Best PlacesKansas Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kansas, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kansas ranks 31st of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on fast internet and state infrastructure. The weaker spots are the schools, taxes, and distance from a big city.
The best neighborhoods in Kansas
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.
The best areas in Kansas
The counties of Kansas, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Johnson County
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and more adults hold degrees.
Shawnee County, Wyandotte County & Leavenworth County
Big-city amenities are closer and tree cover is thicker.
Riley County, Geary County & Pottawatomie County
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Sedgwick County
Scores close to Riley County, Geary County & Pottawatomie County, except that schools score lower here.
Saline County, Harvey County & Lyon County
Homes cost less, though fewer households have young kids.
Finney County, Reno County & Ellis County
More homes sit empty and crime runs higher.
Thomas County, Sherman County & Mitchell County
Health outcomes score lower and advertised internet is slower.
Ford County, Seward County & Pratt County
Health care is harder to reach and fewer residents vote.
Crawford County, Montgomery County & Labette County
Heat risk is higher and disaster risk is higher.
Kansas shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Kansas' strengths and weaknesses
Kansas lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Fast internet, state infrastructure, and short commutes carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. The schools, taxes, and distance from a big city hold the score down. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Kansas ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of states
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of states
- Short commute19.7 minutes each way, better than 87% of states
- Cheap childcare$709 a month, better than 86% of states
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 81% of states
Where Kansas ranks low
- School gradeC−, better than only 11% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 17% of states
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of states
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of states
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 25% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Kansas
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kansas home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,812, 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 Kansas' effective rate of 1.27%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kansas
Kansas's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Kansas.
Who works in Kansas, and how
Work in Kansas centers on health care & social and manufacturing. 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 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Kansas
Kansas has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and more parkland per resident than 85% of states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Kansas and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Kansas, month by month
Kansas sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 23° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 49° |
The best schools in and around Kansas
Schools across Kansas average a C−, better than 11% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Corinth ElemA+ · 81% proficient
- Prairie Creek ElementaryA+ · 81% proficient
- Ingalls ElemA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Palco Jr. HighA− · 58% proficient
- Patton Jr HighA− · 53% proficient
- Lakeview MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Wetmore HighB+ · 58% proficient
- West Platte HighB · 50% proficient
- Blue Valley HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kansas school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kansas 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 Kansas against the other 49 states.
Who Kansas suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of states, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 57% of states and health care access beats 58%.
Common questions about living in Kansas
Is Kansas a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kansas ranks 31st of 50 states. It scores highest on fast internet, state infrastructure, and short commutes, and lowest on the schools and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kansas expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,861. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $84,812 median income, cost of living beats 81% of states.
Is Kansas safe?
Kansas is safer than 53% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $393 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Kansas?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 23. That works out to about 96 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of states.
What are the best areas in Kansas?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Johnson County, Shawnee County, Wyandotte County & Leavenworth County, and Riley County, Geary County & Pottawatomie County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Kansas good for families?
Schools beat 11% of states, crime safety beats 53%, and childcare runs $709 a month.
Is Kansas good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 91% of states. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Kansas with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kansas. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kansas 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.
Kansas detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kansas: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kansas: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kansas: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kansas: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kansas 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.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- 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.