contractor William Rose founded the settlement of Rome near the fort's new location. Within a month, the population of Rome grew to over 2,000. Webb, meanwhile, established the Big Creek Land Company and then surveyed and platted a town site, which he named Hays City after the fort, roughly one mile east of Rome. The railroad reached Hays City soon thereafter and constructed a depot there. The railroad's arrival, combined with a cholera epidemic that hit Rome in the late summer of 1867, drove Rome businesses and residents to relocate to Hays City. Within a year, Rome was completely abandoned.{{cite web | last = Weiser | first = Kathy | title = Hays, Kansas - Lawless in the Old Days | publisher = Legends of Kansas |date = August 2009| url = http://www.legendsofkansas.com/hays.html | access-date = January 2, 2010}}{{cite web|title=Ellis County, Kansas - City of Rome |publisher=KSGenWeb Project |url=http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/ellis/rome.html |access-date=January 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514104838/http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/ellis/rome.html |archive-date=May 14, 2013 }} As the western terminus of the railway, Hays City grew rapidly, serving as the supply point for territories to the west and southwest.{{Citation | contribution = Hays | title = Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. | editor-last = Blackmar | editor-first = Frank W. | volume = 2 | page = 832 | place = Chicago | publisher = Standard | year = 1912 | contribution-url = http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/h/hays.html | access-date = January 10, 2010 | archive-date = December 3, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071203054737/http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/h/hays.html | url-status = dead }}

As a frontier town, Hays City experienced the kind of violence that gave rise to the myth of the American Old West. Several notable figures of the Old West lived in the Hays City of this era, including George Armstrong Custer, his wife Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok who served a brief term as sheriff in 1869.{{cite web | last = Thompson | first = Mary Ann | title = Hays, Kansas History | publisher = Kansas History Web Sites |date=n.d. | url = http://www.kansashistory.us/hayshist.html |access-date=November 27, 2016}} 30 homicides occurred between 1867 and 1873 including a deadly saloon shootout involving Fort Hays soldiers.{{cite web |url=http://haysusa.net/Index.aspx?NID=118 |publisher=Hays Convention & Visitor Bureau |date=n.d.|title=History of Hays. |access-date=November 27, 2016}} A cemetery north of town became known as “Boot Hill”; by 1885, it held the bodies of some 79 outlaws.{{cite web |url=http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/214513 |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |date=n.d. |title=Boot Hill |series=[Photo catalog entry] |access-date=November 27, 2016}}

Hays experienced significant racial violence during the same period. On January 7, 1869, the murder of Union Pacific watchman James Hayes led to the lynching of three African American soldiers of the 38th US Infantry Regiment.{{cite web |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2972&context=greatplainsquarterly |last=Leiker |first=James |year=1997 |title=Black Soldiers At Fort Hays, Kansas, 1867-1869: A Study In Civilian And Military Violence. |series=Great Plains Quarterly 17 (Winter 1997), p. 11. |publisher=University of Nebraska Digital Commons. |access-date=November 27, 2016}}[https://sites.lib.jmu.edu/lynchingmarkers/ks1869187101/ Hangmans Bridge] That same year, six black soldiers at Fort Hays were murdered, their bodies were dropped in a well that was sodded over, and they were falsely reported as deserters. A mob then hunted down and lynched two black barbers, and the town's black residents were expelled.{{cite book |last=Campney |first=Brent M. S. |year=2015|title=This Is Not Dixie: Racist Violence in Kansas, 1861 - 1927, Location 749|publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0252083792 }}It should be noted on the Campney Reference that in May 1869 two incidents are noted in Hays Kansas: two lynchings and a race riot with unknown victims [p.222] A Contemporary Newspaper account [https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033699/1869-05-06/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=05%2F01%2F1869&index=6&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Hays+Kansas&proxdistance=5&date2=05%2F31%2F1869&ortext=&proxtext=Hays+Kansas+&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1 Nashville union and American. [volume], May 06, 1869, Image 1] reports "A fight occurred on Monday at Hays City , Kansas between a lot of colored soldiers of the 38th Infantry and Citizens, in which five citizens, among them United States Marshal Neis, and A White a soldier of the 7th Cavalry were wounded. Some five hundred shots are said to have been fired."In 1910 transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Transactions/aDc5DxjbW_QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Six+soldiers+from+Fort+Hays+killed+1869&pg=PA579&printsec=frontcover Transactions - Volume 9; Volume 11 - pp.579-580] claimed that in the fall of 1869 in Hays some Colored Troopers were denied admission to the "resort" of Jim Curry and Ida May in which a general fight broke out in which a number of soldiers were killed six, according to local memory...it does not appear any citizens were killed and that as a result the negro citizens were driven out of town. [https://www.hppr.org/hppr-news/2021-03-02/what-the-history-of-noose-road-tells-us-about-kansas-race-and-the-lynchings-of-black-men One recent account] quotes the Omaha World Herald reported the burial of the six killed; also the lynching of Hays two Barbers. A 1933 account listing Lynchings in Kansas reports only the 3 soldiers lynched at the Bridge in 1869 [https://www.kshs.org/p/history-of-lynchings-in-kansas/12580];[https://sites.lib.jmu.edu/lynchingmarkers/ks1869187101/] reports in August 1871 a man was lynched in Hays after stabbing a constable This and numerous other racial incidents throughout the last half of the 19th century gave Hays a reputation as a sundown town.{{cite web | last = Leiker | first = James | title = Imagining the Free State: A 150-Year History of a Contested Image | work = Kansas History | publisher = Kansas Historical Society | date =Spring 2011 | url = https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2011spring_leiker.pdf | access-date = March 14, 2019}} African Americans living in nearby Nicodemus were not welcome after dark.{{cite interview|first=Angela|last=Bates|interviewer=Frank Stasio|title=Black History Month: Postcard from Kansas|work=Talk of the Nation|publisher=NPR|location=Washington, D.C.|date=February 17, 2005|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4503065|quote=Hays, Kansas, is about 55 miles southwest of—southeast of Nicodemus, and they had sundown laws there.}} No signs formally establishing this policy were posted, but the town's reputation for racial discrimination persisted for decades.{{cite web | last = Loewen | first = James W. | title = Showing Hays in KS... | work = Sundown Towns in the United States | publisher = Tougaloo College | url = https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/sundowntownsshow.php?id=445 | access-date = March 13, 2019}} Hays City became the county seat of Ellis County in 1870, and the town became more civilized. Rougher elements of the populace had begun to leave in the late 1860s, many following the Kansas Pacific railroad construction west to Sheridan{{cite web |url=https://www.kshs.org/publicat/khq/1966/1966autumn_snell.pdf |last1=Snell |first1=Joseph |last2= Richmond |first2=Robert |year=1966 |title=When the Union & Kansas Pacific Built through Kansas. |series=Kansas Historical Quarterly 36 (Autumn 1966), pp. 343, 346-48. |publisher=Kansas Historical Society. |access-date=November 27, 2016}} or moving south to Dodge City.{{cite web |url=https://kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-an-old-trail-plowed-under/13279 |last=Millbrook |first=Minnie Dubbs |year=1977 |title=An Old Trail Plowed Under Hays to Dodge. |series=Transcribed by Todd Roberts from Kansas Historical Quarterly 43 (Autumn 1977), pp. 264-81. |access-date=November 27, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220164933/http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-an-old-trail-plowed-under/13279 |url-status=dead }} Volga Germans started settling in Ellis County in 1876, finding its land suitable for their lifestyle and the types of crops they had grown in Russia. They brought with them Turkey Red Wheat, a type of winter wheat whose cultivation contributed to the agricultural transformation of the region. Bukovina Germans began settling in the area in 1886.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} These groups had a significant impact on the local way of life, establishing Hays as a regional center of ethnic German culture. Hays City was incorporated in 1885,{{cite web |url=http://www.haysusa.com/ |date=n.d. |title=Welcome to Hays |publisher=City of Hays, Kansas |access-date=November 27, 2016}} and in 1895, it was renamed as simply Hays.{{cite web |url=https://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/placename:Hays |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |date=n.d. |access-date=November 27, 2016}}

Fort Hays closed in 1889. In 1900, the Kansas delegation to the U.S. Congress secured the fort's land and facilities for educational purposes. The following year, the Kansas Legislature established the Fort Hays Experiment Station, part of Kansas State Agricultural College, on the Fort Hays reservation and set aside land for the Western Branch of Kansas State Normal School, which opened in 1902 and eventually became Fort Hays State University. Fort Hays opened as a historical park in 1929 and was later acquired by the Kansas Historical Society. In 1967, it became the Fort Hays State Historic Site.

Several disasters have struck Hays over the course of its history. In 1895, fire destroyed 60 buildings downtown. Severe floods occurred in 1907 and 1951. In 1919, three Standard Oil gasoline tanks exploded, killing eight and injuring approximately 150 people. In 1935, the city experienced violent dust storms as part of the Dust Bowl.{{cite web | last = Thompson | first = Mary Ann | title = History Timeline | work = Welcome to Downtown Hays, Kansas | publisher = Chestnut Street District | url = http://www.chestnutstreetdistrict.com/leisure/history.html | access-date = January 10, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100124100015/http://www.chestnutstreetdistrict.com/leisure/history.html | archive-date = January 24, 2010 }}

Hays began to modernize in the early 1900s with a power plant, waterworks, telephone exchange, and sewer system complete by 1911. Over the following decades, the city evolved into a regional economic hub. Development of oil fields in the surrounding area began in 1936 with Hays serving as a trading center and shipping point. Hays Regional Airport opened in 1961. Interstate 70 reached Hays in 1966. Today, Hays is a commercial and educational center for western Kansas.

Hays is located in northwestern Kansas at the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 183, Hays is {{convert|134|mi|km}} northwest of Wichita, {{convert|256|mi|km}} west of Kansas City, and {{convert|311|mi|km}} east-southeast of Denver.{{cite web | title = City Distance Tool | publisher = Geobytes | url = http://www.geobytes.com/citydistancetool.htm | access-date = June 30, 2010 | archive-date = April 12, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100412193759/http://www.geobytes.com/citydistancetool.htm | url-status = dead }}

The city lies in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains approximately {{convert|11|mi|km|0}} north of the Smoky Hill River and {{convert|15|mi|km|0}} south of the Saline River.{{cite web | title = 2003-2004 Official Transportation Map | publisher = Kansas Department of Transportation | year = 2003 | url = https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/HistoricStateMaps/2003-04Mapside.pdf | access-date = September 19, 2014}}{{cite web | title = General Highway Map - Ellis County, Kansas | publisher = Kansas Department of Transportation | date = June 1, 2010 | url = https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/county-pdf/ellis.PDF | access-date = September 19, 2014}} Big Creek, a tributary of the Smoky Hill River, runs through the southwestern part of the city. Chetolah Creek, a tributary of Big Creek, flows south through the eastern part of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|8.64|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, all land.{{cite web |title=US Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/hayscitykansas |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 25, 2012 |access-date=Feb 6, 2025 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

Hays sits near the convergence of a humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa) and a temperate semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). It typically experiences hot summers with variable humidity and cold winters. Due to its geographic location at a climatic boundary, severe weather is common, with tornadoes a major threat, especially in the spring and early summer months.{{cite journal | last1 = Peel | first1 = M. C. | last2 = Finlayson | first2 = B. L. | last3 = McMahon | first3 = T. A. | date = March 1, 2007 | title = Updated Köppen-Geiger climate classification map | journal = Hydrology and Earth System Sciences | issue = 4 | pages = 439–473 | publisher = Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions | doi = 10.5194/hessd-4-439-2007 | url = http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/4/439/2007/hessd-4-439-2007.pdf | access-date = January 25, 2012| doi-access = free }} On average, January is the coldest month, and July is both the hottest and wettest month.{{cite web | url = http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USKS0255 | title = Average weather for Hays, KS | access-date = November 1, 2011 | publisher = The Weather Channel}} The hottest temperature recorded in Hays was {{convert|117|F|C|1}} on July 13, 1934, while the coldest temperature recorded was {{convert|-26|F|C|1}} on January 14, 1905, and February 13, 1905.

{{Weather box

|location = Hays, Kansas, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1892–present

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 86

|Feb record high F = 91

|Mar record high F = 97

|Apr record high F = 107

|May record high F = 106

|Jun record high F = 114

|Jul record high F = 117

|Aug record high F = 115

|Sep record high F = 111

|Oct record high F = 101

|Nov record high F = 92

|Dec record high F = 83

|Jan avg record high F = 67.8

|Feb avg record high F = 72.7

|Mar avg record high F = 82.7

|Apr avg record high F = 89.1

|May avg record high F = 95.0

|Jun avg record high F = 101.8

|Jul avg record high F = 105.0

|Aug avg record high F = 102.9

|Sep avg record high F = 99.2

|Oct avg record high F = 91.5

|Nov avg record high F = 78.2

|Dec avg record high F = 66.6

|year avg record high F = 106.4

|Jan high F = 42.5

|Feb high F = 46.2

|Mar high F = 57.2

|Apr high F = 66.7

|May high F = 76.3

|Jun high F = 87.5

|Jul high F = 92.6

|Aug high F = 90.0

|Sep high F = 82.4

|Oct high F = 69.4

|Nov high F = 55.8

|Dec high F = 43.8

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 29.6

|Feb mean F = 32.9

|Mar mean F = 43.3

|Apr mean F = 53.2

|May mean F = 63.7

|Jun mean F = 74.6

|Jul mean F = 79.5

|Aug mean F = 77.2

|Sep mean F = 69.0

|Oct mean F = 55.3

|Nov mean F = 41.8

|Dec mean F = 31.4

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 16.7

|Feb low F = 19.6

|Mar low F = 29.4

|Apr low F = 39.7

|May low F = 51.0

|Jun low F = 61.7

|Jul low F = 66.4

|Aug low F = 64.3

|Sep low F = 55.6

|Oct low F = 41.2

|Nov low F = 27.9

|Dec low F = 19.0

|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = 0.0

|Feb avg record low F = 2.3

|Mar avg record low F = 10.8

|Apr avg record low F = 22.4

|May avg record low F = 34.4

|Jun avg record low F = 48.4

|Jul avg record low F = 54.9

|Aug avg record low F = 53.2

|Sep avg record low F = 38.6

|Oct avg record low F = 23.4

|Nov avg record low F = 11.2

|Dec avg record low F = 2.7

|year avg record low F = -5.0

|Jan record low F = -26

|Feb record low F = -26

|Mar record low F = -23

|Apr record low F = 5

|May record low F = 17

|Jun record low F = 31

|Jul record low F = 37

|Aug record low F = 36

|Sep record low F = 20

|Oct record low F = 9

|Nov record low F = -6

|Dec record low F = -21

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 0.56

|Feb precipitation inch = 0.81

|Mar precipitation inch = 1.32

|Apr precipitation inch = 2.13

|May precipitation inch = 3.60

|Jun precipitation inch = 3.03

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.95

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.47

|Sep precipitation inch = 2.13

|Oct precipitation inch = 1.68

|Nov precipitation inch = 0.90

|Dec precipitation inch = 0.86

|year precipitation inch =

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|Jan precipitation days = 3.3

|Feb precipitation days = 4.1

|Mar precipitation days = 5.3

|Apr precipitation days = 7.3

|May precipitation days = 9.3

|Jun precipitation days = 8.4

|Jul precipitation days = 8.7

|Aug precipitation days = 8.3

|Sep precipitation days = 6.1

|Oct precipitation days = 6.0

|Nov precipitation days = 4.1

|Dec precipitation days = 3.5

|Jan snow inch = 3.4

|Feb snow inch = 4.8

|Mar snow inch = 2.1

|Apr snow inch = 0.5

|May snow inch = 0.0

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 0.3

|Nov snow inch = 1.4

|Dec snow inch = 3.3

|year snow inch =

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan snow days = 2.7

|Feb snow days = 2.7

|Mar snow days = 1.4

|Apr snow days = 0.6

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.3

|Nov snow days = 1.0

|Dec snow days = 2.3

|year snow days = 11.0

|Jan snow depth inch =

|Feb snow depth inch =

|Mar snow depth inch =

|Apr snow depth inch =

|May snow depth inch =

|Jun snow depth inch =

|Jul snow depth inch =

|Aug snow depth inch =

|Sep snow depth inch =

|Oct snow depth inch =

|Nov snow depth inch =

|Dec snow depth inch =

|year snow depth inch =

|source 1 = NOAA

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00143527&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Hays 1 S, KS

|access-date = November 21, 2023

}}

|source 2 = National Weather Service

{{cite web

|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=ddc

|publisher = National Weather Service

|title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Dodge City

|access-date = November 21, 2023

}}

}}

{{US Census population

| 1870 = 320

| 1880 = 850

| 1890 = 1242

| 1900 = 1136

| 1910 = 1961

| 1920 = 3165

| 1930 = 4618

| 1940 = 6385

| 1950 = 8625

| 1960 = 11947

| 1970 = 15396

| 1980 = 16301

| 1990 = 17767

| 2000 = 20013

| 2010 = 20510

| 2020 = 21116

| estyear = 2023

| estimate = 21040

| estref = {{Cite web |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |access-date=March 24, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|author=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 18, 2014}}
2010-2020

