City · Rawlins County, Kansas

Atwood, Kansas

Atwood is a city in Rawlins County, Kansas. It has 1,320 residents. Atwood, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 87 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,038 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #20 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on suicide rate (low), firearm deaths (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), pharmacies (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

87Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,038 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #20 of 202 in KS
Population: 1,320 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,241.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2003150

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety76#3,736/15,637
Economy75#3,915/15,631
Housing89#1,693/14,977
Health57#6,770/15,609
Healthcare48#8,076/15,650
Environment94#981/15,453
Education70#4,740/15,649
Infrastructure68#5,060/15,650
Community81#2,948/15,651
Leisure & amenities68#4,968/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Atwood, Kansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Rawlins County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Kansas 18.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRawlins County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kansas 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRawlins County value
Rent-burdened households · low11.5%
99/100Kansas 43.5%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Average commute time · low9.4 min
99/100Kansas 19.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Child care cost burden · low17.6%
99/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRawlins County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kansas 15.3 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRawlins County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high192 mi
1/100Kansas 51 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauRawlins County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRawlins County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kansas 4.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyRawlins County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kansas 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRawlins County value
Injury deaths · high143 /100k
5/100Kansas 88 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRawlins County value
Average weekly wage · low$912
7/100Kansas $1,216United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRawlins County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,109 (2015-2019) → 1,320 (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
26.9% (2015-2019) → 11.5% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.9% (2015-2019) → 92.6% (2020-2024)
+8.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,281 (2015-2019) → $72,188 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
24.0% (2015-2019) → 18.2% (2020-2024)
−5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
8.3% (2015-2019) → 4.9% (2020-2024)
−3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Atwood, Kansas improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+35%$53,281 → $72,188

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Atwood, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	10.0 min2015-2019	9.4 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.2%2015-2019	21.1%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Broadband subscriptions	83.9%2015-2019	92.6%2020-2024	+8.7 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Effective property tax rate	1.73%2015-2019	1.70%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	95.3%2015-2019	94.6%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4202015-2019	0.3992020-2024	−0.021	Within the margin of error	68%
Median household income	$53,2812015-2019	$72,1882020-2024	+35%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	7.7%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent as share of income	24.0%2015-2019	18.2%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.3%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	79%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Atwood, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Atwood, Kansas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Atwood, Kansas itself moved +2 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,320 residents (±146)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

582 households (±65)

Atwood, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k11%†63
$25k–50k20%†119
$50k–75k21%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

582 households (±65)

Atwood, Kansas
Kansas share

Own75%439
Rent25%†143

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+8.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

653 workers (±92)

Atwood, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone72%469
Carpool10%†66
Public transit0.5%†3

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Rawlins County, the county holding most of Atwood's residents.

Rawlins County has 88 employer establishments, 357 for every 10,000 residents (1.44× the US rate of 248; 1.38× Kansas's), with 762 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,542. The Census Bureau also counts 232 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 88; 232 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 357; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 762
Average annual pay: $49,542; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Rawlins County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	6	24.3	1.57×Too few to compare	51	$71,647	19
Religious organizations	5	20.3	3.65×Too few to compare	15	$18,933	—
Ambulatory health care services	4	16.2	0.78×Too few to compare	36	$27,028	9
Restaurants and other eating places	4	16.2	0.88×Too few to compare	24	$9,583	—
Banks and credit unions	3	12.2	3.76×Too few to compare	25	$58,360	—
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	3	12.2	7.37×Too few to compare	11	$30,818	—
Full-service restaurants	3	12.2	1.58×Too few to compare	16	$8,125	—
Gasoline stations	3	12.2	3.75×Too few to compare	22	$17,227	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	3	12.2	2.77×Too few to compare	5	$46,600	—
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Advertising, public relations and related services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	3

Rank places for an industry Open Rawlins County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,468 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Atwood is mostly in Rawlins County.

See federal money in Rawlins County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Atwood, Kansas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Tracey MannR-KS-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Rawlins County81100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Rawlins County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2003150

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends