Best PlacesGeary County, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Geary 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.
Geary County ranks 1,763rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Geary 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.
Geary County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Geary County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of counties
- Short commute17.5 minutes each way, better than 89% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 77% of counties
Where Geary County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Geary County
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Geary County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,238, 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 Geary County's effective rate of 1.48%, 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 Geary County
Geary County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Geary County.
Who works in Geary County, and how
Work in Geary County centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Geary County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Geary County.
Is Geary County growing, and who is moving in?
Geary County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Manhattan, KS metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Geary County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Geary County, month by month
Geary County sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Geary County
The nearest airport, Manhattan Regional, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 115 miles away.
The best schools in and around Geary County
Schools across Geary County average a C, better than 32% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Milford ElemA− · 58% proficient
- Riley County Grade SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Sheridan ElemB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wabaunsee Junior HighB · 43% proficient
- Fort Riley Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Dwight D Eisenhower Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Chapman HighB− · 42% proficient
- Manhattan High School West/east CampusC+ · 39% proficient
- Council Grove Junior Senior High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Geary County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Geary 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 Geary County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Geary County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Geary County
Is Geary County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Geary County ranks 1,763rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, short commutes, and population health, and lowest on civic engagement and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Geary County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,705. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $65,238 median income, cost of living beats 44% of counties.
Is Geary County safe?
Geary County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $444 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Geary County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 20. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of counties.
Is Geary County good for families?
Schools beat 32% of counties, crime safety beats 30%, and childcare runs $796 a month.
Compare Geary County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Geary County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Geary 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.
Geary County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Geary County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Geary County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Geary County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Geary County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Geary 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.