Best PlacesRiley County, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Riley County, 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.
Riley County ranks 928th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Riley 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.
The best areas in Riley County
The parts of Riley County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Ogden
More residents vote, local pay stretches further, and more households have young kids.
Manhattan
Incomes run lower and it is noisier.
Fort Riley
Prices have run up less, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Riley County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 11% of the country and others in the top 5%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Riley County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Riley County ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of counties
- Short commute16.3 minutes each way, better than 93% of counties
- BikingBetter than 92% of counties
Where Riley County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 17% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 28% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Riley County
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Riley County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,160, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Riley County's effective rate of 1.44%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Riley County
Riley County runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Riley County.
Who works in Riley County, and how
Work in Riley County centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in Riley County
Riley County has more parkland per resident than 89% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 92% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Riley County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Riley County growing, and who is moving in?
Riley County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Kansas City, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Riley County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Riley County, month by month
Riley County sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 43° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Riley County
The nearest airport, Manhattan Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around Riley County
Schools across Riley County average a B−, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Amanda Arnold ElemA− · 61% proficient
- West ElemA− · 59% proficient
- Riley County Grade SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Susan B Anthony Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Wabaunsee Junior HighB · 43% proficient
- Randolph MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Manhattan High School West/east CampusC+ · 39% proficient
- Clay Center Community HighC · 33% proficient
- Wabaunsee Sr HighC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Riley County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Riley 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 Riley County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Riley County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Riley County
Is Riley County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Riley County ranks 928th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, and state infrastructure, 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 Riley County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $259,516. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $65,160 median income, cost of living beats 45% of counties.
Is Riley County safe?
Yes, Riley County is safer than 57% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $355 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Riley County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 20. That works out to about 105 pleasant days a year, more than 64% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Riley County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Ogden, Manhattan, and Fort Riley. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Riley County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Riley County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Riley 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.
Riley County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Riley County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Riley County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Riley County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Riley County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Riley 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.