These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Kansas For 2018

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is Kansas a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best places to live in Kansas.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Sunflower State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of Kansas, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 63 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Sunflower State for 2018:

1. Ottawa County (Photos)
2. Clay County
3. Mitchell County (Photos)
4. Cheyenne County
5. Pottawatomie County (Photos)
6. Ellsworth County (Photos)
7. Rawlins County
8. McPherson County (Photos)
9. Thomas County (Photos)
10. Marshall County (Photos)

Ottawa County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Kansas. And you might want to avoid Montgomery County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move Kansas, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Kansas and the best places to raise a family in Kansas.

How do you determine which Kansas county is the best?

To give you the best county in Kansas, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.

We paid particular attention to:

• Violent Crime Rates
• Property Crime Rates
• Median Home Values
• Median Income
• Unemployment Rates
• Adult Education Levels
• Health Insurance Coverage
• Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Kansas across each of the criteria from one to 63, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the ‘Best County To Live In Kansas’.

The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Sunflower State.

Read on to see why Ottawa County is the best county, while Montgomery County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Kansas.

1. Ottawa County

Biggest Place: Minneapolis
Population: 6,004
Median Income: $52,241 (16th best)
Median Home Price: $92,800 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.2% (26th best)
More on Ottawa County: Photos | Data

2. Clay County

Biggest Place: Clay Center
Population: 8,346
Median Income: $53,041 (13th best)
Median Home Price: $99,400 (1st best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (12th best)
More on Clay County: Data

3. Mitchell County

Biggest Place: Beloit
Population: 6,299
Median Income: $49,755 (24th best)
Median Home Price: $90,000 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.8% (11th best)
More on Mitchell County: Photos | Data

4. Cheyenne County

Biggest Place: St. Francis
Population: 2,679
Median Income: $46,058 (44th best)
Median Home Price: $84,500 (18th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.7% (2nd best)
More on Cheyenne County: Data

5. Pottawatomie County

Biggest Place: Manhattan
Population: 22,920
Median Income: $62,500 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $165,900 (43rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.3% (27th best)
More on Pottawatomie County: Photos | Data

6. Ellsworth County

Biggest Place: Ellsworth
Population: 6,375
Median Income: $49,134 (29th best)
Median Home Price: $85,700 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.4% (15th best)
More on Ellsworth County: Photos | Data

7. Rawlins County

Biggest Place: Atwood
Population: 2,557
Median Income: $49,327 (28th best)
Median Home Price: $81,500 (24th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.4% (7th best)
More on Rawlins County: Data

8. Mcpherson County

Biggest Place: McPherson
Population: 29,164
Median Income: $56,783 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $138,800 (45th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.4% (7th best)
More on Mcpherson County: Photos | Data

9. Thomas County

Biggest Place: Colby
Population: 7,909
Median Income: $52,074 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $110,100 (58th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.9% (5th best)
More on Thomas County: Photos | Data

10. Marshall County

Biggest Place: Marysville
Population: 9,963
Median Income: $47,532 (36th best)
Median Home Price: $92,000 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (14th best)
More on Marshall County: Photos | Data

There You Have It – The Best Counties In Kansas To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Kansas can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Kansas according to the data:

1. Montgomery County
2. Wyandotte County
3. Labette County

For more Kansas reading, check out:

• 10 Most Diverse Cities In Kansas
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Kansas
• 10 Best Cities For Singles In Kansas
• 10 Most Diverse Cities In Kansas

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Kansas

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Ottawa County	1	6,004	$52,241	$92,800
Clay County	2	8,346	$53,041	$99,400
Mitchell County	3	6,299	$49,755	$90,000
Cheyenne County	4	2,679	$46,058	$84,500
Pottawatomie County	5	22,920	$62,500	$165,900
Ellsworth County	6	6,375	$49,134	$85,700
Rawlins County	7	2,557	$49,327	$81,500
Mcpherson County	8	29,164	$56,783	$138,800
Thomas County	9	7,909	$52,074	$110,100
Marshall County	10	9,963	$47,532	$92,000
Norton County	11	5,558	$47,651	$69,700
Morris County	12	5,694	$48,551	$89,500
Jackson County	13	13,365	$54,700	$121,000
Rooks County	14	5,160	$46,750	$74,600
Meade County	15	4,310	$52,960	$91,100
Johnson County	16	572,428	$78,186	$222,400
Leavenworth County	17	78,785	$66,046	$168,900
Miami County	18	32,787	$63,353	$173,400
Gove County	19	2,682	$46,681	$77,800
Marion County	20	12,213	$47,926	$82,600
Kingman County	21	7,697	$56,142	$90,200
Kiowa County	22	2,520	$44,896	$118,400
Barber County	23	4,831	$49,455	$77,400
Jefferson County	24	18,880	$56,777	$130,100
Coffey County	25	8,433	$57,442	$107,300
Sumner County	26	23,509	$50,950	$84,200
Butler County	27	66,264	$60,338	$137,800
Pawnee County	28	6,840	$46,227	$77,200
Ellis County	29	29,032	$50,140	$155,900
Stevens County	30	5,738	$54,333	$98,600
Stafford County	31	4,284	$46,830	$64,900
Reno County	32	63,803	$46,000	$96,100
Osborne County	33	3,746	$41,432	$60,100
Doniphan County	34	7,793	$49,375	$92,000
Pratt County	35	9,729	$48,995	$86,300
Rice County	36	9,949	$46,335	$74,200
Anderson County	37	7,858	$42,146	$91,200
Harvey County	38	34,814	$52,463	$120,600
Grant County	39	7,748	$54,919	$101,000
Brown County	40	9,810	$44,672	$86,000
Franklin County	41	25,663	$51,465	$118,200
Dickinson County	42	19,384	$48,093	$110,300
Finney County	43	36,983	$50,712	$122,700
Bourbon County	44	14,751	$41,529	$82,300
Harper County	45	5,798	$46,886	$66,200
Morton County	46	3,033	$44,100	$105,600
Ford County	47	34,492	$49,688	$103,600
Geary County	48	36,818	$45,243	$136,100
Shawnee County	49	178,567	$52,088	$125,900
Lyon County	50	33,401	$40,611	$94,500
Saline County	51	55,547	$48,497	$123,200
Crawford County	52	39,281	$37,607	$85,100
Cowley County	53	35,977	$44,960	$83,000
Wilson County	54	8,956	$43,594	$61,700
Allen County	55	12,951	$40,911	$73,700
Atchison County	56	16,557	$46,103	$100,300
Woodson County	57	3,186	$35,321	$52,100
Barton County	58	27,214	$44,449	$83,700
Cherokee County	59	20,737	$41,240	$74,800
Sedgwick County	60	508,221	$51,157	$128,000
Labette County	61	20,833	$41,851	$75,300
Wyandotte County	62	161,777	$40,757	$90,100
Montgomery County	63	33,765	$42,646	$71,600