Keyes, Oklahoma

Keyes was established in 1925 by the Elkhart and Santa Fe Railway (both leased to and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway).[5][6] The company named the town after a deceased railroad engineer.[6] The line is now part of the Cimarron Valley Railroad.[7]

Keyes is located at 36°48′30″N 102°15′00″W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²), all land.

Keyes is at the intersection of U.S. Route 56 and the northern terminus of Oklahoma State Highway 171.[8] Keyes is approximately 16 miles northeast of the Cimarron County seat, Boise City,[9] and about 26 miles southwest of Elkhart, Kansas.[10]

The closest major airport is Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport, about 91 miles.[11]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 324 people, 131 households, and 88 families residing in the town.[13] There were 234 housing units.[13] The racial makeup of the town was 94.1% White, 0.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 2.8% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.[13] Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.2% of the population.[13]

There were 131 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families.[13] 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[13] The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.08.[13]

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older.[14] The median age was 43.0 years.[14] For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.[14]

According to the 2013 American Community Survey, The median income for a household in the town was $36,827, and the median income for a family was $62,639.[15] Males had a median income of $36,750 versus $40,833 for females.[15] The per capita income for the town was $22,522.[15] About 8.1% of families and 23.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.5% of those under age 18 and 0.0% of those age 65 or over.[15]

The town's location in the Hugoton Friedrich Basin makes it an ideal source for helium production from natural gas. A helium plant was built near Keyes in 1958.[6] 169,000 million cubic feet (4.8×10⁹ m³) of liquid helium is produced annually by the Keyes Helium Company.