City · Bourbon County, Kansas

Fort Scott, Kansas

Fort Scott is a city in Bourbon County, Kansas. It has 7,555 residents. Fort Scott, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,047 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #183 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), average commute time (low) and homicide rate (low). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and math scores (low).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,047 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #183 of 202 in KS
Population: 7,555 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 1,353.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2024000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety47#8,309/15,637
Economy21#12,422/15,631
Housing93#1,118/14,977
Health23#11,994/15,609
Healthcare10#14,163/15,650
Environment35#10,051/15,453
Education32#10,647/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,424/15,650
Community57#6,686/15,651
Leisure & amenities24#11,887/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fort Scott, Kansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bourbon 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

Preventable hospital stays · low1,621 /100k
95/100Kansas 2,534 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBourbon County value
Average commute time · low16.7 min
95/100Kansas 19.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kansas 4.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBourbon County value
Child care cost burden · low20.5%
93/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBourbon County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
93/100Kansas 2.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent-burdened households · low40.9%
93/100Kansas 43.5%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBourbon County value
Distance to an emergency room · high21.6 mi
2/100Kansas 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBourbon County value
Math scores · low2.47
3/100Kansas 2.97United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBourbon County value
Average weekly wage · low$866
3/100Kansas $1,216United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBourbon County value
Job growth · low-4.0%
4/100Kansas 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBourbon County value
Grocery stores · low0.7 /10k
4/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBourbon County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.1 /1k (2021) → 2.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+88%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.5% (2015-2019) → 88.2% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$35,417 (2015-2019) → $52,159 (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
17.1% (2015-2019) → 23.0% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateImproving
18.2% (2015-2019) → 13.5% (2020-2024)
−4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
13.9 min (2015-2019) → 16.7 min (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Fort Scott, Kansas improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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.

Improved2

Broadband+16 points72.5% → 88.2%
Household income+47%$35,417 → $52,159

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Fort Scott, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.9 min2015-2019	16.7 min2020-2024	+2.8 min	Within the margin of error	21%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.1%2015-2019	23.0%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Broadband subscriptions	72.5%2015-2019	88.2%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	82%
Child poverty rate	20.9%2015-2019	19.0%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Effective property tax rate	1.74%2015-2019	1.57%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	51%
High school diploma or higher	88.5%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	63%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4492015-2019	0.4182020-2024	−0.031	Within the margin of error	75%
Median household income	$35,4172015-2019	$52,1592020-2024	+47%	Improved	82%
Poverty rate	18.2%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	−4.7 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	27.5%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Rent-burdened households	40.8%2015-2019	40.9%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Unemployment rate	3.1%2015-2019	6.3%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.7%2015-2019	10.9%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	67%

“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 Fort Scott, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fort Scott, 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, Fort Scott, Kansas itself moved +4.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

7,555 residents (±17)

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

3,447 households (±190)

Fort Scott, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k18%636
$25k–50k30%1,040
$50k–75k13%462

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,447 households (±190)

Fort Scott, Kansas
Kansas share

Own66%2,288
Rent34%1,159

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,374 workers (±357)

Fort Scott, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone66%2,214
Carpool15%†514
Public transit0.0%†1

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 Bourbon County, the county holding most of Fort Scott's residents.

Bourbon County has 363 employer establishments, 251 for every 10,000 residents (1.01× the US rate of 248; 0.97× Kansas's), with 4,305 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,229. The Census Bureau also counts 1,067 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 363; 1,067 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 251; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 4,305
Average annual pay: $41,229; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	31	21.5	1.17×About typical	373	$18,169	4
Specialty trade contractors	24	16.6	1.07×About typical	161	$58,814	122
Religious organizations	21	14.5	2.62×More than typical	111	$19,459	—
Ambulatory health care services	20	13.9	0.66×Fewer than typical	308	$50,675	23
Construction of buildings	15	10.4	1.37×More than typical	21	$47,143	49
Limited-service restaurants	14	9.7	1.21×About typical	227	$17,705	—
Full-service restaurants	13	9	1.17×About typical	138	$18,877	—
Gasoline stations	11	7.6	2.35×More than typical	121	$16,603	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	11	7.6	1.74×More than typical	24	$48,500	19
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	6.9	1.38×More than typical	47	$28,936	23
Building equipment contractors	10	6.9	1.15×About typical	30	$49,267	16
Lessors of real estate	10	6.9	0.56×Fewer than typical	18	$35,389	86

Rank places for an industry Open Bourbon County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,434 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

In FY2026, an estimated $15.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fort Scott, Kansas: $2.04 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $15.4K; −2.6% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.04; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.7%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

8.4KFY2017
37.9KFY2018
15.9KFY2019
16.6KFY2020
12.3KFY2021
24KFY2022
90.1KFY2023
35.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$9,10259%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$4,58930%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$1,2268.0%
Investigation and security services · 5616$3001.9%
Converted paper product manufacturing · 3222$2401.6%
Office furniture (including fixtures) manufacturing · 3372

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Fort Scott, Kansas, so they do not add up across cities.

Fort Scott, Kansas's figures are part of those of Bourbon County, KS ($769.4K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Bourbon 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.

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

House

Derek SchmidtR-KS-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.7%

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.

Bourbon County41100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Bourbon 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/2024000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends