You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Kansas. Best suburbs in Kansas. Best counties in Kansas.
Etc., etc., etc.
But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Sunflower State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Kansas based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.
We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Kansas ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.
$250,001 median income · 0.3% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$152,574 median income · 1.7% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$118,250 median income · 2.4% unemployment
$91,167 median income · 0.5% unemployment
$56,834 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$78,809 median income · 1.6% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$81,250 median income · 4.6% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$113,125 median income · 0.9% unemployment
$102,389 median income · 2.8% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$87,402 median income · 6.5% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kansas’s statewide median.
Kansas statewide median: $74,275
Kansas statewide median: $244,761
Kansas statewide median: 3.9%
On the map
Where Kansas’s best small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Kansas
We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Kansas possible.
Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 137 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 137, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Kansas. Top of that list — Mission Hills.
This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in Kansas.
The full plate
Best Small Towns In Kansas
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Median Income | Median Home Value | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mission Hills | 3,548 | $250,001 | $1,603,473 | 0.3% |
| 2 | Fairway | 4,159 | $152,574 | $634,208 | 1.7% |
| 3 | Westwood | 2,093 | $118,250 | $438,325 | 2.4% |
| 4 | Galva | 1,002 | $91,167 | $272,282 | 0.5% |
| 5 | Silver Lake | 1,553 | $56,834 | $276,787 | 0.0% |
| 6 | Wamego | 4,386 | $78,809 | $295,898 | 1.6% |
| 7 | Lindsborg | 3,792 | $81,250 | $233,796 | 4.6% |
| 8 | Kechi | 2,901 | $113,125 | $295,016 | 0.9% |
| 9 | Rose Hill | 4,246 | $102,389 | $269,694 | 2.8% |
| 10 | North Newton | 2,155 | $87,402 | $240,011 | 6.5% |
| 11 | Hoxie | 1,042 | $67,054 | $224,940 | 0.6% |
| 12 | Sedgwick | 1,614 | $93,125 | $244,604 | 0.4% |
| 13 | Andale | 1,062 | $98,333 | $370,082 | 4.8% |
| 14 | Buhler | 1,525 | $72,929 | $198,367 | 1.8% |
| 15 | Seneca | 2,090 | $76,750 | $265,677 | 0.9% |
| 16 | St. George | 1,039 | $100,956 | $383,269 | 1.1% |
| 17 | Victoria | 1,095 | $77,500 | $222,129 | 1.8% |
| 18 | Overbrook | 1,113 | $68,958 | $271,707 | 1.2% |
| 19 | Plainville | 1,656 | $59,236 | $118,792 | 1.5% |
| 20 | Clearwater | 2,716 | $83,879 | $265,948 | 1.8% |
| 21 | Highland | 1,069 | $72,083 | $161,109 | 2.8% |
| 22 | Scott City | 3,800 | $54,880 | $185,537 | 3.5% |
| 23 | Baldwin City | 4,911 | $72,941 | $358,654 | 6.1% |
| 24 | St. Marys | 2,788 | $76,771 | $282,541 | 4.4% |
| 25 | Meade | 1,341 | $75,321 | $118,686 | 0.0% |
| 26 | Atwood | 1,320 | $72,188 | $138,875 | 0.6% |
| 27 | WaKeeney | 1,852 | $68,438 | $136,707 | 1.4% |
| 28 | Colwich | 1,492 | $88,295 | $306,699 | 7.1% |
| 29 | Cimarron | 1,949 | $82,422 | $237,418 | 3.4% |
| 30 | Cheney | 2,580 | $85,313 | $270,094 | 0.6% |
| 31 | Norton | 2,689 | $53,125 | $126,600 | 0.0% |
| 32 | Oskaloosa | 1,113 | $83,750 | $308,718 | 2.2% |
| 33 | Moundridge | 1,628 | $67,500 | $237,940 | 2.6% |
| 34 | Sabetha | 2,471 | $70,464 | $198,486 | 1.6% |
| 35 | Hesston | 3,582 | $75,225 | $239,949 | 4.1% |
| 36 | Ness City | 1,162 | $64,583 | $118,797 | 0.2% |
