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%

Downs$660/mo

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

Bucklin$1,080/mo

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

DownsBucklin

Snow a year18″18″

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

Outdoors & history

DownsBucklin

Trails0 mi —

Conserved land0.9%—

Settled—1909

National Register places2 —

Archive photos—3

Famous people born here—1

Community

DownsBucklin

Library hours a week30 hrs 28 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.

DownsKS BucklinKS

Downs ↔ Bucklin147 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

DownsBucklin

People

Population 749Highest 652Lowest

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

Median age 50.9±10Highest 36% above KS 49±13.9Lowest 31% 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 17.5%±4.9Lowest KS: 23.8% 18.4%±7.2Highest 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+ 36.4%±4.1Highest KS: 17% 26.2%±5.4Lowest KS: 17%

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

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0.8%±1.7Lowest KS: 6.6% 10%±11.5Highest 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 $62,333±$8kHighest 16% below KS $60,208±$3kLowest 19% 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 $102,700±$11kHighest 53% below KS $84,600±$24kLowest 61% 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 $582±$28Lowest 45% below KS $690±$147Highest 35% 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 $1,606Lowest 43% below KS $2,211Highest 21% below KS

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 39.1%±20Highest KS: 43.5% 0%±28.6Lowest 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 5.8%Highest KS: 11.3% 5.7%Lowest KS: 11.3%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 2%±2.5Highest KS: 11.8% 1.8%±1.8Lowest 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 13.4%Highest 13.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 23.3 miLowest 25.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BucklinFew work in Downs

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.9%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

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

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.

Downs neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Downs’s Town Square.

Bucklin neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bucklin’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Downs and Bucklin

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

Towns like Downs

+ Compare

Ross Township777 people · $100K homes

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Ashland738 people · $70K homes

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Sharon Springs Township900 people · $102K homes

+ Compare

Mission Township976 people · $110K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Kansas towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Downs vs Bucklin

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

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Towns like Downs

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