Is being in an area of Kansas that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Wichita and Overland Park, while others want peace and quiet like in Concordia and Louisburg, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Kansas have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Sunflower State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
121.8% growth since 2010 · 3,748 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
84.3% growth since 2010 · 4,172 net new residents
Located in
Miami County, Kansas
Spring Hill is a city in Johnson and Miami counties in the U.S. state of Kansas, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,437.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
78.7% growth since 2010 · 3,299 net new residents
Basehor is a city in Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is a suburb of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,613.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
47.3% growth since 2010 · 1,936 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
45.2% growth since 2010 · 4,972 net new residents
Located in
Sedgwick County, Kansas
Andover is a city in Butler County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,791.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.8% growth since 2010 · 6,985 net new residents
Located in
Johnson County, Kansas
Gardner is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 19,123.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
37.4% growth since 2010 · 2,460 net new residents
Located in
Sedgwick County, Kansas
Bel Aire is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,769.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
27.8% growth since 2010 · 1,282 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
27.3% growth since 2010 · 1,842 net new residents
Located in
Sedgwick County, Kansas
Valley Center is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,822.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
26.7% growth since 2010 · 1,075 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kansas’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Kansas’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Sunflower State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 64 Kansas cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Sunflower State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in Kansas.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In Kansas For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maize | 6,824 | 3,076 | 121.8% | 3,748 |
| 2 | Spring Hill | 9,120 | 4,948 | 84.3% | 4,172 |
| 3 | Basehor | 7,491 | 4,192 | 78.7% | 3,299 |
| 4 | Goddard | 6,030 | 4,094 | 47.3% | 1,936 |
| 5 | Andover | 15,965 | 10,993 | 45.2% | 4,972 |
| 6 | Gardner | 24,526 | 17,541 | 39.8% | 6,985 |
| 7 | Bel Aire | 9,043 | 6,583 | 37.4% | 2,460 |
| 8 | Tonganoxie | 5,891 | 4,609 | 27.8% | 1,282 |
| 9 | Valley Center | 8,590 | 6,748 | 27.3% | 1,842 |
| 10 | Louisburg | 5,094 | 4,019 | 26.7% | 1,075 |
| 11 | Derby | 26,062 | 20,909 | 24.6% | 5,153 |
| 12 | Lenexa | 58,384 | 47,089 | 24.0% | 11,295 |
| 13 | Olathe | 145,057 | 120,774 | 20.1% | 24,283 |
| 14 | Overland Park | 200,306 | 170,515 | 17.5% | 29,791 |
| 15 | De Soto | 6,414 | 5,553 | 15.5% | 861 |
| 16 | Shawnee | 68,542 | 60,066 | 14.1% | 8,476 |
| 17 | Lawrence | 96,051 | 86,426 | 11.1% | 9,625 |
| 18 | Bonner Springs | 7,839 | 7,112 | 10.2% | 727 |
| 19 | Park City | 7,673 | 7,044 | 8.9% | 629 |
| 20 | Leawood | 33,809 | 31,322 | 7.9% | 2,487 |
| 21 | Kansas City | 155,135 | 144,025 | 7.7% | 11,110 |
| 22 | Junction City | 22,331 | 20,742 | 7.7% | 1,589 |
| 23 | Haysville | 11,117 | 10,345 | 7.5% | 772 |
| 24 | Manhattan | 54,239 | 50,606 | 7.2% | 3,633 |
| 25 | Garden City | 27,819 | 26,050 | 6.8% | 1,769 |
| 26 | Wichita | 397,945 | 373,725 | 6.5% | 24,220 |
| 27 | Leavenworth | 37,195 | 35,174 | 5.7% | 2,021 |
| 28 | McPherson | 13,995 | 13,263 | 5.5% | 732 |
| 29 | Prairie Village | 22,874 | 21,727 | 5.3% | 1,147 |
| 30 | Dodge City | 27,613 | 26,298 | 5.0% | 1,315 |
| 31 | Mission | 9,915 | 9,484 | 4.5% | 431 |
| 32 | Paola | 5,770 | 5,523 | 4.5% | 247 |
| 33 | Hays | 21,143 | 20,259 | 4.4% | 884 |
| 34 | Pittsburg | 20,637 | 20,060 | 2.9% | 577 |
| 35 | Lansing | 11,246 | 10,961 | 2.6% | 285 |
| 36 | Colby | 5,387 | 5,267 | 2.3% | 120 |
| 37 | Ottawa | 12,678 | 12,552 | 1.0% | 126 |
| 38 | Eudora | 6,119 | 6,063 | 0.9% | 56 |
| 39 | Augusta | 9,216 | 9,149 | 0.7% | 67 |
| 40 | Merriam | 11,085 | 11,107 | -0.2% | -22 |
| 41 | Topeka | 125,786 | 126,136 | -0.3% | -350 |
| 42 | Atchison | 10,785 | 10,949 | -1.5% | -164 |
| 43 | Roeland Park | 6,763 | 6,875 | -1.6% | -112 |
| 44 | Salina | 46,307 | 47,132 | -1.8% | -825 |
| 45 | El Dorado | 12,769 | 13,004 | -1.8% | -235 |
| 46 | Mulvane | 6,171 | 6,291 | -1.9% | -120 |
| 47 | Newton | 18,397 | 18,769 | -2.0% | -372 |
| 48 | Arkansas City | 11,884 | 12,296 | -3.4% | -412 |
| 49 | Pratt | 6,577 | 6,836 | -3.8% | -259 |
| 50 | Winfield | 11,711 | 12,270 | -4.6% | -559 |
| 51 | Hutchinson | 39,709 | 41,725 | -4.8% | -2,016 |
| 52 | Liberal | 19,316 | 20,308 | -4.9% | -992 |
| 53 | Abilene | 6,449 | 6,785 | -5.0% | -336 |
| 54 | Chanute | 8,598 | 9,141 | -5.9% | -543 |
| 55 | Concordia | 5,015 | 5,379 | -6.8% | -364 |
| 56 | Wellington | 7,615 | 8,186 | -7.0% | -571 |
| 57 | Emporia | 24,131 | 25,945 | -7.0% | -1,814 |
| 58 | Fort Scott | 7,555 | 8,125 | -7.0% | -570 |
| 59 | Ulysses | 5,476 | 5,902 | -7.2% | -426 |
| 60 | Iola | 5,348 | 5,790 | -7.6% | -442 |
| 61 | Great Bend | 14,479 | 15,726 | -7.9% | -1,247 |
| 62 | Independence | 8,422 | 9,505 | -11.4% | -1,083 |
| 63 | Parsons | 9,425 | 10,661 | -11.6% | -1,236 |
| 64 | Coffeyville | 8,662 | 10,380 | -16.6% | -1,718 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 64 Kansas cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Kansas, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Kansas are led by Maize which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in Kansas are Maize, Spring Hill, Basehor, Goddard, Andover, Gardner, Bel Aire, Tonganoxie, Valley Center, and Louisburg.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!
