City · Meade County, Kansas

Plains, Kansas

Plains is a city in Meade County, Kansas. It has 1,171 residents. Plains, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 59 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,396 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #93 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), public libraries (high) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on mammography screening (low), distance to an airport (high) and public EV charging ports (low).

59Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,396 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #93 of 202 in KS
Population: 1,171 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,172.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2056100

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety74#4,058/15,637
Economy53#7,281/15,631
Housing92#1,134/14,977
Health47#8,245/15,609
Healthcare16#13,209/15,650
Environment60#6,123/15,453
Education36#10,004/15,649
Infrastructure59#6,358/15,650
Community74#4,029/15,651
Leisure & amenities37#9,857/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Plains, Kansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Meade 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 · high30.7 /10k
100/100Kansas 13.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value
Public libraries · high7.7 /10k
100/100Kansas 1.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMeade County value
Child care cost burden · low15.6%
100/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value
Grocery stores · high5.2 /10k
99/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMeade County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kansas 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionMeade County value
Job growth · high6.4%
99/100Kansas 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMeade County value

Weaknesses

Mammography screening · low23.0%
0/100Kansas 50.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value
Distance to an airport · high164 mi
2/100Kansas 51 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMeade County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kansas 4.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyMeade County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kansas 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMeade County value
Injury deaths · high141 /100k
5/100Kansas 88 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMeade County value
Traffic deaths · high30.4 /100k
7/100Kansas 13.5 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataMeade County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
0.8 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
12.7% (2015-2019) → 28.2% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.3× (2015-2019) → 2.1× (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.5% (2015-2019) → 94.1% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
9.4% (2015-2019) → 18.5% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
11.9% (2015-2019) → 17.3% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Plains, Kansas improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved1

Broadband+9.6 points84.5% → 94.1%

Declined1

Price / income+0.8×1.3× → 2.1×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Plains, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.1 min2015-2019	15.2 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.0%2015-2019	21.1%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Broadband subscriptions	84.5%2015-2019	94.1%2020-2024	+9.6 points	Improved	58%
Effective property tax rate	1.38%2015-2019	0.87%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	91%
High school diploma or higher	75.8%2015-2019	79.3%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	1.3×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	32%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3962015-2019	0.3512020-2024	−0.044	Within the margin of error	81%
Median household income	$64,7832015-2019	$71,1362020-2024	+9.8%	Within the margin of error	17%
Poverty rate	9.4%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	+9.1 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%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.9%2015-2019	17.3%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	10%

“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 Plains, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Plains, 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, Plains, Kansas itself moved +1.9 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,171 residents (±214)

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

388 households (±73)

Plains, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k12%†45
$25k–50k19%†75
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

388 households (±73)

Plains, Kansas
Kansas share

Own73%282
Rent27%†106

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

536 workers (±103)

Plains, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone80%427
Carpool16%†86
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 Meade County, the county holding most of Plains's residents.

Meade County has 124 employer establishments, 317 for every 10,000 residents (1.28× the US rate of 248; 1.23× Kansas's), with 790 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,718. The Census Bureau also counts 374 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 124; 374 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 317; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 790
Average annual pay: $45,718; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	12	30.6	5.52×More than typical	31	$17,935	—
Specialty trade contractors	10	25.5	1.65×More than typical	134	$59,799	40
Ambulatory health care services	6	15.3	0.74×Too few to compare	12	$55,833	7
Building equipment contractors	5	12.8	2.12×Too few to compare	3	$45,000	6
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	4	10.2	2.51×Too few to compare	10	$27,600	14
Banks and credit unions	4	10.2	3.16×Too few to compare	28	$55,464	—
Commercial and industrial machinery repair	4	10.2	15.0×Too few to compare	15	$44,800	—
Construction of buildings	4	10.2	1.35×Too few to compare	23	$43,435	11
Gasoline stations	4	10.2	3.15×Too few to compare	47	$20,340	—
Restaurants and other eating places	4	10.2	0.56×Too few to compare	17	$11,765	6
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	3	7.7	4.64×Too few to compare	21	$24,190	—
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	3	7.7	3.10×Too few to compare	3	$24,667	—

Rank places for an industry Open Meade County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 3,916 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: Plains is mostly in Meade County.

See federal money in Meade 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.

Plains, 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.

Meade County67100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Meade 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/2056100

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends