City · Franklin County, Kansas

Wellsville, Kansas

Wellsville is a city in Franklin County, Kansas, part of the Ottawa, KS metro area. It has 2,216 residents. Wellsville, Kansas has a quality-of-life score of 38 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,661 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kansas it ranks #159 of 202 cities and towns. It ranks best on child care cost burden (low), drug overdose deaths (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), job growth (low) and distance to an emergency room (high).

38Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,661 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kansas: #159 of 202 in KS
Population: 2,216 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,289.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2076625

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.

Safety33#10,431/15,637
Economy75#3,878/15,631
Housing78#3,274/14,977
Health43#8,853/15,609
Healthcare21#12,321/15,650
Environment34#10,150/15,453
Education55#7,084/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,175/15,650
Community51#7,601/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,359/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Wellsville, Kansas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Franklin 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 · low16.4%
99/100Kansas 18.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFranklin 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 dataFranklin County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low103 min
95/100Kansas 129 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFranklin County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Kansas 9.4United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationFranklin County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.361
91/100Kansas 0.457United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100Kansas 1.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesFranklin County value

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low73.1%
1/100Kansas 90.7%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Job growth · low-4.5%
2/100Kansas 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFranklin County value
Distance to an emergency room · high20.5 mi
3/100Kansas 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFranklin County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kansas 4.7 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyFranklin County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
6/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFranklin County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
7/100Kansas 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFranklin County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,026 (2015-2019) → 2,216 (2020-2024)
+9.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
1.0 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
32.4% (2015-2019) → 52.3% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.8% (2015-2019) → 73.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.4% (2015-2019) → 33.4% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateImproving
9.8% (2015-2019) → 2.6% (2020-2024)
−7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Wellsville, Kansas improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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+11 points61.8% → 73.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Wellsville, Kansas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.5 min2015-2019	29.4 min2020-2024	+2.9 min	Within the margin of error	20%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.8%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Broadband subscriptions	61.8%2015-2019	73.1%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	66%
Effective property tax rate	1.74%2015-2019	1.51%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
High school diploma or higher	95.0%2015-2019	97.5%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	73%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3722015-2019	0.3612020-2024	−0.011	Within the margin of error	60%
Median household income	$64,1022015-2019	$83,7502020-2024	+31%	Within the margin of error	57%
Poverty rate	9.5%2015-2019	8.0%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.4%2015-2019	33.4%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Rent-burdened households	32.4%2015-2019	52.3%2020-2024	+20 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.5%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	16%

“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 Wellsville, Kansas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wellsville, 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, Wellsville, Kansas itself moved −9.8 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

2,216 residents (±218)

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

840 households (±136)

Wellsville, Kansas
Kansas share

Under $25k13%†109
$25k–50k14%†117
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

840 households (±136)

Wellsville, Kansas
Kansas share

Own70%589
Rent30%†251

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

945 workers (±139)

Wellsville, Kansas
Kansas share

Drive alone79%748
Carpool5.3%†50
Public transit0.0%0

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 Ottawa, 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 Franklin County, the county holding most of Wellsville's residents.

Franklin County has 533 employer establishments, 203 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Kansas's), with 9,033 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,264. The Census Bureau also counts 1,803 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 533; 1,803 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 203; US 248 · Kansas 258
Paid employees: 9,033
Average annual pay: $47,264; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	53	20.2	1.31×More than typical	427	$64,885	192
Restaurants and other eating places	41	15.6	0.85×About typical	717	$16,824	4
Ambulatory health care services	29	11.1	0.53×Fewer than typical	298	$50,121	50
Religious organizations	24	9.2	1.65×More than typical	129	$19,473	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	21	8	1.59×More than typical	122	$51,107	30
Full-service restaurants	20	7.6	0.99×About typical	364	$17,549	—
Truck transportation	19	7.3	1.43×More than typical	379	$101,193	59
Limited-service restaurants	17	6.5	0.81×About typical	322	$16,345	3
Other specialty trade contractors	16	6.1	2.43×More than typical	93	$69,387	80
Building equipment contractors	15	5.7	0.95×About typical	69	$48,696	29
Lessors of real estate	15	5.7	0.46×Fewer than typical	27	$28,926	199
Building finishing contractors	13	5	1.31×More than typical	26	$50,308	46

Rank places for an industry Open Franklin County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 26,201 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: Wellsville is mostly in Franklin County.

See federal money in Franklin 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.

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

House

Sharice DavidsD-KS-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 93%Missed 0.7%

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.

Franklin County54100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Ottawa, KS48

Other cities and towns in Franklin 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/2076625

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends