Best PlacesThomas County, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Thomas 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.
Thomas County ranks 714th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Thomas 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.
Thomas County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Thomas County ranks high
- Short commute11.8 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 95% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of counties
Where Thomas County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 17% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 24% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Thomas County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Thomas County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,306, 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 Thomas County's effective rate of 1.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Thomas County
Thomas 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 Thomas County.
Who works in Thomas County, and how
Work in Thomas County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Thomas County
Thomas County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and more parkland per resident than 82% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Thomas County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Thomas County growing, and who is moving in?
Thomas County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Yuma County, CO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Thomas County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Thomas County, month by month
Thomas County sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 68° | 50° | 36° |
| July | 92° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 52° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Thomas County
The nearest airport, Garden City Regional, is about 102 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 196 miles away.
The best schools in and around Thomas County
Schools across Thomas County average a C−, better than 26% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Colby ElemC+ · 38% proficient
- Oakley ElemC · 33% proficient
- Brewster ElemC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Colby Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Golden Plains MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Oakley Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Brewster HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Winona HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Golden Plains HighD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Thomas County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Thomas 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 Thomas County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Thomas County
Is Thomas County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Thomas County ranks 714th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and fast internet, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Thomas County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $194,058. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $76,306 median income, cost of living beats 83% of counties.
Is Thomas County safe?
Yes, Thomas County is safer than 65% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
Compare Thomas County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Thomas County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Thomas 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.
Thomas County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Thomas County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Thomas County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Thomas County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Thomas County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Thomas 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.