Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Kansas with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Kansas that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Kansas at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Louisburg.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Kansas reading:
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Kansas For 2026
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Population: 5,015
Median Home Price: $125,723
Population Change: -1.0%
Home Price Change: -2.4%
More on Concordia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,824
Median Home Price: $307,837
Population Change: 13.9%
Home Price Change: 1.8%
More on Maize: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,348
Median Home Price: $87,714
Population Change: -0.4%
Home Price Change: -3.4%
More on Iola: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,891
Median Home Price: $373,875
Population Change: 3.5%
Home Price Change: 1.1%
More on Tonganoxie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,387
Median Home Price: $180,597
Population Change: -0.0%
Home Price Change: -1.1%
More on Colby: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,476
Median Home Price: $153,433
Population Change: -5.8%
Home Price Change: 3.7%
More on Ulysses: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,770
Median Home Price: $371,665
Population Change: 0.2%
Home Price Change: 1.3%
More on Paola: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,171
Median Home Price: $235,790
Population Change: 5.9%
Home Price Change: 2.6%
More on Mulvane: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Kansas for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Kansas. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Kansas with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Kansas with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Kansas, only 64 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 64 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Louisburg is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Sunflower State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Kansas for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Kansas. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Kansas are Louisburg, Goddard, Concordia, Maize, Iola, Tonganoxie, Colby, Ulysses, Paola, and Mulvane.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Kansas reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Kansas
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisburg | 5,094 | $400,546 | 1.2% | 0.5% |
| 2 | Goddard | 6,030 | $300,789 | 12.5% | 0.3% |
| 3 | Concordia | 5,015 | $125,723 | -1.0% | -2.4% |
| 4 | Maize | 6,824 | $307,837 | 13.9% | 1.8% |
| 5 | Iola | 5,348 | $87,714 | -0.4% | -3.4% |
| 6 | Tonganoxie | 5,891 | $373,875 | 3.5% | 1.1% |
| 7 | Colby | 5,387 | $180,597 | -0.0% | -1.1% |
| 8 | Ulysses | 5,476 | $153,433 | -5.8% | 3.7% |
| 9 | Paola | 5,770 | $371,665 | 0.2% | 1.3% |
| 10 | Mulvane | 6,171 | $235,790 | 5.9% | 2.6% |
| 11 | Basehor | 7,491 | $439,342 | 3.6% | 1.7% |
| 12 | Abilene | 6,449 | $184,104 | 0.0% | -0.4% |
| 13 | De Soto | 6,414 | $425,983 | 1.3% | 2.4% |
| 14 | Eudora | 6,119 | $332,797 | 1.4% | 2.5% |
| 15 | Pratt | 6,577 | $123,110 | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| 16 | Roeland Park | 6,763 | $332,319 | -0.5% | 3.7% |
| 17 | Spring Hill | 9,120 | $419,142 | 4.9% | -0.6% |
| 18 | Park City | 7,673 | $220,147 | -0.7% | 1.8% |
| 19 | Fort Scott | 7,555 | $127,119 | 0.1% | 2.6% |
| 20 | Wellington | 7,615 | $110,050 | -0.4% | -2.4% |
| 21 | Valley Center | 8,590 | $260,221 | -3.9% | 2.3% |
| 22 | Bonner Springs | 7,839 | $300,304 | 1.3% | 1.0% |
| 23 | Bel Aire | 9,043 | $278,865 | 4.5% | 1.4% |
| 24 | Independence | 8,422 | $114,893 | -0.6% | 4.3% |
| 25 | Chanute | 8,598 | $96,749 | -0.4% | 4.0% |
| 26 | Coffeyville | 8,662 | $62,588 | -1.0% | 10.0% |
| 27 | Augusta | 9,216 | $214,257 | -0.4% | 0.0% |
| 28 | Mission | 9,915 | $330,950 | -0.1% | 3.7% |
| 29 | Parsons | 9,425 | $78,523 | -0.6% | 1.1% |
| 30 | Atchison | 10,785 | $166,545 | -0.1% | 1.8% |
| 31 | Merriam | 11,085 | $326,708 | 0.4% | 3.7% |
| 32 | Haysville | 11,117 | $207,754 | 0.0% | 1.9% |
| 33 | Arkansas City | 11,884 | $97,615 | -0.2% | 3.6% |
| 34 | Lansing | 11,246 | $321,293 | 0.2% | 2.5% |
| 35 | Winfield | 11,711 | $137,701 | -0.2% | 2.8% |
| 36 | Ottawa | 12,678 | $235,345 | 0.4% | 3.4% |
| 37 | El Dorado | 12,769 | $169,660 | -0.9% | 0.9% |
| 38 | Mcpherson | 13,995 | $217,268 | 0.3% | 1.2% |
| 39 | Andover | 15,965 | $325,994 | 2.9% | -1.1% |
| 40 | Great Bend | 14,479 | $124,918 | -0.8% | 3.6% |
| 41 | Newton | 18,397 | $171,182 | -0.2% | 3.1% |
| 42 | Liberal | 19,316 | $145,107 | 1.1% | -0.6% |
| 43 | Pittsburg | 20,637 | $133,321 | 0.2% | 1.5% |
| 44 | Hays | 21,143 | $252,837 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| 45 | Gardner | 24,526 | $352,182 | 2.1% | 3.0% |
| 46 | Prairie Village | 22,874 | $488,596 | -0.3% | 5.2% |
| 47 | Junction City | 22,331 | $207,588 | -0.4% | 2.0% |
| 48 | Derby | 26,062 | $282,214 | 1.0% | 1.4% |
| 49 | Emporia | 24,131 | $169,150 | 0.1% | -4.4% |
| 50 | Garden City | 27,819 | $233,702 | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| 51 | Dodge City | 27,613 | $210,131 | -0.1% | -0.3% |
| 52 | Leawood | 33,809 | $777,578 | -0.1% | 3.5% |
| 53 | Leavenworth | 37,195 | $260,124 | 0.1% | 2.7% |
| 54 | Hutchinson | 39,709 | $146,980 | -0.3% | 2.3% |
| 55 | Salina | 46,307 | $173,120 | -0.3% | -0.5% |
| 56 | Lenexa | 58,384 | $477,847 | 0.7% | 4.0% |
| 57 | Manhattan | 54,239 | $288,517 | 0.5% | 1.5% |
| 58 | Shawnee | 68,542 | $424,763 | 0.5% | 4.1% |
| 59 | Lawrence | 96,051 | $331,112 | 0.6% | 2.3% |
| 60 | Topeka | 125,786 | $190,096 | -0.3% | -4.1% |
| 61 | Olathe | 145,057 | $433,116 | 0.9% | 4.6% |
| 62 | Kansas City | 155,135 | $198,194 | 0.2% | 1.5% |
| 63 | Overland Park | 200,306 | $482,294 | 1.6% | 4.9% |
| 64 | Wichita | 397,945 | $202,719 | 0.4% | 2.4% |