City · Edwards County, Kansas

Kinsley, Kansas

Kinsley is a city in Edwards County, Kansas. It has 1,328 residents. Kinsley, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 58 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,562 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #97 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), job growth (high) and gyms and fitness centers (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), social associations (low) and premature death (high).

58Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,562 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #97 of 202 in KS
Population: 1,328 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,025.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2037075

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety84#2,432/15,637
Economy21#12,360/15,631
Housing84#2,328/14,977
Health34#10,367/15,609
Healthcare31#10,736/15,650
Environment49#7,855/15,453
Education84#2,561/15,649
Infrastructure36#9,942/15,650
Community43#8,884/15,651
Leisure & amenities89#1,678/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kinsley, Kansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Edwards 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 · low397 /100k
100/100Kansas 2,534 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdwards County value
Job growth · high13.1%
100/100Kansas 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataEdwards County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high3.8 /10k
100/100Kansas 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEdwards County value
Public libraries · high7.3 /10k
100/100Kansas 1.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesEdwards County value
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Kansas 18.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataEdwards County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kansas 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataEdwards County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low5.3 /1k
0/100Kansas 12.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauEdwards County value
Social associations · low0.0 /10k
0/100Kansas 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdwards County value
Premature death · high20,506 /100k
1/100Kansas 8,407 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdwards County value
Life expectancy · low66.5 yrs
1/100Kansas 76.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdwards County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEdwards County value
Distance to an emergency room · high22.4 mi
2/100Kansas 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesEdwards County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,515 (2015-2019) → 1,328 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
7.5% (2015-2019) → 25.5% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.2% (2015-2019) → 89.1% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.4% (2015-2019) → 44.2% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
9.7% (2015-2019) → 19.3% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
19.8% (2015-2019) → 26.3% (2020-2024)
+6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Kinsley, Kansas improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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

Broadband+14 points75.2% → 89.1%

Declined2

Inequality+0.0860.365 → 0.450
Price / income+0.3×1.1× → 1.4×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Kinsley, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.2 min2015-2019	21.1 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	61%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.1%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Broadband subscriptions	75.2%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	76%
Effective property tax rate	1.87%2015-2019	1.51%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	81%
High school diploma or higher	83.3%2015-2019	89.3%2020-2024	+6 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Home price to income ratio	1.1×2015-2019	1.4×2020-2024	+0.3×	Declined	59%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3652015-2019	0.4502020-2024	+0.086	Declined	6%
Median household income	$49,1382015-2019	$49,2062020-2024	+0.1%	Within the margin of error	8%
Poverty rate	9.7%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	+9.6 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	19.8%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Rent-burdened households	34.4%2015-2019	44.2%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.2%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	9%

“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 Kinsley, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kinsley, 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, Kinsley, Kansas itself moved −8.8 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

1,328 residents (±118)

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

585 households (±63)

Kinsley, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k23%†135
$25k–50k31%†181
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

585 households (±63)

Kinsley, Kansas
Kansas share

Own76%445
Rent24%†140

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

618 workers (±63)

Kinsley, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone75%465
Carpool12%†73
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 Edwards County, the county holding most of Kinsley's residents.

Edwards County has 72 employer establishments, 264 for every 10,000 residents (1.06× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Kansas's), with 507 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,402. The Census Bureau also counts 219 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 72; 219 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 264; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 507
Average annual pay: $43,402; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	5	18.3	1.00×Too few to compare	30	$14,567	—
Full-service restaurants	4	14.7	1.91×Too few to compare	21	$15,762	—
Specialty trade contractors	4	14.7	0.95×Too few to compare	7	$31,429	18
Ambulatory health care services	3	11	0.53×Too few to compare	13	$58,615	7
Banks and credit unions	3	11	3.41×Too few to compare	14	$50,714	—
Building equipment contractors	3	11	1.83×Too few to compare	4	$26,500	6
Insurance agencies and brokerages	3	11	2.50×Too few to compare	7	$84,714	3
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	6
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	—	—
Architectural, engineering and related services	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	0	0	0.00×Too few to compare	0	—	—

Rank places for an industry Open Edwards County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,727 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: Kinsley is mostly in Edwards County.

See federal money in Edwards 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.

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

House

Ron EstesR-KS-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.2%

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.

Edwards County61100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Edwards 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/2037075

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends