Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety80#3,159/15,637
Economy84#2,453/15,631
Housing98#366/14,977
Health78#3,357/15,609
Healthcare50#7,860/15,650
Environment33#10,366/15,453
Education92#1,231/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,652/15,650
Community85#2,299/15,651
Leisure & amenities27#11,388/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Kansas 15.3 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPottawatomie County value
Child care cost burden · low19.3%
96/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePottawatomie County value
Rent as share of income · low21.5%
96/100Kansas 27.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low29.4%
94/100Kansas 43.5%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Kansas 4.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPottawatomie County value
Loneliness · low31.0%
94/100Kansas 31.5%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Kansas 9.4United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPottawatomie County value
Mental health providers · low41 /100k
4/100Kansas 266 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePottawatomie County value
Dentists · low23 /100k
6/100Kansas 64 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePottawatomie County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low45.3%
8/100Kansas 80.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePottawatomie County value
Restaurants and bars · low4.8 /10k
9/100Kansas 7.9 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPottawatomie County value
Distance to an airport · high87 mi
14/100Kansas 51 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPottawatomie County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
4,876 (2015-2019) → 4,386 (2020-2024)
−10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
2.3 /1k (2021) → 4.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+98%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
46.7% (2015-2019) → 29.4% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
18.9% (2015-2019) → 5.8% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
33.1% (2015-2019) → 41.2% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateImproving
13.1% (2015-2019) → 5.2% (2020-2024)
−7.8 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, Wamego, Kansas improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved3

Poverty−7.8 points13.1% → 5.2%
Rent / income−7.8 points29.3% → 21.5%
Broadband+6.7 points89.0% → 95.8%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Wamego, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.9 min2015-2019	24.0 min2020-2024	+0.0 min	Within the margin of error	47%
Bachelor's degree or higher	33.1%2015-2019	41.2%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Broadband subscriptions	89.0%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Improved	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.34%2015-2019	1.04%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	74%
High school diploma or higher	93.0%2015-2019	97.2%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3972015-2019	0.3612020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$58,0172015-2019	$78,8092020-2024	+36%	Within the margin of error	67%
Poverty rate	13.1%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	−7.8 points	Improved	89%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.3%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	−7.8 points	Improved	90%
Rent-burdened households	46.7%2015-2019	29.4%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.5%2015-2019	4.8%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	56%

“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 Wamego, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wamego, 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, Wamego, Kansas itself moved +16.9 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

4,386 residents (±713)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 10–19 men (+4.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

4,386 residents (±713)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

White77%3,381
Black1.3%†56
Hispanic or Latino13%†583

Education

2,844 residents (±502)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

No high school diploma2.8%†80
High school or GED21%†585
Some college19%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,793 households (±303)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k14%†252
$25k–50k12%†224
$50k–75k21%†368
$75k–100k7.4%†133
$100k–150k37%†667
$150k–200k3.3%†59
$200k or more5.0%†90

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+25.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,793 households (±303)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

Own73%1,303
Rent27%†490

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

490 households (±181)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $75042%†206
$750–1,00016%†78
$1,000–1,50033%†161

Home values

1,303 homes (±263)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $150k19%†250
$150k–250k52%†679
$250k–400k18%†237

Age of homes

2,067 homes (±319)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

2010 or later12%†257
2000–20099.0%†185
1980–199926%†535

Size of homes

2,067 homes (±319)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom8.8%†181
2 bedrooms31%†646

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,374 workers (±467)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone80%1,894
Carpool8.0%†190
Public transit0.0%0
Walk3.5%†82
Bike0.0%0
Work from home7.2%†171
Other1.6%†37

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

2,203 workers (±449)

Wamego, Kansas
Kansas share

Under 15 min40%†880
15–29 min28%†622
30–44 min20%†450

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Manhattan, 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 Pottawatomie County, the county holding most of Wamego's residents.

Pottawatomie County has 703 employer establishments, 265 for every 10,000 residents (1.07× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Kansas's), with 10,572 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,525. The Census Bureau also counts 2,177 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 703; 2,177 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 265; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 10,572
Average annual pay: $47,525; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	73	27.6	1.78×More than typical	530	$54,402	186
Ambulatory health care services	42	15.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	598	$48,768	72
Construction of buildings	39	14.7	1.95×More than typical	204	$51,407	93
Restaurants and other eating places	37	14	0.76×Fewer than typical	540	$16,176	8
Lessors of real estate	33	12.5	1.01×About typical	72	$32,694	246
Building equipment contractors	27	10.2	1.69×More than typical	175	$51,417	22
Building finishing contractors	25	9.4	2.48×More than typical	161	$43,752	71
Automotive repair and maintenance	23	8.7	1.72×More than typical	106	$38,877	49
Religious organizations	23	8.7	1.57×More than typical	318	$23,277	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	19	7.2	1.63×More than typical	40	$37,875	43
Truck transportation	19	7.2	1.42×More than typical	106	$69,755	38
Offices of other health practitioners	17	6.4	1.06×About typical	72	$45,458	44

Rank places for an industry Open Pottawatomie County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 26,493 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

In FY2026, an estimated $1,701 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wamego, Kansas: $0.39 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,701; −35% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.39; US $1,994
Sole-source: 35%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$1,701100%

Top recipients

KANEQUIP INC$1,10565%
VANDERBILT NO I INC$59635%

Spending by fiscal year

5.8KFY2017
4.9KFY2018
3.7KFY2019
3.3KFY2020
29.3KFY2021
14.6KFY2022
4.4KFY2023
7.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$1,10565%
Footwear manufacturing · 3162$59635%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Wamego, Kansas, so they do not add up across cities.

Wamego, Kansas's figures are part of those of Pottawatomie County, KS and Wabaunsee County, KS ($23M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Wamego is mostly in Pottawatomie County.

See federal money in Pottawatomie 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.

Wamego, Kansas is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Pottawatomie County88100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Manhattan, KS66

Other cities and towns in Pottawatomie 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/2075325

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends