City · Stevens County, Kansas

Hugoton, Kansas

Hugoton is a city in Stevens County, Kansas. It has 3,974 residents. Hugoton, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 55 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,041 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #112 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), child care cost burden (low) and distance to an emergency room (low). It ranks worst on mammography screening (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and distance to an airport (high).

55Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,041 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #112 of 202 in KS
Population: 3,974 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,896.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2033425

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.

Safety85#2,270/15,637
Economy50#7,832/15,631
Housing83#2,491/14,977
Health30#10,972/15,609
Healthcare15#13,270/15,650
Environment72#4,325/15,453
Education60#6,215/15,649
Infrastructure23#12,072/15,650
Community74#4,062/15,651
Leisure & amenities32#10,609/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Violent crime rate · low0 /100k
100/100Kansas 457 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureStevens County value
Child care cost burden · low16.2%
99/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStevens County value
Distance to an emergency room · low2.3 mi
99/100Kansas 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesStevens 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 dataStevens County value
Social associations · high19.7 /10k
98/100Kansas 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStevens County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.348
96/100Kansas 0.457United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Weaknesses

Mammography screening · low23.0%
0/100Kansas 50.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStevens County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.0 /10k
1/100Kansas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStevens County value
Distance to an airport · high214 mi
1/100Kansas 51 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauStevens County value
Preventable hospital stays · high4,710 /100k
3/100Kansas 2,534 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStevens County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kansas 4.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyStevens County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kansas 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStevens County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
4,226 (2015-2019) → 3,974 (2020-2024)
−6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
35.7% (2015-2019) → 13.4% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.7 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.3% (2015-2019) → 88.9% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
10.2% (2015-2019) → 21.6% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateImproving
23.1% (2015-2019) → 15.8% (2020-2024)
−7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Hugoton, Kansas improved on 4 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved4

Bachelor's++11 points10.2% → 21.6%
Inequality−0.0830.431 → 0.348
Broadband+17 points72.3% → 88.9%
Household income+32%$47,533 → $62,773

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Hugoton, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.8 min2015-2019	15.9 min2020-2024	+2.1 min	Within the margin of error	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.2%2015-2019	21.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	93%
Broadband subscriptions	72.3%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	84%
Effective property tax rate	1.80%2015-2019	2.00%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	3%
High school diploma or higher	76.3%2015-2019	72.4%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	84%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4312015-2019	0.3482020-2024	−0.083	Improved	93%
Median household income	$47,5332015-2019	$62,7732020-2024	+32%	Improved	60%
Poverty rate	23.1%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−7.3 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	25.8%2015-2019	24.9%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Rent-burdened households	35.0%2015-2019	30.7%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.0%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	74%

“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 Hugoton, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hugoton, 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, Hugoton, Kansas itself moved +9.4 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

3,974 residents (±272)

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

1,486 households (±144)

Hugoton, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k5.6%†83
$25k–50k24%†363
$50k–75k32%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,486 households (±144)

Hugoton, Kansas
Kansas share

Own72%1,075
Rent28%†411

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

1,766 workers (±233)

Hugoton, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone81%1,436
Carpool13%†231
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 Stevens County, the county holding most of Hugoton's residents.

Stevens County has 139 employer establishments, 274 for every 10,000 residents (1.10× the US rate of 248; 1.06× Kansas's), with 1,343 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,017. The Census Bureau also counts 374 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 139; 374 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 274; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 1,343
Average annual pay: $48,017; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	17	33.5	6.63×More than typical	144	$52,535	49
Religious organizations	10	19.7	3.56×More than typical	29	$19,759	—
Specialty trade contractors	9	17.8	1.15×Too few to compare	43	$47,140	34
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	11.8	2.35×Too few to compare	14	$40,571	5
Construction of buildings	6	11.8	1.57×Too few to compare	20	$30,700	13
Insurance agencies and brokerages	6	11.8	2.70×Too few to compare	20	$40,700	5
Restaurants and other eating places	6	11.8	0.64×Too few to compare	106	$18,028	—
Limited-service restaurants	4	7.9	0.98×Too few to compare	65	$19,015	—
Traveler accommodation	4	7.9	4.37×Too few to compare	18	$17,000	—
Building equipment contractors	3	5.9	0.98×Too few to compare	21	$56,762	13
Building finishing contractors	3	5.9	1.56×Too few to compare	8	$26,500	6
Food manufacturing	3	5.9	6.40×Too few to compare	94	$29,085	—

Rank places for an industry Open Stevens County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,069 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: Hugoton is mostly in Stevens County.

See federal money in Stevens 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.

Hugoton, 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.

Stevens County62100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Stevens County

Largest first.

Moscow180

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/2033425

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends