Meade County

Meade County is located in southwestern Kansas along the Oklahoma border, within the High Plains region. Established in 1885 and named for Union General George G. Meade, the county developed around late-19th-century settlement, ranching, and railroad-era agriculture typical of the southern Great Plains. It is a small, predominantly rural county with a dispersed population and a few small towns. The county seat is Meade, which serves as the primary center for government, services, and local commerce. Land use is dominated by agriculture, including cattle operations and irrigated and dryland farming supported by groundwater resources such as the Ogallala Aquifer. The landscape is characterized by open prairie, gently rolling plains, and river valleys associated with the Cimarron River and its tributaries. Community life reflects a regional Plains culture shaped by farming, ranching, and small-town institutions.

Meade County is a rural county in southwestern Kansas, located along the Oklahoma border and within the High Plains region. The county seat is the City of Meade; county government resources are available via the Meade County official website.

Population Size

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s data portal (data.census.gov), Meade County’s most recent county-level population figures are published through Census Bureau programs such as the Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS). Exact values are available by querying Meade County, Kansas within data.census.gov (e.g., Decennial Census 2020 total population; ACS 5-year population estimates).

Age & Gender

County-level age distribution and sex (male/female) composition are published by the U.S. Census Bureau in the American Community Survey. The standard county table is ACS S0101 (Age and Sex) for Meade County, Kansas, which reports totals and percentages by age groups and sex.

Racial & Ethnic Composition

Race and Hispanic/Latino origin for Meade County are published in both the Decennial Census and ACS. A commonly used ACS table is ACS DP05 (ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates) for Meade County, Kansas, which includes detailed race categories and the share of the population that is Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

Household and Housing Data

Household characteristics (household type, average household size, etc.) and housing indicators (occupancy, tenure, housing units) are published in ACS profile tables. The U.S. Census Bureau provides these in ACS DP02 (Selected Social Characteristics) for Meade County, Kansas and ACS DP04 (Selected Housing Characteristics) for Meade County, Kansas, including:

• Number of households and household types
• Number of housing units, occupied vs. vacant units
• Owner-occupied vs. renter-occupied housing (tenure)
• Selected housing characteristics (e.g., structure type and year built, as reported by ACS)

Source Notes (County-Level)

All demographic categories requested (population, age, sex, race/ethnicity, and household/housing) are available at the county level through the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) and, for baseline population counts, the U.S. Decennial Census.

Meade County, in sparsely populated southwestern Kansas, relies on long-distance infrastructure and fewer service providers than urban areas, which can constrain always-on digital communication such as email.

Direct county-level email-usage statistics are not routinely published; email adoption is commonly inferred from proxy indicators such as home broadband and computer access reported by the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS). These measures indicate the local capacity to access webmail and app-based email reliably.

Digital access indicators

The ACS publishes county estimates for broadband subscription, computer ownership, and smartphone-only access through tables on data.census.gov. Lower broadband subscription or higher reliance on mobile-only connections typically corresponds to more limited email use for tasks that require attachments, multi-factor authentication, or consistent connectivity.

Age and gender distribution

ACS age structure for Meade County (older shares versus prime working-age adults) can influence email adoption, since older populations tend to have lower rates of routine use in national surveys. Gender distribution is generally near parity in county estimates and is not a primary driver compared with access and age.

Connectivity and infrastructure limitations

Broadband availability and service gaps are tracked in the FCC National Broadband Map, which reflects fixed and mobile coverage constraints relevant to email reliability.

Meade County is in southwestern Kansas along the Oklahoma border. It is predominantly rural, with small population centers and large areas of agricultural land. The county’s low population density and long distances between towns tend to increase the cost per mile of cellular and backhaul infrastructure, which can affect both coverage continuity (especially along secondary roads) and the availability of high-capacity mobile broadband.

Key distinction: network availability vs. adoption

• Network availability describes where mobile networks (voice/LTE/5G) are reported to function and at what advertised performance levels.
• Adoption describes whether residents actually subscribe to and use mobile service and mobile internet (and whether mobile substitutes for home internet).

County-specific “adoption of mobile service” metrics are limited; most reliable adoption indicators are available at broader geographies (state or national) rather than at the county level. Where county-level indicators exist, they are often framed as “households with cellular data plans” or “smartphone in household,” rather than individual subscriptions.

