City · Wilson County, Kansas

Fredonia, Kansas

Fredonia is a city in Wilson County, Kansas. It has 1,945 residents. Fredonia, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,905 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #178 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), home price to income ratio (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on mental health providers (low), traffic deaths (high) and public EV charging ports (low).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,905 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #178 of 202 in KS
Population: 1,945 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 797.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2024575

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety43#8,876/15,637
Economy36#10,013/15,631
Housing89#1,666/14,977
Health20#12,503/15,609
Healthcare29#11,074/15,650
Environment11#13,828/15,453
Education28#11,340/15,649
Infrastructure42#9,136/15,650
Community52#7,492/15,651
Leisure & amenities41#9,156/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high22.7 /10k
99/100Kansas 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWilson County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.3×
99/100Kansas 2.9×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kansas 15.3 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWilson County value
Average commute time · low13.2 min
98/100Kansas 19.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Public libraries · high3.6 /10k
97/100Kansas 1.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesWilson County value
Unemployment rate · low0.4%
95/100Kansas 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low24 /100k
1/100Kansas 266 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWilson County value
Traffic deaths · high40.1 /100k
3/100Kansas 13.5 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataWilson County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kansas 4.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWilson County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low34.7%
4/100Kansas 80.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWilson County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kansas 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWilson County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Kansas 3.6United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWilson County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,141 (2015-2019) → 1,945 (2020-2024)
−9.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.8% (2015-2019) → 90.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.8% (2015-2019) → 38.0% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
36.2% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
31.9% (2015-2019) → 23.1% (2020-2024)
−8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,178 (2015-2019) → $59,125 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Fredonia, Kansas improved on 1 of 13 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.

Improved1

Broadband+15 points74.8% → 90.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Fredonia, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.1 min2015-2019	13.2 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	59%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.8%2015-2019	17.7%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Broadband subscriptions	74.8%2015-2019	90.1%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	81%
Child poverty rate	36.2%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Effective property tax rate	1.52%2015-2019	1.56%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	11%
High school diploma or higher	87.0%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	1.3×2020-2024	−0.4×	Within the margin of error	91%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4972015-2019	0.4352020-2024	−0.062	Within the margin of error	88%
Median household income	$44,1782015-2019	$59,1252020-2024	+34%	Within the margin of error	63%
Poverty rate	20.5%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Rent as share of income	31.9%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent-burdened households	51.8%2015-2019	38.0%2020-2024	−14 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.6%2015-2019	8.0%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	42%

“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 Fredonia, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fredonia, 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, Fredonia, Kansas itself moved +14.3 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

1,945 residents (±246)

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

859 households (±136)

Fredonia, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k25%†215
$25k–50k20%†168
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

859 households (±136)

Fredonia, Kansas
Kansas share

Own66%567
Rent34%†292

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

† 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

900 workers (±146)

Fredonia, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone79%712
Carpool17%†151
Public transit0.0%0

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 Wilson County, the county holding most of Fredonia's residents.

Wilson County has 202 employer establishments, 241 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Kansas's), with 3,765 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,860. The Census Bureau also counts 592 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 202; 592 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 241; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 3,765
Average annual pay: $53,860; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	18	21.5	1.17×About typical	166	$13,482	4
Religious organizations	16	19.1	3.44×More than typical	50	$18,600	—
Ambulatory health care services	14	16.7	0.80×About typical	169	$38,917	15
Full-service restaurants	11	13.1	1.71×More than typical	81	$15,556	—
Specialty trade contractors	10	11.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,013	$75,223	47
Truck transportation	10	11.9	2.36×More than typical	36	$54,556	19
Insurance agencies and brokerages	9	10.7	2.44×Too few to compare	20	$35,100	13
Gasoline stations	6	7.2	2.21×Too few to compare	72	$20,514	—
Limited-service restaurants	6	7.2	0.89×Too few to compare	84	$11,262	—
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	5	6	3.41×Too few to compare	20	$32,300	—
Banks and credit unions	5	6	1.85×Too few to compare	50	$48,840	—
Offices of physicians	5	6	0.92×Too few to compare	36	$32,028	3

Rank places for an industry Open Wilson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,387 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: Fredonia is mostly in Wilson County.

See federal money in Wilson 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.

Fredonia, 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.

Wilson County36100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Wilson 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/2024575

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends