Best PlacesElk County, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Elk County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Elk County ranks 2,599th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Elk County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Elk County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elk County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of counties
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 95% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 74% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 70% of counties
Where Elk County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of counties
- Short commute33.8 minutes each way, better than only 6% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Elk County
A household needs to earn about $22,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elk County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,698, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Elk County's effective rate of 1.66%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elk County
Elk County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Elk County.
Who works in Elk County, and how
Work in Elk County centers on education and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Elk County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Elk County.
Is Elk County growing, and who is moving in?
Elk County has lost about 10% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wichita, KS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Elk County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Elk County, month by month
Elk County sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Elk County
The nearest airport, Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower Ntl, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 154 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elk County
Schools across Elk County average a C−, better than 17% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Elk Valley ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Marshall Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Central ElemC · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Eureka Jr/sr HighC− · 28% proficient
- Fredonia Jr./sr. High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Central Jr-sr HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elk County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elk County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Elk County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Elk County
Is Elk County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elk County ranks 2,599th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on property taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elk County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $75,040. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $65,698 median income, cost of living beats 70% of counties.
Is Elk County safe?
Elk County is safer than 40% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $376 per resident a year.
Compare Elk County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elk County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elk County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Elk County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elk County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elk County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elk County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elk County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elk County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.