Mobile penetration and access indicators (availability and adoption proxies)

Adoption-related indicators (household access, where available)

• The most consistent public source for household technology access is the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Relevant indicators include household access to:
  • a smartphone
  • a cellular data plan
  • internet subscriptions by type (including cellular data plans)
• These measures are generally available via ACS 1-year/5-year products, with rural counties more commonly relying on 5-year estimates for stability. County estimates can be accessed through Census Bureau tables for “Computer and Internet Use” via Census.gov data tools.
  Limitation: ACS measures household access and subscription types, not network performance or coverage quality, and margins of error can be large in small-population counties.

Availability-related indicators (coverage)

• The FCC publishes mobile broadband coverage data through its Broadband Data Collection (BDC). This is the primary federal source for where providers report offering LTE and 5G broadband service. Coverage and provider counts can be explored through the FCC National Broadband Map.
  Limitation: The map reflects provider-reported availability and modeled coverage; it does not measure actual user experience and may overstate availability in some areas.

Mobile internet usage patterns (4G and 5G availability)

4G/LTE

• In rural Kansas counties, 4G LTE typically represents the baseline mobile broadband layer, supporting general smartphone data use (web, streaming, app usage) where signal and backhaul capacity are sufficient.
• LTE availability in Meade County is best documented through provider-reported FCC BDC coverage on the FCC National Broadband Map. The map can be used to differentiate:
  • Outdoor/vehicle coverage footprints (as reported)
  • Coverage gaps that can occur between towns or along less-traveled roads

5G

• 5G availability in rural counties often consists primarily of low-band 5G deployed on existing macro towers, delivering broader coverage but not always large speed improvements over LTE.
• Higher-capacity 5G (such as dense mid-band deployments) tends to concentrate in larger metro areas due to infrastructure density and backhaul requirements; county-level confirmation of specific 5G layers is not consistently published in a standardized way beyond FCC/provider reporting.
• Reported 5G coverage in Meade County can be checked via the FCC National Broadband Map by filtering for 5G mobile broadband service.
  Limitation: The FCC map does not directly distinguish all 5G spectrum layers in a way that is consistently comparable across carriers, and it does not provide a countywide “5G adoption rate.”

Typical rural usage characteristics (observed via standard measurement frameworks; not county-specific)

• In rural areas, mobile broadband is frequently used as:
  • a primary connection for smartphone-only households
  • a supplemental connection where fixed broadband is limited or expensive
• Quantification of “mobile-only internet households” is not consistently available at the county level; ACS provides “cellular data plan” subscription indicators but does not fully describe performance, data caps, or congestion.

Common device types (smartphones vs. other devices)

• The best standardized public measures for device presence come from ACS “Computer and Internet Use” items, which include whether a household has:
  • a smartphone
  • a desktop/laptop
  • a tablet or other portable wireless computer
• County-level household device composition for Meade County can be obtained from the ACS via Census.gov.
  Limitation: ACS is household-based and does not enumerate the number of devices per person, the age of devices, or the share of feature phones versus smartphones among individuals.

In rural counties like Meade, smartphones are generally the most common mobile-connected device in use, while tablets and hotspots appear as secondary devices; however, definitive county-specific shares (smartphone vs feature phone vs hotspot-only) are not typically published as a single consolidated statistic.

Demographic and geographic factors influencing mobile usage and connectivity

Rural settlement pattern and infrastructure economics

• Low population density generally reduces the commercial incentive for dense tower siting and high-capacity backhaul, which can lead to:
  • weaker in-building coverage outside town centers
  • greater variability in mobile data speeds across the county
• Distance between towns increases the importance of macro-tower coverage and can create stretches with limited signal where terrain and tower spacing reduce line-of-sight.

Terrain and land use

• Meade County’s landscape is largely agricultural with open areas; open terrain can support longer-range tower coverage compared with heavily forested or mountainous regions, but coverage can still be limited by:
  • tower spacing and height
  • backhaul availability (fiber/microwave links)
  • localized topography and in-building attenuation (metal buildings, grain facilities)

Demographics and household connectivity substitution

• In many rural areas, households may rely more heavily on mobile service where fixed broadband options are limited. The degree of substitution is best evaluated through ACS “internet subscription” categories and local broadband planning documents rather than through carrier coverage maps alone.
• Kansas broadband planning resources and context on statewide connectivity initiatives are available through the Kansas Department of Commerce (which houses statewide economic development and broadband-related materials; specific broadband program pages and reports are typically linked there).
  Limitation: State materials often summarize conditions at regional or statewide levels and may not provide county-specific mobile adoption rates.

