A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bucklin$1,080/mo

Typical home $145K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.61% · or rent about $690/mo · Housing →

Downs$660/mo

Typical home $101K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.56% · or rent about $582/mo · Housing →

The difference: $410 a month, about $5,000 a year, between Bucklin and Downs.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

BucklinDowns

Snow a year18″18″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)47th 69th

Outdoors & history

BucklinDowns

Trails—0 mi

Conserved land—0.9%

Settled1909 —

National Register places—2

Archive photos3 —

Famous people born here1 —

Community

BucklinDowns

Library hours a week28 hrs 30 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

147 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BucklinKS DownsKS

Bucklin ↔ Downs147 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Kansas average

BucklinDowns

People

Population 652Lowest 749Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -8.4%Highest KS: +3% -11.1%Lowest KS: +3%

Median age 49±13.9Lowest 31% above KS 50.9±10Highest 36% above KS

Downs and Bucklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 18.4%±7.2Highest KS: 23.8% 17.5%±4.9Lowest KS: 23.8%

Bucklin and Downs are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 26.2%±5.4Lowest KS: 17% 36.4%±4.1Highest KS: 17%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 26.9%Lowest KS: 35.6% 27.8%Highest KS: 35.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 10%±11.5Highest KS: 6.6% 0.8%±1.7Lowest KS: 6.6%

Bucklin and Downs are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $60,208±$3kLowest 19% below KS $62,333±$8kHighest 16% below KS

Downs and Bucklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $84,600±$24kLowest 61% below KS $102,700±$11kHighest 53% below KS

Downs and Bucklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $690±$147Highest 35% below KS $582±$28Lowest 45% below KS

Bucklin and Downs are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,211Highest 21% below KS $1,606Lowest 43% below KS

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 0%±28.6Lowest KS: 43.5% 39.1%±20Highest KS: 43.5%

Downs and Bucklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 5.7%Lowest KS: 11.3% 5.8%Highest KS: 11.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 77.2%Highest KS: 67.2% 76.9%Lowest KS: 67.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1950Lowest 26 yrs older than KS 1955Highest 21 yrs older than KS

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 17 minHighest 16% below KS 13 minLowest 32% below KS

Work from home 1.8%±1.8Lowest KS: 11.8% 2%±2.5Highest KS: 11.8%

Downs and Bucklin are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 13.3%Lowest 13.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 25.8 miHighest 23.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.88Lowest 0.90Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Dodge City (18%)Osborne (24%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in DownsFew work in Bucklin

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 0.9%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 150Highest 104Lowest

Kansas average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bucklin neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bucklin’s Town Square.

Downs neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Downs’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bucklin and Downs

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Bucklin

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Ross Township777 people · $100K homes

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Bennett Township510 people · $107K homes

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Cedar Township713 people · $66K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bucklin vs Downs

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $410 more a month in Bucklin

What daily life feels like in each

147 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bucklin and Downs

Towns like Bucklin

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