Kansas 2026 Survey Released October 26: Only Two in Ten Residents Rate State Economy Positively
The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University released its annual Kansas Speaks survey on October 26. "Kansans' rating of the Kansas economy is less positive this year," said survey report co-author Jian Sun. "20.4% of Kansans rate the Kansas economy as excellent or very good, down from 27.7% in 2025. 48.6% feel the Kansas economy is getting worse, up from 36.1% in 2025." The survey polled a panel of 603 adult Kansas residents, ages 18 and older, online.
Kansans rated the national economy much lower than their state economy: only 13.1% rate the national economy as excellent or very good, and 63.5% feel it is getting worse. The survey also covered quality of life, ratings of elected officials, taxation and data centers. From a list of 13 public affairs topics, more than 80% of respondents ranked three cost issues among their top five: the cost of groceries (89.5%), the cost of housing (86.7%) and the cost of energy, including gasoline and diesel (82%).
On policy questions, support for Medicaid expansion in Kansas stood at 68% in 2026, close to the typical 70% of previous years; 69% support providing paid family and medical leave for all employees in Kansas; 65% support legalizing medical marijuana, and about 58% support legalizing recreational marijuana. Institute director Brett Zollinger, also a co-author, said the survey fielded a series of questions on data centers, and of nine common concerns, the top three were energy usage, water usage, and the SI made possible by data centers.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 堪萨斯州议会大厦。图片：Aviper2k7，CC BY-SA 3.0，取自维基共享资源。