Summary of what can and cannot be stated with high confidence for Meade County

• Can be documented with public sources:
  • Reported LTE/5G availability footprints and provider reporting via the FCC National Broadband Map
  • Household indicators for smartphones and cellular data plans via Census.gov (ACS)
• Not reliably available as definitive county-level statistics:
  • true “mobile penetration rate” as individual subscriptions per capita
  • measured, countywide typical mobile speeds/latency by carrier (outside of proprietary or crowdsourced platforms not designed as official statistics)
  • a single authoritative breakdown of smartphone vs feature phone usage at the individual level

These limitations make it necessary to treat Meade County mobile connectivity as a combination of (1) provider-reported network availability (FCC BDC) and (2) household-level adoption proxies (ACS), rather than a single unified county “mobile usage rate.”

Meade County is a rural county in southwest Kansas with Meade as the county seat and a regional economy oriented around agriculture and small local services. Lower population density, longer travel distances, and reliance on mobile broadband in parts of the region tend to align social media use more closely with statewide and national rural patterns than with large-metro norms.

User statistics (penetration and active use)

• Local (county-specific) social media penetration: Not published in a consistent, county-level dataset by major U.S. survey organizations; most reliable benchmarks come from national surveys and broadband adoption data.
• Rural U.S. benchmark: About 70% of adults in rural areas use social media (vs. higher rates in urban/suburban areas) according to the Pew Research Center social media fact sheet. Meade County’s usage commonly tracks this rural range.
• Smartphone access (a key driver of social use): Roughly 90% of U.S. adults are smartphone users per Pew Research Center mobile fact sheet, supporting broad access even where fixed broadband options vary.

Age group trends

Based on the Pew Research Center age patterns, usage in rural counties typically follows these gradients:

• Highest use: 18–29 and 30–49 (near-universal use among 18–29 nationally; still high for 30–49).
• Mid-level use: 50–64 (majority use, but notably lower than under-50 adults).
• Lowest use: 65+ (still a majority in many surveys, but the lowest of all age brackets; greater concentration on fewer platforms such as Facebook).

Gender breakdown

• Overall: Pew’s U.S. adult findings show women are modestly more likely than men to report using social media overall, with the most persistent gender skews occurring by platform rather than in overall adoption. See the Pew Research Center social media fact sheet for platform-by-demographic summaries.
• Platform-leaning tendencies (national patterns commonly mirrored in rural areas):
  • Women: higher shares on visually oriented and relationship-centric platforms (notably Instagram and Pinterest).
  • Men: relatively higher shares on platforms such as Reddit and some video/gaming-adjacent communities.

Most-used platforms (percent of U.S. adults)

County-level platform market shares are not consistently published; the most defensible approach uses U.S. adult benchmarks from Pew, which are commonly used as proxies for rural counties with similar connectivity and demographics:

• YouTube: 83%
• Facebook: 68%
• Instagram: 47%
• Pinterest: 35%
• TikTok: 33%
• LinkedIn: 30%
• WhatsApp: 29%
• Snapchat: 27%
• X (formerly Twitter): 22%
• Reddit: 22%
  Source: Pew Research Center, Social Media Use (2024).

Behavioral trends (engagement patterns and preferences)

• Concentration on a few platforms: Rural users tend to rely heavily on Facebook and YouTube for day-to-day information, community updates, and entertainment, consistent with Pew’s rural/urban splits reported in the same national survey series.
• Community and local-information use cases: Local news, school and sports updates, events, and community notices are disproportionately routed through Facebook pages and groups in rural counties, where fewer local media outlets and longer distances increase the value of centralized community feeds.
• Short-form video growth, especially among younger adults: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts align with national age gradients; younger adults are substantially more likely to use TikTok and Instagram than older groups (Pew platform-by-age tables).
• Messaging-centered engagement: A meaningful share of usage occurs through direct messaging and private groups rather than public posting, reflecting broader U.S. engagement shifts toward smaller audiences and private sharing documented in Pew’s platform usage summaries.
• Mobile-first consumption: Even where fixed broadband quality varies, social activity remains viable via smartphones; Pew’s mobile data indicate high smartphone penetration, supporting persistent scrolling and video consumption patterns in rural areas (Pew mobile fact sheet).

