Finney County is a county in Kansas, United States, on the High Plains along the Arkansas River. It had a population of 38,470 at the 2020 census and covers 1,303 square miles (3,370 km2) of mostly flat farmland, centred near 38°01′N 100°40′W.
Garden City is the county seat and largest city, and its postal code is 67846. The county holds two incorporated cities and a scatter of unincorporated communities, sits in the Central time zone, and carries FIPS code 20-055.
Towns & Villages in Finney County
Finney County has two incorporated cities — Garden City and Holcomb — plus a handful of unincorporated rural communities, most of them former rail sidings on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line. "Unincorp." below means the place has no city government of its own.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City | City · seat | 28,151 | 67846 |
| Holcomb | City | 2,245 | 67851 |
| Pierceville | Unincorp. | — | 67868 |
| Kalvesta | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Friend | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gano | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lowe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mansfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Peterson | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Plymell | Unincorp. | — | 67846 |
| Quinby | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ravanna | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ritchal | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rodkey | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tennis | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wolf | Unincorp. | — | — |
Pierceville and Plymell sit close enough to Garden City that some mail routes cross into the 67846 delivery area rather than carrying their own dedicated code.
ZIP Codes
- 67846 — Garden City (also serves Plymell)
- 67868 — Garden City (west-side branch, also serves Pierceville)
- 67851 — Holcomb
The rural communities without their own post office — Friend, Gano, Kalvesta, Lowe, Mansfield, Peterson, Quinby, Ravanna, Ritchal, Rodkey, Tennis and Wolf — use Garden City or Holcomb addresses.
Geography
Finney County lies on the semi-arid High Plains of southwestern Kansas. The Arkansas River crosses the county from west to east through Garden City and Holcomb, and irrigation from the river and the Ogallala Aquifer underpins the county’s cropland. Terrain is flat to gently rolling, with sand-sage prairie along the river valley and shortgrass upland elsewhere.
Finney County borders Scott County to the north, Lane County to the northwest, Ness County to the northeast, Hodgeman County to the east, Gray County and Haskell County to the south, Grant County to the southwest, and Kearny County to the west. Of these, only Scott County has a live profile on this site; the others are named without a link.
Demographics
Finney County’s population was 38,470 at the 2020 census, concentrated overwhelmingly in Garden City (28,151) and Holcomb (2,245), with the remainder scattered across unincorporated rural communities and farms. The county’s median household income runs well below the Kansas median of $70,333, reflecting a workforce weighted toward meatpacking and agricultural labor. Population density is roughly 30 people per square mile, low even by rural Kansas standards outside the Garden City-Holcomb corridor.
In 2020, 51.4 percent of county residents identified as Hispanic or Latino, making Finney one of the few Hispanic-majority counties in Kansas — a legacy of decades of migration tied to the meatpacking industry.
Economy & Local Life
Meatpacking anchors the county economy. Tyson Fresh Meats operates a large beef-processing plant and is the county’s biggest single employer, part of what the industry calls the "Golden Triangle of Meat-packing" alongside plants in Dodge City and Liberal. Irrigated wheat farming and cattle feedlots surround Garden City and Holcomb, and Garden City Community College serves as the county’s public higher-education institution. Finnup Park, with the Lee Richardson Zoo and the Big Pool (rebuilt as Garden City Rapids), is the county’s best-known recreation site.
History
Finney County was organized on February 22, 1883, formed from the earlier Buffalo and Sequoyah counties and named for David Wesley Finney, Kansas’s lieutenant governor from 1881 to 1885. Garfield County, a short-lived neighboring county, was annexed into Finney in 1893. The county’s best-known modern event is the 1959 murder of the Clutter family on their Holcomb farm, the crime that became the subject of Truman Capote’s book In Cold Blood.
Getting There
U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 83 cross at Garden City, and U.S. Route 400 also runs through the county, giving road access across southwestern Kansas.
- Dodge City — 55 miles east
- Liberal — 60 miles south
- Scott City — 30 miles north
- Hays — 105 miles northeast
Garden City Regional Airport provides the nearest commercial air service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Finney County?
It is in southwestern Kansas, on the High Plains along the Arkansas River, about 55 miles west of Dodge City.
What is the population of Finney County?
38,470 at the 2020 census.
How big is Finney County?
1,303 square miles (3,370 km2), Kansas’s second-largest county by land area.
What is the county seat of Finney County?
Garden City, also the county’s largest city.
How many towns are in Finney County?
Two incorporated cities, Garden City and Holcomb, plus about a dozen unincorporated rural communities.
What ZIP codes are in Finney County?
67846 and 67868 for Garden City, and 67851 for Holcomb.
Why is Finney County known for meatpacking?
It sits in the "Golden Triangle of Meat-packing" with Dodge City and Liberal; Tyson Fresh Meats’ Garden City plant is the county’s largest employer.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kansas.