Blue makes Kansas’s top 10 on 4 lists
Blue is ranked on 31 lists against the 158 Kansas towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 4 and the top quarter on 5.
A podium finish, and more
Each list ranks every KS town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Blue marked.
1 spot from the top 10 for college degrees
Lists where Blue sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Blue lands in the top half on 10 of 18 lists
Each dot is Blue’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in KS, the right end is last. Areas where Blue does best come first.
More snow than 93% of Kansas
Not better or worse, just Blue’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Blue out-ranks 0 of its 4 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Blue lands in every KS ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
People
Most educated#1 Mission Hills · 87.3%
#11
Youngest#1 Sherlock · 22.5
#56
M
Oldest#1 Monmouth · 54.0
#104
Most residents 65+#1 Minneha · 29.6%
#145
Most kids#1 Sherlock · 45.8%
#20 Health
Healthiest#1 Fairway · 98 / 100
#54
F
Lowest obesity#1 Fort Riley · 25%
#7
Fewest smokers#1 Mission Hills · 7%
#53
Most active#1 Fairway · 15%
#60
Fewest uninsured#1 Mission Hills · 4%
#93
Lowest depression#1 Leawood · 17%
#138
Closest to a top hospital#1 Winfield · 0.2 mi
#42 
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Winfield · 34.9%
#5
Most trails#1 Iola · 2.4 mi / sq mi
#69
Most walkable#1 Roeland Park · 169 / sq mi
#133 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Norton · 7.4 min
#93 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Oaklawn-Sunview · 0.7 yrs
#141
Cheapest rent#1 Prospect · $538/mo
#148
Lowest property tax#1 Oaklawn-Sunview · $701/yr
#144
Rent easiest to afford#1 Dodge City · 27.6%
Climate
Snowiest#1 Goodland · 30 in
#12
Least snow#1 El Dorado · 4.5 in
#142
Mildest winters#1 Garden · 25.5°
#129
Hottest summers#1 Ulysses · 93.7°
#99
Coolest summers#1 Hiawatha · 87.7°
#54
Longest growing season#1 Kansas City · 211 days
#116
Wettest#1 Frontenac · 46 in
#104 Housing
L Vacation-home towns#1 Lincoln · 11.7% #109
Most new homes#1 Maize · 31.5 per 1,000
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Garnett · +85.9%
#108
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Edwardsville · 15.1 per home
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Girard · 20.0 per resident
Most library borrowing#1 Hesston · 20.9 per resident
Best libraries for kids#1 Hesston · 40.7 per child
Safety
Safest#1 Ulysses · 5.6
The number on the right is Blue’s spot. All of Kansas’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every KS list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.