Hesston, Kansas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Emma Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67062. The Survey maps it on the Hesston quadrangle. 3,505 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,480 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresHesston fell from 3,709 to 3,505 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3,709 | |
| 2020 | 3,505 | -204 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 15 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1889 USGS Newton quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Newton quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1955 USGS Hutchinson quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Hutchinson quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Hesston quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Hutchinson quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
47 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Hesston between 2015 and 2020, burning about 174 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 18 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Harvey County | 17121 |
| 28 September 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 191 |
| 5 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | not named |
| 4 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | not named |
| 22 July 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2104 |
| 25 June 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 18394 |
| 17 June 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 18381 |
| 15 May 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 99 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 72 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hesston in 72 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 42 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | $100,000 | A 100 year old barn was destroyed. Major damage also occurred to the granary with minor damage to a tractor, a truck and gravity wagons stored inside the barn. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | $50,000 | A stoplight at the intersection of Main and Old 81 was blown down. Tree damage across town was minimal. Nearly a mile-long stretch of utility poles was downed along Emma Creek Road west of Hesston. |
| August 2003 | Lightning | Hesston | $5,000 | Transformer struck. Narrative courtesy of Newton Kansan. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | $4,000 | Power lines were blown down northwest of town. |
| August 2013 | Flood | Hesston | $100 | There were numerous water covered roads, especially across the western half of the county. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Hesston | - | Public report received via mPING. |
| September 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Half dollar sized hail was also reported. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Estimated wind gusts around 60 mph. Branches smaller than the spotter's wrist were down in his yard. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Emergency manager estimates wind gusts around 55 to 60 mph. |
| September 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Emergency management estimated wind gusts up to 60 mph. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Delayed report, time estimated by radar. Uprooted tree in Hesston. |
| April 2022 | Tornado (EFU) | Hesston | - | A brief touchdown occurred in open country. |
| November 2022 | Heavy Rain | Hesston | - | A Coop observer reported 2.30 inches of rainfall. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Multiple powerlines were down as well as several trees uprooted and knocked over. Many railroad crossbars had broken off at the crossing. The damage occurred from Hesston to Newton. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Eight inch diameter tree limbs and a 40 foot tall tree were reported down. Street signs were blown over. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Limbs 3 to 4 inches in diameter were downed. |
| July 2013 | Flood | Hesston | - | Roads were flooded across Hesston. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Reported by trained spotter. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | The 60-mph winds were reported by KAKE TV Channel 10, however no damage was reported. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Downed 3-inch diameter limbs. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Estimated gust reported by a trained spotter. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Several power lines and a few transformers were blown down and power was out in Hesston. |
| March 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | Hesston | - | A brief tornado touchdown occured in open country. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Hesston | - | Winds gusted to 50 mph, and 1.36 inches of rain fell in 20 minutes. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Hesston | - | The hail was nickel to quarter size and lasted for ten minutes. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | Reported by a KSNW WeatherLab. A semi truck was blown off the road. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | 4-5 Inch diameter limbs downed. |
| June 2002 | Flash Flood | Hesston | - | Dutch Avenue flooded. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| April 2015 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Hesston | - | no account filed |
| October 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hesston | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zimmerdale | 3.3 miles | 18 | |
| North Newton | 6.4 miles | 16 | |
| Newton | 7.8 miles | 16 | |
| Sand Creek | 7.9 miles | 16 | |
| Alta Mills | 8.6 miles | 15 | |
| McGraw | 9.3 miles | 16 | |
| Walton | 9.4 miles | 16 | |
| Van Arsdale | 9.6 miles | 15 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Hesston | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1903762 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 477759. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





