City · McPherson County, Kansas

Galva, Kansas

Galva is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, part of the McPherson, KS metro area. It has 1,002 residents. Galva, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,995 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #58 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), social associations (high) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), new business applications (low) and hospital quality rating (low).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #4,995 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #58 of 202 in KS
Population: 1,002 (2020-2024)
Land area: 0 mi²
Density: 2,007.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2025200

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety33#10,414/15,637
Economy80#3,109/15,631
Housing87#1,992/14,977
Health43#8,875/15,609
Healthcare68#5,056/15,650
Environment38#9,633/15,453
Education61#6,136/15,649
Infrastructure62#5,942/15,650
Community79#3,248/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,800/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child care cost burden · low14.1%
100/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcPherson County value
Social associations · high21.3 /10k
99/100Kansas 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcPherson County value
Unemployment rate · low0.5%
95/100Kansas 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Average commute time · low17.4 min
94/100Kansas 19.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Time spent in the emergency room · low109 min
93/100Kansas 129 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMcPherson County value
Rent as share of income · low23.3%
92/100Kansas 27.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-4.0%
4/100Kansas 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMcPherson County value
New business applications · low8.1 /1k
7/100Kansas 12.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMcPherson County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Kansas 3.2United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMcPherson County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.75%
13/100Kansas 1.21%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Mental health providers · low125 /100k
19/100Kansas 266 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcPherson County value
Comfortable days · low23.8%
21/100Kansas 25.1%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMcPherson County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
29.7% (2015-2019) → 43.5% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.6% (2015-2019) → 88.8% (2020-2024)
+6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$70,625 (2015-2019) → $91,167 (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
11.0% (2015-2019) → 5.4% (2020-2024)
−5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
18.6% (2015-2019) → 23.3% (2020-2024)
+4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 1.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+17%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

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, Galva, Kansas improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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+29%$70,625 → $91,167

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Galva, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.0 min2015-2019	17.4 min2020-2024	+2.4 min	Within the margin of error	24%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.0%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Broadband subscriptions	82.6%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Effective property tax rate	1.73%2015-2019	1.75%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	85.9%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	67%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3972015-2019	0.3582020-2024	−0.039	Within the margin of error	79%
Median household income	$70,6252015-2019	$91,1672020-2024	+29%	Improved	53%
Poverty rate	6.4%2015-2019	5.4%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	18.6%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.4%2015-2019	3.1%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%

“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 Galva, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Galva, 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, Galva, Kansas itself moved −2.4 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

1,002 residents (±204)

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

446 households (±78)

Galva, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k8.7%†39
$25k–50k10%†45
$50k–75k18%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

446 households (±78)

Galva, Kansas
Kansas share

Own85%381
Rent15%†65

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

531 workers (±112)

Galva, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone88%467
Carpool5.3%†28
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the McPherson, KS

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 McPherson County, the county holding most of Galva's residents.

McPherson County has 876 employer establishments, 291 for every 10,000 residents (1.17× the US rate of 248; 1.13× Kansas's), with 14,751 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,782. The Census Bureau also counts 2,484 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 876; 2,484 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 291; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 14,751
Average annual pay: $54,782; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	58	19.2	1.24×About typical	422	$61,559	164
Ambulatory health care services	52	17.2	0.83×About typical	329	$44,696	72
Religious organizations	51	16.9	3.05×More than typical	274	$19,646	—
Restaurants and other eating places	49	16.3	0.88×About typical	815	$15,180	7
Truck transportation	37	12.3	2.43×More than typical	111	$55,099	98
Construction of buildings	36	11.9	1.58×More than typical	171	$54,135	58
Lessors of real estate	31	10.3	0.83×About typical	59	$26,915	216
Building equipment contractors	27	9	1.49×More than typical	262	$63,878	33
Automotive repair and maintenance	25	8.3	1.65×More than typical	142	$48,810	39
Banks and credit unions	25	8.3	2.57×More than typical	292	$57,500	5
Offices of other health practitioners	24	8	1.31×More than typical	84	$34,845	47
Insurance agencies and brokerages	22	7.3	1.66×More than typical	72	$64,542	42

Rank places for an industry Open McPherson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 30,152 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: Galva is mostly in McPherson County.

See federal money in McPherson 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.

Galva, 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.

McPherson County84100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

McPherson, KS82

Other cities and towns in McPherson 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/2025200

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends