Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is named for its location at the point where the cours…Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is named for its location at the point where the course of the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 14,733. It is home to Barton Community College.