Welcome to Hays ...

The city of Hays is located in Ellis County<1> and is the County Seat for Ellis County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Hays, you might consider that their post office opened in 1895.

The origin (or the toponymy) of Hays: Named for Alexander Hays, a Brevet Brigader General serving with the Union Army.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, Hays has a population of 20,805 people<2> (see below for details).

Hays is 2,020 feet [616 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Hays lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

The area code for Hays: (785)

The ZIP code for Hays: 67601<4>

Websites for Hays ...

Official Website: www.haysusa.com/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Hays had an population of 20,805 people. This is an increase of 1.44% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 3.96% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Hays had a population of 20,510 people (or 72.09% of the total population of Ellis County). This makes Hays the county's most populous community.

The population of Hays represents 0.72% of the population of Kansas (which has 2,853,118 people), making it the state's 21st most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 20,510 people, the population of Hays increased 2.48% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 20,013 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Hays.

Communities Also Named Hays ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 15 communities that are also named Hays - they are located in Alberta, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi (3), Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania (2), Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Hays.

Communities near Hays ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Hays.

Ellis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Ellis is located in Ellis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,019 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellis <5>
Victoria
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victoria have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
- Victoria is located in Ellis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,215 people
Gorham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorham have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorham
- Gorham is located in Russell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorham <5>
Schoenchen
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schoenchen have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoenchen
- Schoenchen is located in Ellis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
Liebenthal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liebenthal have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liebenthal
- Liebenthal is located in Rush County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
Munjor
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munjor have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munjor
- Munjor is located in Ellis County
Catharine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catharine have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
- Catharine is located in Ellis County
- Catharine has also been known as:
- Catherine
Yocemento
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yocemento have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yocemento
- Yocemento is located in Ellis County
Antonino
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antonino have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonino
- Antonino is located in Ellis County
Hog Back
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hog Back have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Back
- Hog Back is located in Ellis County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Hays. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Hays.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Hays. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hays.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Hays. Our list includes 30 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Hays.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Hays ...

Looking for more information about Hays? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Hays, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Hays.

Adding Hays to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Hays in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Hays was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

We also found Hays on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Kansas (1911).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Hays.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Hays: www.haysusa.com/

The official website for Ellis County: www.ellisco.net/

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Kansas' counties, including Ellis, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Hays.
<3>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Hays - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Hays). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Hays or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>	The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.