Meade County, Kansas maintains family and associate-related public records primarily through state and county offices. Certified birth and death records are Kansas vital records held by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Office of Vital Statistics and are not fully public; access is restricted to eligible requestors under state rules. Meade County also files marriage and divorce case records through the District Court system; public access depends on whether a case or document is sealed. Adoption records are generally confidential under Kansas law, with access handled through the courts and state procedures rather than open county databases.

Public databases for family-related records are limited. Meade County property and tax records (often used for household/associate research) are typically available through county offices rather than comprehensive public-facing searchable indices. Court records may be searchable through the Kansas Judicial Branch; some content remains restricted.

Access occurs through a mix of online and in-person channels:

• Vital records requests: KDHE Vital Statistics (Birth/Death/Marriage/Divorce)
• Local county office contacts and services: Meade County, Kansas (official site)
• Court-related records and access information: Kansas Judicial Branch

Privacy restrictions commonly apply to vital records, adoption files, sealed court documents, and records containing sensitive personal identifiers.

Types of records available

Marriage-related records

• Marriage licenses and marriage applications: Issued at the county level and typically retained as part of the county’s permanent marriage records. Some counties also maintain a marriage certificate/return (the officiant’s completed portion verifying that the marriage ceremony occurred).
• Marriage record indexes: Some records are indexed by names and year for retrieval.

Divorce-related records

• Divorce case files and decrees: Divorce is a district court proceeding. The court record commonly includes a journal entry/decree of divorce and associated filings.
• Annulments: Annulments are also district court proceedings and are maintained as civil case records, generally similar in structure to divorce files (petition, orders, final journal entry).

Where records are filed and how they can be accessed

Marriage records (Meade County)

• Filed/maintained by: Meade County Clerk (marriage licensing authority in Kansas counties).
• Access methods:
  • In-person requests through the county clerk’s office for copies/extracts, subject to office procedures and statutory access limits.
  • State-certified copies: Kansas maintains statewide vital records through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), Office of Vital Statistics, which issues certified copies of eligible marriage records under state rules.
    Link: Kansas Vital Records (KDHE)

Divorce and annulment records (Meade County)

• Filed/maintained by: Clerk of the District Court, Meade County (Kansas district courts are courts of general jurisdiction for divorce/annulment).
• Access methods:
  • In-person access to public portions of the court file through the district court clerk, subject to court rules and sealing/redaction.
  • Kansas court records portal: Kansas provides electronic access for certain case information via the Kansas judicial branch eCourt/records access tools, subject to availability and access limitations.
    Link: Kansas Judicial Branch

Typical information included in these records

Marriage license/application (county record)

Common elements include:

• Full names of both parties (including prior/maiden names where reported)
• Ages/date of birth (varies by form and era)
• Place of residence at time of application
• Date of issuance and license number
• Location of intended ceremony (sometimes)
• Officiant identification and certification/return
• Date and place of marriage (on the completed return)
• Signatures/attestations (parties, officiant, clerk), depending on form

Divorce decree/journal entry (district court record)

Common elements include:

• Case caption (court, county, parties’ names) and case number
• Filing date and date of decree/journal entry
• Legal finding dissolving the marriage (or declaring annulment)
• Orders addressing property division and debt allocation
• Orders on spousal maintenance (alimony), where applicable
• Orders on legal custody, parenting time, and child support, where applicable
• Restoration of a former name, where requested and granted
• Incorporated settlement agreements or parenting plans (sometimes attached or referenced)

Annulment final order/journal entry (district court record)

Common elements include:

• Case caption, case number, and disposition date
• Findings and legal basis for annulment as stated in the order
• Orders on property, support, and child-related matters where relevant
• Name restoration provisions where ordered

Privacy or legal restrictions

Marriage records

• Certified copies: State-certified vital record copies issued by KDHE are subject to eligibility rules and identity verification under Kansas vital records laws and regulations.
• County records access: County clerks generally provide access consistent with Kansas public records law and vital records restrictions; access to certain formats (certified vs. non-certified) and older records may vary by office practice and statutory requirements.

Divorce and annulment court records

• Presumption of public access: Kansas court records are generally public, but access is limited by court rules and court orders.
• Sealed and protected information: Courts may restrict access to:
  • Records sealed by court order
  • Confidential identifiers (e.g., Social Security numbers) and information subject to redaction rules
  • Sensitive child-related information (certain evaluations, reports, or exhibits), depending on filing type and judicial orders
• Certified copies: Certified copies of judgments/decrees are issued by the clerk of the district court under court administrative procedures and fee schedules, with limitations for sealed portions.

Meade County is in southwestern Kansas along the Oklahoma border, with Meade as the county seat and communities including Plains and Fowler. It is a sparsely populated, largely rural county with an economy tied to agriculture, local services, and county-seat functions; housing is dominated by single-family homes and rural properties, with limited multifamily inventory typical of rural southwest Kansas.

Education Indicators

Public schools (counts and names)

Meade County’s K–12 public education is primarily provided through USD 226 (Meade) and USD 347 (Plains). School-name listings are maintained by the districts and the Kansas State Department of Education; authoritative directories include the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and district websites.

• USD 226 (Meade): commonly includes an elementary school, middle school, and high school in Meade.
• USD 347 (Plains): commonly includes an elementary school, junior/senior high school in Plains, and may serve additional attendance centers.
  Public school counts and exact school names can vary by consolidation and grade configuration, and should be verified against the KSDE directory for the current year (district-level listings are the most reliable public source in Kansas).

Student–teacher ratios and graduation rates

• Student–teacher ratios: Rural Kansas districts such as those in Meade County typically operate with lower student–teacher ratios than state and national averages, but ratios are reported annually at the district/school level rather than as a standard countywide statistic. KSDE’s district report cards are the authoritative source for current ratios and staffing.
• Graduation rates: Kansas reports 4-year graduation rates through KSDE’s accountability/report card system. Meade County does not have a single countywide graduation rate because reporting is by high school/district; the most current published rates are available through KSDE’s district and school report cards (district-level graduation rates can be higher or lower than statewide depending on cohort size and demographic mix).
  Source system: KSDE report card and accountability publications.

Adult educational attainment (county residents)

County adult attainment is tracked through the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). The most recent 5‑year ACS county profile provides the best small-area estimates for Meade County:

• High school diploma or higher (age 25+): reported in ACS for Meade County (county-level estimate).
• Bachelor’s degree or higher (age 25+): reported in ACS for Meade County (county-level estimate).
  Authoritative source: U.S. Census Bureau data.census.gov (ACS 5‑year).
  Note: In small rural counties, ACS margins of error can be large; the 5‑year series is the standard proxy used for stable estimates.

Notable programs (STEM, CTE, AP/dual credit)

• Career and Technical Education (CTE): Kansas districts commonly participate in state-recognized CTE pathways and industry credential options supported through KSDE; rural districts often emphasize agriculture, business, and trade-oriented pathways aligned with regional labor needs.
• Advanced coursework: Rural Kansas high schools often provide Advanced Placement (AP), concurrent/dual credit, or online course access through regional partners; availability is district-specific and published by each high school’s course catalog.
  State framework reference: KSDE Career, Technical & Workforce Education.

School safety measures and counseling resources

Kansas public schools generally implement layered safety approaches that can include controlled entry, visitor management, safety drills, coordination with local law enforcement, and student support services. Counseling and mental health supports are typically delivered through school counselors, referral networks, and regional service providers; staffing levels and specific programs are reported by districts and in KSDE staffing summaries.
State references include KSDE guidance and statewide school safety initiatives: KSDE resources.
Note: Countywide standardized counts of counselors/SROs are not consistently published as a single metric; district staffing reports are the most reliable proxy.

Employment and Economic Conditions

Unemployment rate (most recent year available)

The most authoritative local unemployment measures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), published monthly and annually for counties. Meade County’s most recent annual average rate is available through: BLS LAUS county unemployment data.
Note: This value changes annually; the BLS series is the definitive source for the “most recent year.”