| 37 | Inman | 1,325 | $59,250 | $255,884 | 3.6% |
| 38 | Hillsboro | 2,700 | $63,462 | $154,090 | 4.3% |
| 39 | Ellsworth | 3,108 | $66,821 | $157,101 | 1.6% |
| 40 | Carbondale | 1,341 | $75,750 | $202,717 | 0.7% |
| 41 | Medicine Lodge | 1,578 | $59,392 | $94,105 | 0.6% |
| 42 | Sterling | 2,411 | $54,922 | $167,244 | 2.4% |
| 43 | Conway Springs | 1,573 | $73,320 | $189,630 | 2.2% |
| 44 | Garden Plain | 1,126 | $85,455 | $312,865 | 6.2% |
| 45 | Lyndon | 1,023 | $67,227 | $215,181 | 0.0% |
| 46 | Towanda | 1,668 | $64,327 | $251,719 | 2.4% |
| 47 | La Crosse | 1,154 | $53,750 | $100,045 | 0.5% |
| 48 | Wellsville | 2,216 | $83,750 | $343,237 | 1.6% |
| 49 | Edgerton | 1,924 | $84,838 | $306,888 | 2.8% |
| 50 | Halstead | 2,516 | $76,250 | $205,632 | 2.0% |
| 51 | Ellis | 2,189 | $73,000 | $169,990 | 2.5% |
| 52 | Ogden | 1,696 | $68,421 | $167,431 | 6.0% |
| 53 | Clay Center | 4,132 | $62,695 | $159,720 | 1.1% |
| 54 | Holcomb | 2,577 | $78,571 | $237,265 | 3.2% |
| 55 | Washington | 1,155 | $58,438 | $141,921 | 1.8% |
| 56 | McConnell AFB | 1,907 | $72,639 | $0 | 4.2% |
| 57 | Lakin | 2,243 | $89,514 | $195,987 | 4.1% |
| 58 | Wathena | 1,554 | $87,222 | $176,582 | 2.7% |
| 59 | Rossville | 1,106 | $54,318 | $227,068 | 8.8% |
| 60 | Alma | 1,063 | $71,875 | $175,815 | 3.3% |
| 61 | Perry | 1,069 | $82,375 | $291,475 | 4.3% |
| 62 | Leoti | 1,360 | $73,594 | $158,240 | 0.6% |
| 63 | Wakefield | 1,031 | $68,594 | $231,496 | 3.0% |
| 64 | Marysville | 3,422 | $55,386 | $151,679 | 2.2% |
| 65 | Oberlin | 1,734 | $52,284 | $109,894 | 2.5% |
| 66 | Chapman | 1,454 | $72,344 | $244,959 | 4.2% |
| 67 | Marion | 1,746 | $58,387 | $141,906 | 0.0% |
| 68 | Oakley | 2,009 | $77,065 | $170,616 | 2.5% |
| 69 | Johnson City | 1,549 | $71,105 | $73,473 | 1.3% |
| 70 | Smith Center | 1,680 | $56,007 | $101,752 | 0.5% |
| 71 | Cottonwood Falls | 1,041 | $50,750 | $123,916 | 1.6% |
| 72 | Council Grove | 2,265 | $57,962 | $217,416 | 2.4% |
| 73 | Douglass | 1,603 | $72,589 | $237,882 | 5.5% |
| 74 | Auburn | 1,144 | $57,875 | $277,713 | 4.8% |
| 75 | St. Francis | 1,229 | $49,643 | $179,815 | 3.3% |
| 76 | Valley Falls | 1,382 | $46,681 | $257,207 | 1.8% |
| 77 | Russell | 4,217 | $56,832 | $120,255 | 0.4% |
| 78 | Hugoton | 3,974 | $62,773 | $163,270 | 3.5% |
| 79 | Ellinwood | 2,192 | $56,379 | $126,510 | 2.0% |
| 80 | Beloit | 3,029 | $52,114 | $147,756 | 0.2% |
| 81 | Haven | 1,313 | $59,091 | $175,046 | 4.5% |
| 82 | Belleville | 2,086 | $56,218 | $96,351 | 3.4% |
| 83 | Phillipsburg | 2,130 | $60,750 | $102,605 | 4.5% |
| 84 | Frontenac | 3,392 | $58,733 | $167,433 | 4.5% |
| 85 | Stockton | 1,656 | $62,621 | $119,797 | 1.2% |
| 86 | Herington | 2,164 | $70,574 | $97,537 | 0.5% |
| 87 | Fredonia | 1,945 | $59,125 | $91,123 | 0.4% |
| 88 | St. John | 1,172 | $73,929 | $76,971 | 1.9% |
| 89 | Sublette | 1,500 | $66,331 | $205,157 | 3.7% |
| 90 | Osborne | 1,358 | $51,776 | $93,536 | 1.1% |
| 91 | Goodland | 4,121 | $52,258 | $150,886 | 0.8% |
| 92 | Osage City | 2,828 | $71,191 | $190,968 | 1.3% |
| 93 | Minneapolis | 2,043 | $57,702 | $159,508 | 5.3% |
| 94 | Hill City | 1,511 | $48,512 | $113,614 | 6.7% |
| 95 | Belle Plaine | 1,449 | $63,214 | $185,367 | 3.7% |
| 96 | Hoisington | 2,643 | $52,277 | $85,595 | 8.8% |
| 97 | Larned | 3,423 | $55,648 | $104,921 | 1.8% |
| 98 | Erie | 1,216 | $36,667 | $131,348 | 0.0% |
| 99 | Holton | 3,387 | $52,532 | $221,786 | 1.3% |
| 100 | Hiawatha | 3,197 | $68,750 | $137,118 | 6.2% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 137 Kansas towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these small towns in Kansas are the best in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
The best small towns in Kansas are Mission Hills, Fairway, Westwood, Galva, Silver Lake, Wamego, Lindsborg, Kechi, Rose Hill, and North Newton.