}}

The 2020 United States census counted 21,116 people, 8,610 households, and 4,576 families in Hays.{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P16: HOUSEHOLD TYPE |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20p16&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}} The population density was 2,443.1 per square mile (943.3/km{{sup|2}}). There were 9,541 housing units at an average density of 1,103.9 per square mile (426.2/km{{sup|2}}).{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table DP1: PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20dp1 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}}{{Cite web |title=Gazetteer Files |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2020/geo/gazetter-file.html |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=Census.gov}} The racial makeup was 87.48% (18,472) white or European American (85.75% non-Hispanic white), 1.48% (313) black or African-American, 0.29% (61) Native American or Alaska Native, 1.15% (242) Asian, 0.01% (2) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 3.73% (787) from other races, and 5.87% (1,239) from two or more races.{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P1: RACE |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P1?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20p1&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}} Hispanic or Latino of any race was 7.28% (1,538) of the population.{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P2: HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P2?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20p2&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}}

Of the 8,610 households, 24.8% had children under the age of 18; 40.3% were married couples living together; 29.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 35.9% of households consisted of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3 and the average family size was 2.9.{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1101: HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1101?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20s1101%20&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}} The percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was estimated to be 26.8% of the population.{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1501: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1501?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20s1501%20&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}}

19.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 22.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 106.7 males.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $52,135 (with a margin of error of +/- $5,558) and the median family income was $78,151 (+/- $9,761).{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1903: MEDIAN INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2020 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1903?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20s1903%20&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}} Males had a median income of $32,464 (+/- $2,406) versus $25,813 (+/- $3,239) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $30,104 (+/- $2,946).{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S2001: EARNINGS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2020 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S2001?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20s2001%20&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}} Approximately, 8.1% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under the age of 18 and 9.5% of those ages 65 or over.{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1701: POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1701?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20s1701%20&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}}{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1702: POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS OF FAMILIES |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1702?q=Hays%20city,%20Kansas%20s1702&y=2020 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=data.census.gov}}

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 20,510 people, 8,698 households, and 4,639 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|2,579.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 9,311 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,171|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 92.8% Caucasian American, 0.8% African American, 0.3% American Indian, 1.8% Asian, 2.1% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 1.7% of the population.{{cite web | title = U.S. Census website | publisher = United States Census Bureau | url = https://www.census.gov | access-date = July 20, 2011}}

There were 8,698 households, of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.7% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25, and the average family size was 2.89.

The median age in the city was 29.1 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 22.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 21.4% were from 45 to 64; and 12.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

The median income for a household was $44,227, and the median income for a family was $62,775. Males had a median income of $35,905 versus $31,379 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,536. About 5.7% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

The service sector constitutes most of the local economy with education and health care being two major industries. Hays also hosts some manufacturing. EnerSys, a producer of sealed lead batteries, operates a plant in the city and Rans Designs, a manufacturer of aircraft and bicycles. Other local companies manufacture oil field supplies, HVAC systems, and wheelchairs.{{cite web | title = Major Employers | publisher = Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development | url = http://www.haysamerica.net/index.asp?DocumentID=72 | access-date = June 27, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110226213704/http://www.haysamerica.net/index.asp?DocumentID=72 | archive-date = February 26, 2011 }}

As of 2012, 76.8% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.1% was in the armed forces, and 76.7% was in the civilian labor force with 73.1% being employed and 3.6% unemployed. The composition, by occupation, of the employed civilian labor force was: 31.2% in sales and office occupations; 30.0% in management, business, science, and arts; 20.0% in service occupations; 9.8% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; 9.0% in production, transportation, and material moving. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: educational services, health care, and social assistance (30.7%); retail trade (16.2%); and arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (10.5%). HaysMed, Fort Hays State University, and Hays Public Schools are the city's three largest employers. Other major employers include local government, Nex-Tech, Eagle Media, AT&T Inc., and other telecommunications firms, retail stores, and social services providers.

The cost of living in Hays is relatively low; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the city is 81.7.{{cite web | title = Hays, Kansas | publisher = City-Data.com | url = http://www.city-data.com/city/Hays-Kansas.html | access-date = September 18, 2014}} As of 2012, the median home value in the city was $147,300, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,254 for housing units with a mortgage and $445 for those without, and the median gross rent was $584.

An established arts community supports several galleries in the city. The Hays Arts Council operates the Hays Arts Center Gallery, which displays the work of Kansas artists and sponsors exhibitions and competitions throughout the year. FHSU's Moss-Thorns Gallery of Art, affiliated with the university's Art Department, displays student and faculty works as well as traveling exhibits. In addition, a number of local artists manage their own galleries around the city.{{cite web | title = The Arts | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/the_arts.html | access-date = April 10, 2011 | archive-date = April 5, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120405153904/http://www.haysusa.com/html/the_arts.html | url-status = dead }}

The Hays Symphony, established in 1914, is an ensemble of university, regional, and community musicians that performs in FHSU's Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center. The center also hosts the university's Encore Series, a performing arts series that consists of dramatic and musical performances throughout the year.{{cite web | title = FHSU Encore Series | publisher = Fort Hays State University | url = http://www.fhsu.edu/encore/ | access-date = August 15, 2013}}

Hays is a regional center of German American culture due to the number of German immigrants who settled the area in the 1870s and 1880s. As of 2010, 56.5% of the city population claimed German ancestry.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}} The city hosts several events throughout the year that celebrate this heritage including two Oktoberfests. The Midwest Deutsche Oktoberfest takes place the third week of September. The Volga German Centennial Association host an Oktoberfest celebration in late September or early October in conjunction with the Fort Hays State University homecoming activities.

To celebrate Independence Day and to mark its early history as an Old West frontier town, the city hosts the annual Wild West Festival during the first week of July. The festival includes country and rock music concerts, a parade and a fireworks display. On the first weekend in December, the Kansas Historical Society holds Christmas Past at Historic Fort Hays, showcasing history programs and tours of the fort with it decorated for Christmas as it was in the late 1800s.{{cite web | title = Frontier History | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/frontier_history.html | access-date = November 1, 2011 | archive-date = October 17, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111017091809/http://www.haysusa.com/html/frontier_history.html | url-status = dead }}

Each April [https://www.audubonofkansas.org/ Audubon of Kansas] holds their annual Prairie-Chicken Festival in Hays.{{cite web |title=Welcome to Kansas Lek Treks |url=https://www.kansaslektreks.org/ |website=Kansas Lek Treks |access-date=4 April 2025}}

File:Ellis County Historical Society.jpg

There are several museums and sites in Hays dedicated to aspects of area history. FHSU's Sternberg Museum of Natural History features extensive collections and exhibits of fossil specimens, including an interactive diorama of life in the region during the Cretaceous period. Affiliated with the university's Departments of Geosciences and Biology, the museum also hosts educational programs on fossil preparation and ongoing scientific research.{{cite web | title = About Sternberg Museum | publisher = Fort Hays State University | url = http://sternberg.fhsu.edu/about/index.php | access-date = April 9, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719193954/http://sternberg.fhsu.edu/about/index.php | archive-date = July 19, 2011 }}{{cite web | title = Discover Sternberg Museum's Exhibits | publisher = Fort Hays State University | url = http://sternberg.fhsu.edu/exhibits/index.php | access-date = April 9, 2011 | archive-date = July 19, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719193326/http://sternberg.fhsu.edu/exhibits/index.php | url-status = dead }} The Ellis County Historical Society Museum, located downtown, maintains exhibits of artifacts from the area's Old West period through its settlement by Volga and Bukovina Germans. Included in the museum complex are the Volga German Haus, a reproduction of an early Volga German settler home, and a stone chapel constructed in 1879. Southwest of Hays, the Kansas Historical Society maintains the Fort Hays State Historic Site. It consists of four of the fort's original structures and a visitor's center. Other sites related to the area's frontier period include Boot Hill, the city's earliest cemetery, and a historical marker at the site of the ill-fated town of Rome.

Downtown Hays features the historic Chestnut Street District. Local businesses offer dining, shopping, and entertainment, and visitors can tour designated historical sites in the district via a self-guided walking tour.

File:St Josephs Church and Parochial School.JPG in Hays is listed on the National Register of Historical Places]]

There are 27 Christian churches in Hays, the majority of which are Protestant. That number also includes four Catholic churches, a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation, and a meetinghouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hays is also home to a community of the Baháʼí Faith community.{{cite web | title = Churches | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/churches.html | access-date = August 25, 2010 | archive-date = December 2, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101202145518/http://haysusa.com/html/churches.html | url-status = dead }} The Hays District of the United Methodist Church, which consists of 21 counties in northwestern Kansas, is headquartered in the city.{{cite web | title = Hays District | publisher = The Hays District of the United Methodist Church | url = http://www.kswestumc.org/districts/detail/3 | access-date = November 1, 2011 | archive-date = June 24, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110624081121/http://kswestumc.org/districts/detail/3 | url-status = dead }}

Fort Hays State University's athletic teams, known as the Fort Hays Tigers, compete in several sports in the NCAA Division II MIAA conference.{{cite web | title = About Tiger Athletics | publisher = Fort Hays State University Department of Athletics | url = http://fhsuathletics.com/about/tigerathletics/ | access-date = March 21, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100403004211/http://www.fhsuathletics.com/about/tigerathletics/ | archive-date = April 3, 2010 }}

In addition to FHSU sports, Hays is home to an amateur baseball team and a rodeo company. The Hays Larks are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Jayhawk Collegiate League of the National Baseball Congress. The team dates back to 1869 when local residents founded it as The Hays Town Team.{{cite web | last1 = Walters | first1 = Arlen | last2 = Womack | first2 = Lynn | title = Hays Baseball History | url = http://www.hdnews.net/larks/history/ | access-date = March 20, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100303233323/http://www.hdnews.net/larks/history/ | archive-date = March 3, 2010 }}

The city government's Parks Department maintains 21 parks in the city. The largest is Frontier Park,{{Cite web |last=Janney |first=Cristina |date=2024-05-16 |title=Newest baby bison in Hays born Tuesday, new calves include white bison |url=https://hayspost.com/posts/38c7eb13-f651-4784-aa57-fe87820789d1 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Hays Post}} located immediately south of downtown across the U.S. 183 bypass route from the Fort Hays State Historic Site.{{cite web | title = Parks Department | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/parks_dept_.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | archive-date = November 16, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111116085525/http://www.haysusa.com/html/parks_dept_.html | url-status = dead }} Divided into eastern, western, and northern sections, it includes an 18-hole disc golf course and pens that are home to a herd of American bison kept at the park since 1953.{{cite web | title = Disc Golf Courses | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/disc_golf.html | access-date = November 5, 2011}}{{cite web | title = Bison Pens | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/bison_pens.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | archive-date = October 18, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111018114737/http://www.haysusa.com/html/bison_pens.html | url-status = dead }} The department also maintains three baseball parks, a soccer complex, tennis courts, a roller hockey and skateboard park, and a second, 9-hole disc golf course. In addition, the Hays Recreation Commission manages a municipal swimming pool and a waterpark, Hays Aquatic Park.{{cite web | title = Wilson Pool | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/wilson_pool.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111017130358/http://www.haysusa.com/html/wilson_pool.html | archive-date = October 17, 2011 }}{{cite web | title = Hays Aquatic Park | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/hays_aquatic_park.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111017123726/http://www.haysusa.com/html/hays_aquatic_park.html | archive-date = October 17, 2011 }}

There are two golf courses in the city, Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course and Smoky Hill Country Club.{{cite web | title = Welcome to Smoky Hill Country Club | publisher = Smoky Hill Country Club | url = http://www.smokyhillcc.com/ | access-date = November 5, 2011}} The municipal course is an 18-hole course located immediately southwest of the city, built around the Fort Hays historical site.{{cite web | title = Golf Course | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/golf_course.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | archive-date = October 17, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111017130311/http://www.haysusa.com/html/golf_course.html | url-status = dead }} Smoky Hill Country Club is a private, 18-hole course that opened in the western part of the city in 1962.{{cite web | title = Smoky Hill Country Club | publisher = Golflink | url = http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/course.aspx?course=419145 | access-date = November 5, 2011}}

File:Hays Kansas City Hall Fire Station 5-7-2014.jpg

Hays is a city of the second class with a commission-manager form of government, which it adopted in 1919. The city commission consists of five commissioners, with at-large elections occurring every two years. The commission meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.{{cite web|title=Hays |work=Directory of Kansas Public Officials |publisher=The League of Kansas Municipalities |url=http://www.lkm.org/directory/cities.php?ID=212 |access-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505132945/http://www.lkm.org/directory/cities.php?ID=212 |archive-date=May 5, 2011 }}{{cite web | title = City Commission | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/city_commission.html | access-date = February 3, 2010 | archive-date = February 18, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100218111040/http://www.haysusa.com/html/city_commission.html | url-status = dead }} One commissioner serves as mayor, presiding over commission meetings and representing the city at ceremonial events. The city manager is hired by the commission and is responsible for advising the commission, enforcing its policies, administering city employees, and preparing a proposed city budget.

As the county seat, Hays is the administrative center of Ellis County. The county courthouse is located downtown, and all departments of the county government base their operations in the city.{{cite web | title = Staff Directory | publisher = Ellis County, Kansas | url = http://www.ellisco.net/directory.aspx | access-date = February 23, 2012}}

Hays lies within Kansas's 1st U.S. Congressional District. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is located in the 40th district of the Kansas Senate and the 111th district of the Kansas House of Representatives.

The community is served by Hays USD 489 public school district, which operates eight schools in Hays:{{cite web|title=Schools |publisher=USD 489 |url=http://www.hays489.k12.ks.us/Schools.html |access-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607015316/http://www.hays489.k12.ks.us/Schools.html |archive-date=June 7, 2012 }}

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• Lincoln Elementary School (Grades Pre-K)
• O'Loughlin Elementary School (Pre-K-5)
• Roosevelt Elementary School (Pre-K-5)
• Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (Pre-K-5)

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• Hays Middle School (6–8)
• Hays High School (9–12)
• Westside School, alternative school
• The Learning Center, alternative school

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina oversees two Catholic schools in Hays: Holy Family Elementary School (Pre-K-5) and Thomas More Prep-Marian (6–12).{{cite web | title = Schools | publisher = Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina | url = http://salinadiocese.org/parishes/school-listing | access-date = April 10, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110513092828/http://salinadiocese.org/parishes/school-listing | archive-date = May 13, 2011 }} There is also another Christia school in the city: Hays Seventh-Day Adventist School (K-8).{{cite web | title = Schools & Education | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/schools-education.html | access-date = January 16, 2010 | archive-date = October 3, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091003002754/http://www.haysusa.com/html/schools-education.html | url-status = dead }}

File:Ellis County Orchestra.png is on the back row, fourth from the left.]]

Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is located in Hays. A four-year public university with more than 12,000 students, it is the third largest university in Kansas.{{cite web | title = College Navigator | publisher = National Center for Education Statistics | url = http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ | access-date = May 19, 2011}} North Central Kansas Technical College, a two-year public college based in Beloit, Kansas, and affiliated with FHSU also has a campus in Hays.{{cite web | title = Welcome to North Central Kansas Technical College | publisher = North Central Kansas Technical College | url = http://www.ncktc.edu/index.htm | access-date = December 18, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101219035216/http://www.ncktc.edu/index.htm | archive-date = December 19, 2010 }} Immediately south of the city, Kansas State University operates its Agricultural Research Center—Hays, formerly the Fort Hays Experiment Station. The Center studies regional crop management and livestock production, and, for that purpose, its {{convert|7,810|acre|km2}} campus includes a feedlot, a greenhouse complex, cropland, and rangeland as well as a preserved natural area.{{cite web | title = Research Centers > Hays | publisher = Western Kansas Agricultural Research Centers | url = http://www.wkarc.org/p.aspx?tabid=35 | access-date = May 19, 2011}}

Hays was home to the now closed Bissing's Conservatory of Music established by Petrowitsch Bissing in 1901. Records show that it was still in operation as of 1918.{{Cite book | last=Saerchinger | first=César | title=International who's who in music and musical gazetteer, Volume 5 | publisher=Current Literature Publishing Company | year=1918 | location=New York | pages=807 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qIEFAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Bissing%27s+Conservatory+of+Music%22&pg=PA807}}

Hays Public Library, located downtown, is the city's main library. Its collection consists of more than 145,000 volumes, and it circulates more than 1.1 million items annually.{{cite web | title = Hays Public Library – Hays, KS | publisher = lib-web-cats - A directory of libraries throughout the world | url = http://www.librarytechnology.org/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20110519734771728&code=lwc&RC=942&Row=2 | access-date = May 19, 2011}} The Library first opened in 1900, expanding into a Carnegie library in 1911, which remained open until its replacement by a larger facility in 1968. That facility, in turn, has since been renovated and expanded further, re-opening in 2004. A remodel began in 2020 and will be completed in 2021. The library offers several services to the public, including computer classes, ESL and literacy tutoring, and programs for adults, teens, and children. The Hays Public Library is home to the Dorothy D. Richards Kansas Room, a local history and reference collection consisting of books and resources pertaining to the history of Kansas and the American West. The room is named after Dorothy Richards, the library's former director and first Kansas Room Librarian. She started the collection by setting aside Kansas related materials behind her desk. Today, The Kansas Room offers programs related to history, natural history, and genealogy.{{cite web | title = HPL History | publisher = Hays Public Library | url = http://www.hayspublib.org/about-us/hpl-history | access-date = May 19, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723071500/http://www.hayspublib.org/about-us/hpl-history | archive-date = July 23, 2011 }} FHSU's Forsyth Library holds more than 225,000 volumes and serves as a federal depository library.{{cite web | title = Federal Depository Library Directory (FDLD) | publisher = United States Government Printing Office | url = http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp | access-date = May 19, 2011}}{{cite web | title = Forsyth Library | publisher = Fort Hays State University | url = http://bigcat.fhsu.edu/future_students/virtual_campus/sites/forsyth.shtml | access-date = May 19, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20121210131207/http://bigcat.fhsu.edu/future_students/virtual_campus/sites/forsyth.shtml | archive-date = December 10, 2012 }} In addition to government documents, its special collections include an archive of children's literature and materials relating to regional history and culture.{{cite web | title = Forsyth Library Collections | publisher = Fort Hays State University | url = http://www.fhsu.edu/library/departments/collections/ | access-date = May 19, 2011 | archive-date = April 29, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110429112635/http://www.fhsu.edu/library/departments/collections/ | url-status = dead }} The Forsyth Library building, which opened its doors in 1967,{{Cite web |title=Forsyth Library History - Fort Hays State University (FHSU) |url=https://www.fhsu.edu/library/about/forsyth-library-history |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=www.fhsu.edu |language=en}} is in the beginning stages of a transformational remodel with an estimated completion in 2026.{{Cite web |title=FHSU Forsyth Library Renovation |url=https://ltblogs.fhsu.edu/forsythrenovation/ |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=ltblogs.fhsu.edu}}

Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40 run concurrently southeast-northwest immediately north of Hays. U.S. Route 183 runs north–south through Hays, intersecting I-70 immediately north of the city. A U.S. 183 bypass route runs around Hays to the west from U.S. 183 immediately south of the city to I-70 northwest of the city.{{cite map|url=https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/city-pdf/hays.pdf|title=City of Hays, Ellis County, Kansas|author=Bureau of Transportation Planning|publisher=Kansas Department of Transportation|date=December 2009|access-date=February 6, 2022}}

Hays Regional Airport is located just southeast of the city. Used primarily for general aviation, it hosts one commercial airline United Express, which offers daily jet service to Denver, Colorado.

Union Pacific Railroad provides freight rail transport via its Kansas Pacific (KP) line, which runs southeast–northwest through downtown Hays in the southern part of the city.{{cite web | title = UPRR Common Line Names | publisher = Union Pacific Railroad | url = http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/maps/attachments/upcomnam.pdf | access-date = March 23, 2010}}

Water production and distribution, waste water collection and treatment, and sewer maintenance are the responsibility of the city government's Water Resources Department.{{cite web | title = Utilities Department | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/utilities_div.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | archive-date = January 18, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120118165803/http://www.haysusa.com/html/utilities_div.html | url-status = dead }} The government's Public Works Department and several local businesses provide trash removal.{{cite web | title = Public Works | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/public_works.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | archive-date = March 10, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120310001028/http://www.haysusa.com/html/public_works.html | url-status = dead }}{{cite web | title = Utility Contact Info | publisher = City of Hays, Kansas | url = http://www.haysusa.com/html/utility_contact_info.html | access-date = November 5, 2011 | archive-date = May 5, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110505141338/http://www.haysusa.com/html/utility_contact_info.html | url-status = dead }} Midwest Energy, Inc., a regional energy company headquartered in the city, provides both electric power and natural gas service.{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = Midwest Energy, Inc. | url = http://www.mwenergy.com/about.aspx | access-date = November 5, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120904011230/http://www.mwenergy.com/about.aspx | archive-date = September 4, 2012 }}

HaysMed is the sole hospital in the city. A private, non-profit hospital established in 1991, it is a 165-bed general medical and surgical facility that serves as a regional referral center for northwestern Kansas.{{cite web | title = Hospital Information | publisher = Hays Medical Center | url = http://www.haysmed.com/hospital-information | access-date = November 5, 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120414230210/http://www.haysmed.com/hospital-information | archive-date = April 14, 2012 }}{{cite web | title = Hays Medical Center | work = U.S. News Best Hospitals | publisher = U.S. News & World Report | url = http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/hays-medical-center-6670004 | access-date = November 5, 2011}}

{{Main|Media in Hays, Kansas}}

The Hays Daily News is the city's primary newspaper, published two days a week.{{cite web | title = Hays Daily News | publisher = Mondo Times | url = http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/16/917/2377 | access-date = November 1, 2011}} Hays Post, also serves the region as the largest online news source in northwestern Kansas.

Hays is a center of broadcast media for central and northwestern Kansas.{{cite web | title = Radio Stations in Hays, Kansas | publisher = Radio-Locator | url = http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?city=Hays&state=KS&dx=1&locid=57522&is_lic=Y&is_fx=Y&is_fb=Y&is_cp=Y&sort=freq | access-date = May 11, 2011}}{{cite web | title = Stations for Hays, Kansas | publisher = RabbitEars.Info | url = http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=print_market&mktid=85 | access-date = November 1, 2011}} One AM radio station, 12 FM radio stations, and three television stations are licensed to and/or broadcast from the city.{{cite web | title = TVQ TV Database Query | publisher = Federal Communications Commission | url = http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html | access-date = September 13, 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090508022231/http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html | archive-date = May 8, 2009 }} Hays is in the Wichita-Hutchinson television market, and two television stations broadcast from the city, CBS-affiliated KBSH, and K25CV-D, an ABC translator station, both of which are satellite stations of their respective affiliates in Wichita.{{cite web | title = TV Market Maps | publisher = EchoStar Knowledge Base | url = http://dishuser.org/TVMarkets/ | access-date = November 8, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080820131351/http://www.dishuser.org/TVMarkets/ | archive-date = August 20, 2008 | url-status = dead }}{{cite web|title=About Us - kwch.com |publisher=KWCH |url=http://www.kwch.com/about/kwch-about-us,0,4740020.story |access-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713175912/http://www.kwch.com/about/kwch-about-us%2C0%2C4740020.story |archive-date=July 13, 2011 }}{{cite web|last=Farris |first=Deb |title=Last Minute Viewers Buy DTV Converters |publisher=KAKE |url=http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/47952761.html |access-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406172919/http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/47952761.html |archive-date=April 6, 2012 }} The third station is the flagship station of Smoky Hills Public Television, the PBS member network covering western Kansas. Licensed to Hays, it broadcasts from studios in Bunker Hill, Kansas.{{cite web|title=History |publisher=Smoky Hills Public Television |url=http://www.shptv.org/index.php/component/content/article/28-history/32-history |access-date=May 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320101145/http://www.shptv.org/index.php/component/content/article/28-history/32-history |archive-date=March 20, 2012 }}

Hays has been a setting of multiple films. The Plainsman (1936) and Wild Bill (1995), both of which dramatize the life and career of Wild Bill Hickok, are partially set in Hays during the late 1860s and early 1870s.{{cite web | title = The Plainsman (1936) | website = IMDb | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028108/ | access-date = November 1, 2011}}{{cite video | people = Hill, Walter (director) | title = Wild Bill | medium = Film | publisher = United Artists | location = U.S.A. | date = 1995}} Paper Moon (1973) is partially set in Great Depression-era Hays, and a portion of the film was shot in the city.{{cite web | title = Paper Moon | publisher = Moviediva | date = November 2010 | url = http://www.moviediva.com/MD_root/reviewpages/MDPaperMoon.htm | access-date = November 1, 2011}} Hays was also the subject of the song 'Hays, Kansas' by the band 49 Winchester.{{cite web | title = 49 Winchester's 'Hays, Kansas' Inspired By Road Trip Gone Wrong | publisher = The Boot | year = 2020 | url = https://theboot.com/49-winchester-hays-kansas/ | access-date = September 29, 2020}}

Hays was the subject of an April 1952 cultural article in National Geographic magazine.{{Citation | last = Detwiler | first = Margaret M. | title = Hays Kansas at the Nation's Heart | place = Washington D.C. | publisher = National Geographic Society | year = 1952 }}

{{main|List of people from Hays, Kansas}}

{{See also|List of people from Ellis County, Kansas|Fort_Hays_State_University#Notable_alumni|l2=List of Fort Hays State University people}}

Several Old West figures lived in Hays during its period as a frontier outpost, including Calamity Jane (1852–1903), Buffalo Bill Cody (1846–1917), General George Custer (1839–1876) and his wife Elizabeth (1842–1933), and gunfighters Wild Bill Hickok (1837–1876) and Clay Allison (1840–1887).{{cite encyclopedia | last = O'Neal | first = Bill | title = Allison, Robert A. Clay | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters | page = 20 | publisher = University of Oklahoma Press | location = Norman, Oklahoma | year = 1991}}

Other notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Hays include business magnate Philip Anschutz (1939- ),{{cite web | title = Philip Anschutz | publisher = Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans | url = http://www.horatioalger.org/members/member_info.cfm?memberid=ans00 | access-date = December 18, 2010 | archive-date = September 27, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927205933/http://www.horatioalger.org/members/member_info.cfm?memberid=ans00 | url-status = dead }} U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (1954- ),{{cite web|title=About Jerry |publisher=United States Senator Jerry Moran |url=http://moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/aboutjerry |access-date=January 22, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124081754/http://moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/aboutjerry |archive-date=January 24, 2011 }} and feminist legal pioneer Frances Tilton Weaver (1904–2003).{{cite web | title = Biography for Avery B. and Frances (Tilton) Weaver | work = Biographical History of Porter County, Indiana | publisher = American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Porter County, Inc. | year = 1976 | url = http://inportercounty.org/Data/Biographies/Weaver1224.html | access-date = December 18, 2010}}

Hays has two sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International:{{cite web | title = Sister City Directory | publisher = Sister Cities International | url = http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Hays,%20Kansas | access-date = January 25, 2012}}

File:Welcome to the City of Hays, KS.jpg|Stone work sign that greets visitors

File:Hays City Boot Hill.jpg|Boot Hill Cemetery

File:Ellis county courthouse kansas.jpg|Ellis County Courthouse

File:Fort Hays Blockhouse 01.jpg|Fort Hays blockhouse

File:Fox Theater Pavilion, Hays, Kansas, SW 20180915.jpg|The Fox Pavilion
fmr. Fox Theater

File:Referencia histórica, Hays, Kansas.jpg|Historical marker discussing Volga Germans and other settlers

File:Mermis house from NE 1.JPG|J. A. Mermis House

File:Phillip Hardware Store.jpg|Philip Hardware Building

File:Historical marker, Rome, Kansas.png|Rome, Kansas town site historical marker

File:Sternberg Museum of Natural History.jpg|Sternberg Museum of Natural History

File:Hays KS, 11 x Main NE corner 1.JPG|The Strand Theater Building (left) and the Basgall Building (center)

File:Hays, Kansas 504 W 12 from SW 1.JPG|Tower Service Station Building

{{Portal|Kansas}}

• Great Flood of 1951
• List of sundown towns in the United States

{{Reflist}}

{{Kansas books}}

{{See also|Ellis County, Kansas#Further reading|l1=List of books about Ellis County, Kansas}}

{{Commons category|Hays, Kansas}}

• [https://www.haysusa.com/ City of Hays]
• [https://www.lkm.org/members/?id=41260755 Hays - Directory of Public Officials]
• [https://www.visithays.com/ Official Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120510044012/http://www.haysusa.com/html/history___trivia.html Summary of Hays history]
• [http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/kw/towns.asp?town=Hays&county=Ellis Historic Images of Hays], Special Photo Collections at Wichita State University Library
• [https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/city-pdf/hays.pdf Hays city map], KDOT

{{Ellis County, Kansas}}

{{Kansas}}

{{Wild West}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:American frontier

Category:Bukovina German diaspora

Category:Cities in Kansas

Category:County seats in Kansas

Category:Micropolitan areas of Kansas

Category:Populated places established in 1867

Category:Cities in Ellis County, Kansas

Category:Sundown towns in Kansas