Major industries and employment sectors

Meade County’s employment base is typical of rural southwest Kansas, with concentrations in:

• Agriculture and related services (crop and livestock production; farm support services)
• Local government and public services (county/municipal, education)
• Health care and social assistance (clinics, long-term care, support services)
• Retail trade and accommodation/food services (local-serving businesses)
• Construction and transportation/warehousing (often tied to regional activity) Industry composition estimates are available in ACS industry tables and regional workforce publications. Primary source: ACS industry and class-of-worker tables.

Common occupations and workforce breakdown

Occupational patterns in Meade County generally reflect:

• Management/business/office roles supporting local government, schools, and small businesses
• Service occupations (health care support, food service, protective services)
• Sales and office
• Construction and extraction; installation/maintenance/repair
• Transportation and material moving
• Production (limited locally, more common in nearby regional centers)
• Farming, fishing, and forestry (higher share than statewide)
  County occupation distributions are published in ACS occupation tables. Source: ACS occupation tables.

Commuting patterns and mean commute time

• Mean travel time to work: Reported for Meade County through ACS commuting tables (mean minutes).
• Typical pattern: A substantial share of workers commute within the county for schools, local government, health services, and retail; another share commutes to jobs in nearby counties/centers for specialized health care, larger retail, energy/ag services, or regional employers.
  Authoritative source: ACS “Travel time to work” and commuting flow-related tables.

Local employment vs out-of-county work

ACS provides the share of workers who work in the county of residence versus outside, and related commuting indicators. For Meade County, this is best summarized using ACS “place of work”/commuting characteristics at the county level (small-area reliability varies). Source: ACS place-of-work and commuting characteristics.
Proxy note: In rural Kansas counties, out-of-county commuting is commonly nontrivial due to limited local job variety and the pull of regional hubs.

Housing and Real Estate

Homeownership and rental share

Meade County’s owner-occupied versus renter-occupied shares are reported in ACS housing occupancy tables. Rural counties in southwest Kansas typically have high homeownership rates relative to urban areas, with rental housing concentrated in the county seat and near schools and services. Source: ACS housing tenure tables.

Median property values and recent trends

• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: Published by ACS for Meade County (median dollars).
• Trend context: Rural Kansas home values have generally risen in nominal terms in recent years, though appreciation rates are often slower and inventory thinner than in metro counties; county-specific trendlines are best approximated by comparing successive ACS 5‑year releases.
  Source: ACS median home value tables.
  Proxy note: For finer time resolution, local assessor sales data or third-party market reports exist, but ACS remains the standard public benchmark for countywide median value.

Typical rent prices

ACS reports median gross rent for Meade County. Rural counties typically show lower median rents than statewide urban areas, with limited apartment stock influencing variability. Source: ACS gross rent tables.

Types of housing

The county’s housing stock is predominantly:

• Single-family detached homes in Meade, Plains, Fowler, and other small communities
• Manufactured housing and rural homes on larger lots/acreage, reflecting agricultural land use
• Limited multifamily units (small apartment buildings or duplexes), usually concentrated in town areas
  ACS housing structure type tables provide county shares by structure (single-family, multiunit, mobile home). Source: ACS housing structure type tables.

Neighborhood characteristics (proximity to schools/amenities)

In Meade County, proximity-to-amenity patterns are typical of rural counties:

• Town neighborhoods near schools, parks, and civic facilities (courthouse/county offices, libraries, local clinics) tend to have shorter trips for daily services.
• Rural areas have larger lot sizes and greater distances to schools and retail; transportation dependence is higher and access to services is more centralized in Meade and Plains.
  Note: These are structural rural land-use characteristics; standardized countywide “walkability” metrics are not uniformly published in official datasets for small counties.

Property tax overview (rate and typical homeowner cost)

Kansas property taxes are assessed locally based on assessed value and mill levies set by overlapping jurisdictions (county, city, school district, and special districts).

• Average effective property tax rate and typical tax bill: Best approximated using ACS “real estate taxes paid” (median) and/or state/county appraisal office levy summaries rather than a single uniform county rate.
• Typical homeowner cost: ACS reports median annual real estate taxes for owner-occupied units in Meade County.
  Sources: ACS real estate taxes tables and the Kansas Department of Revenue, Property Valuation Division (state property tax structure and valuation references).
  Proxy note: Because mill levies vary by school district, city limits, and taxing districts, a single “average rate” is a simplification; the most defensible countywide metric is the ACS median taxes paid and local levy tables.