City · Sumner County, Kansas

Wellington, Kansas

Wellington is a city in Sumner County, Kansas, part of the Wichita, KS metro area. It has 7,615 residents. Wellington, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 22 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,232 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #195 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), public libraries (high) and students per teacher (low). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), gyms and fitness centers (low) and average weekly wage (low).

22Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,232 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #195 of 202 in KS
Population: 7,615 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 999.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2076475

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety16#13,129/15,637
Economy15#13,338/15,631
Housing92#1,222/14,977
Health22#12,205/15,609
Healthcare18#12,901/15,650
Environment8#14,163/15,453
Education39#9,536/15,649
Infrastructure39#9,612/15,650
Community68#5,010/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,476/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Wellington, Kansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sumner 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 · low17.6%
99/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSumner County value
Public libraries · high3.1 /10k
96/100Kansas 1.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSumner County value
Students per teacher · low10.8×
95/100Kansas 13.3×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSumner County value
Rent-burdened households · low35.8%
95/100Kansas 43.5%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Average commute time · low16.7 min
95/100Kansas 19.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent as share of income · low23.4%
94/100Kansas 27.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.4 /10k
3/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSumner County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Kansas 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSumner County value
Average weekly wage · low$887
5/100Kansas $1,216United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSumner County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.3 /10k
5/100Kansas 3.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSumner County value
Broadband subscriptions · low83.2%
6/100Kansas 90.7%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Access to exercise opportunities · low41.4%
6/100Kansas 80.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSumner County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.1 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+307%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.0% (2015-2019) → 83.2% (2020-2024)
+5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
11.7% (2015-2019) → 8.1% (2020-2024)
−3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.6% (2015-2019) → 7.0% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.7× (2015-2019) → 1.9× (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$44,596 (2015-2019) → $50,333 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Wellington, Kansas improved on 0 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 13 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Unemployment+3.4 points3.6% → 7.0%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Wellington, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.7 min2015-2019	16.7 min2020-2024	+0.0 min	Within the margin of error	47%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.3%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	78.0%2015-2019	83.2%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Child poverty rate	16.4%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Effective property tax rate	1.83%2015-2019	1.56%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
High school diploma or higher	90.5%2015-2019	91.7%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	65%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4522015-2019	0.4442020-2024	−0.008	Within the margin of error	58%
Median household income	$44,5962015-2019	$50,3332020-2024	+13%	Within the margin of error	20%
Poverty rate	16.9%2015-2019	16.4%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent as share of income	23.1%2015-2019	23.4%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Rent-burdened households	34.3%2015-2019	35.8%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Unemployment rate	3.6%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Declined	8%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.7%2015-2019	8.1%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“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 Wellington, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wellington, 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, Wellington, Kansas itself moved −4.3 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

7,615 residents (±77)

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

2,957 households (±219)

Wellington, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k27%799
$25k–50k22%661
$50k–75k22%660

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,957 households (±219)

Wellington, Kansas
Kansas share

Own62%1,843
Rent38%1,114

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,107 workers (±278)

Wellington, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone84%2,617
Carpool7.4%†230
Public transit1.4%†42

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 Wichita, 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 Sumner County, the county holding most of Wellington's residents.

Sumner County has 483 employer establishments, 216 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Kansas's), with 4,366 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,296. The Census Bureau also counts 1,464 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 483; 1,464 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 216; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 4,366
Average annual pay: $41,296; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	29	12.9	2.33×More than typical	134	$14,410	—
Restaurants and other eating places	29	12.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	356	$15,006	10
Specialty trade contractors	26	11.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	78	$44,603	133
Ambulatory health care services	23	10.3	0.49×Fewer than typical	120	$66,292	56
Truck transportation	23	10.3	2.03×More than typical	77	$46,286	28
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	7.6	1.51×More than typical	54	$49,889	40
Banks and credit unions	16	7.1	2.21×More than typical	162	$55,395	—
Full-service restaurants	15	6.7	0.87×About typical	106	$14,311	5
Lessors of real estate	14	6.2	0.51×Fewer than typical	28	$36,214	116
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	13	5.8	3.63×More than typical	167	$53,078	6
Building equipment contractors	12	5.4	0.89×About typical	41	$42,829	24
Gasoline stations	11	4.9	1.51×More than typical	119	$29,252	—

Rank places for an industry Open Sumner County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 22,404 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 $30.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wellington, Kansas: $3.99 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $30.4K; +69% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3.99; US $1,994
Sole-source: 73%; US 30%
Single offer: 13%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$28.7K94%
U.S. Coast Guard$1,6945.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

11.1KFY2017
24.8KFY2018
17.7KFY2019
12.4KFY2020
10.4KFY2021
11.3KFY2022
8.6KFY2023
9.6K

Top industries (NAICS)

Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$22.3K73%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$3,38211%
Steel product manufacturing from purchased steel · 3312$2,2127.3%
Support activities for air transportation · 4881$1,6945.6%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$8202.7%

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 Wellington, Kansas, so they do not add up across cities.

Wellington, Kansas's figures are part of those of Sumner County, KS ($3.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Sumner 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.

Wellington, 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.

Sumner County46100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Wichita, KS54

Other cities and towns in Sumner 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/2076475

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends