Wichita has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of Wichita without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of Wichita: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Wichita for 2026:
What’s the best suburb of Wichita? Rose Hill ranks as the best suburb of Wichita for 2026 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Rose Hill, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Wichita ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Kansas:
The 10 Best Wichita Suburbs To Live For 2026
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Rose Hill is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Wichita area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Rose Hill.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $102,389 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Wichita region. And only 2.84% are out of work. Homes average more than $269,694 each.
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Population: 15,965
Median Income: $104,787
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.6%
More on Andover: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Andover is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Wichita for 2026.
It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 5.39% of residents lack insurance, good for 8th best.
We moved to Andover 14 years ago because of this kind of hype. Then my grandkids were diagnosed with adhd and autism. Andover schools are great for most kids, but if your child has special needs expect that child to be bullied… by teachers and counselors. The six years it took for the school to admit they didn’t have a clue how to help my autistic granddaughter were a nightmare for us
Four years later with a great teacher in Douglas she still has great anxiety. The grandchild with adhd finally took matters into her own hands and asked to change to online school. I think that’s the only thing reason she was able to graduate.
3. Kechi, KS
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Population: 2,901
Median Income: $113,125
Unemployment Rate: 0.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.2%
More on Kechi: Crime | Movers
Here in Kechi, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Wichita metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Kechi.
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Goddard ranks as the 4th best suburb of Wichita for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Goddard and the schools are some of the best around.
5. North Newton, KS
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Population: 2,155
Median Income: $87,402
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on North Newton: Movers
Coming in as the fifth best is North Newton.
North Newton gets kudos for having the 11th most expensive homes in the Wichita area, where houses sell for an average of $240,010. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
6. Clearwater, KS
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Population: 2,716
Median Income: $83,879
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.5%
More on Clearwater: Crime | Movers
Clearwater is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 1.81%.
According to online reports, Clearwater is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Wichita area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 26,062
Median Income: $84,112
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Derby: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Derby.
Derby schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 10.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
8. Cheney, KS
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Population: 2,580
Median Income: $85,313
Unemployment Rate: 0.6%
Poverty Rate: 6.9%
More on Cheney: Crime | Movers
Cheney is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 8.43% of people lack insurance, good for 16th in the area.
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Population: 9,043
Median Income: $97,795
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 11.8%
More on Bel Aire: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Is ‘Everything Better In Bel Aire?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
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Population: 8,590
Median Income: $77,020
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 3.6%
More on Valley Center: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is Valley Center.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Wichita for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around Wichita was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2020-2024 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Wichita.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 18 suburbs to evaluate around Wichita.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 18 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Wichita.” We’re lookin’ at you, Rose Hill.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best Wichita suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Wichita ‘Burbs of 2026
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Wichita are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Wichita but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Kansas reading, check out:
Table: Best Wichita Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rose Hill, KS | 4,246 | $102,389 | $269,694 |
| 2 | Andover, KS | 15,965 | $104,787 | $325,994 |
| 3 | Kechi, KS | 2,901 | $113,125 | $295,015 |
| 4 | Goddard, KS | 6,030 | $94,004 | $300,789 |
| 5 | North Newton, KS | 2,155 | $87,402 | $240,010 |
| 6 | Clearwater, KS | 2,716 | $83,879 | $265,948 |
| 7 | Derby, KS | 26,062 | $84,112 | $282,214 |
| 8 | Cheney, KS | 2,580 | $85,313 | $270,094 |
| 9 | Bel Aire, KS | 9,043 | $97,795 | $278,865 |
| 10 | Valley Center, KS | 8,590 | $77,020 | $260,221 |
| 11 | Maize, KS | 6,824 | $72,024 | $307,837 |
| 12 | Mulvane, KS | 6,171 | $74,039 | $235,790 |
| 13 | Halstead, KS | 2,516 | $76,250 | $205,631 |
| 14 | Augusta, KS | 9,216 | $64,919 | $214,257 |
| 15 | Haysville, KS | 11,117 | $67,740 | $207,754 |
| 16 | El Dorado, KS | 12,769 | $59,180 | $169,660 |
| 17 | Newton, KS | 18,397 | $68,885 | $171,182 |
| 18 | Wellington, KS | 7,615 | $50,333 | $110,050 |