The 10 Best College Towns In Kansas For 2022
By Nick Johnson & Chris Kolmar | 04/07/2022
Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality
It's actually not even close and Kansas is home to a handful of them.
While we could debate which colleges within the are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.
Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Kansas are the best.
You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.
Without further ado, here are the best college towns in Kansas for 2022.
While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.
And for those who live in Hays, Manhattan and Topeka - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Hays ranks in terms of the best college town in America.
Read on to find out more or for more on Kansas check out:
Population: 20,855
% Undergrad Pop.: 21.2% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $720 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 414.9% (9th best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Hays: Real Estate | Cost Of Living
Colleges: Fort Hays State University, Hays Academy of Hair Design
Population: 55,045
% Undergrad Pop.: 33.9% (best)
Median Rent: $911 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 441.2% (11th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Manhattan: Real Estate | Cost Of Living
Colleges: Kansas State University, Manhattan Christian College, Manhattan Area Technical College
Population: 125,819
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.9% (10th best)
Median Rent: $815 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 492.7% (13th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Topeka: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Washburn University, Washburn Institute of Technology, Bryan University
Population: 139,216
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.9% (14th best)
Median Rent: $1,070 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 305.2% (4th best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Olathe: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: MidAmerica Nazarene University, Regency Beauty Institute-Olathe
Population: 97,348
% Undergrad Pop.: 21.2% (4th best)
Median Rent: $953 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 435.9% (10th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Lawrence: Real Estate | Cost Of Living
Colleges: University of Kansas, Haskell Indian Nations University, Pinnacle Career Institute-Lawrence
Population: 24,631
% Undergrad Pop.: 17.0% (5th best)
Median Rent: $650 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 468.7% (12th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Emporia: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Emporia State University, Flint Hills Technical College
Population: 20,096
% Undergrad Pop.: 26.0% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $726 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 571.8% (18th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on Pittsburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living
Colleges: Pittsburg State University
Population: 13,066
% Undergrad Pop.: 4.3% (8th best)
Median Rent: $763 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 130.4% (best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Mcpherson: Real Estate | Cost Of Living
Colleges: McPherson College, Central Christian College of Kansas
Population: 54,804
% Undergrad Pop.: 0.0% (18th best)
Median Rent: $1,183 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 257.1% (3rd best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Lenexa: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Brown Mackie College-Kansas City, Grantham University, The Art Institutes International-Kansas City
Population: 10,561
% Undergrad Pop.: 12.5% (6th best)
Median Rent: $664 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 533.1% (15th best)
Crime Rank: 8th best
More on Atchison: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report
Colleges: Benedictine College
To crunch our data on Kansas's best college towns, we had to first decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.
First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.
You might be surprised to hear that there are only 17 places in Kansas with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.
Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:
We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.
We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.
Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In Kansas For 2022".
And it looks like Hays placed Summa Cum Laude.
If you're looking for the best college towns in Kansas, you came to the right place.
These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.
For more reading, check out:
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hays, KS | 20855 |
| 2 | Manhattan, KS | 55045 |
| 3 | Topeka, KS | 125819 |
| 4 | Olathe, KS | 139216 |
| 5 | Lawrence, KS | 97348 |
| 6 | Emporia, KS | 24631 |
| 7 | Pittsburg, KS | 20096 |
| 8 | Mcpherson, KS | 13066 |
| 9 | Lenexa, KS | 54804 |
| 10 | Atchison, KS | 10561 |
| 11 | Overland Park, KS | 193412 |
| 12 | Wichita, KS | 390566 |
| 13 | Leavenworth, KS | 36129 |
| 14 | Kansas City, KS | 153014 |
| 15 | Winfield, KS | 11990 |
| 16 | Ottawa, KS | 12308 |
| 17 | Salina, KS | 46706 |
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