Like all states, Kansas has certain places that are going on hard times. These Kansas places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Kansas.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 62 cities in Kansas with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
Here are the ten poorest places in Kansas for 2023:
What’s the poorest city in Kansas? According to the facts, Pittsburg is the poorest place in Kansas for 2023.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Kansas reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Kansas
- Cheapest Places To Live In Kansas
- Most Dangerous Places In Kansas
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Cities In Kansas For 2023
1. Pittsburg
/10
Population: 20,667
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $36,657 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 29.2% (highest)
People In Poverty: 6,025
More on Pittsburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Pittsburg, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Kansas thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 20,667 people averages the lowest median household income in Kansas and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Coffeyville
/10
Population: 9,032
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $38,582 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.0% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 2,345
More on Coffeyville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in Kansas is Coffeyville.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 15th highest in the Sunflower State.
3. Iola
/10
Population: 5,378
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $41,563 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.1% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,136
More on Iola: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Placing as the third poorest city, Iola’s median income ranks as the 4th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 21.13154738104758% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Sunflower State.
4. Parsons
/10
Population: 9,652
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $44,674 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.3% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,060
More on Parsons: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Parsons ranks as the fourth poorest place in Kansas.
The town ranks as having the 6th lowest median household income and the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Emporia
/10
Population: 24,220
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $46,642 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.8% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 4,321
More on Emporia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The fifth poorest city in Kansas is Emporia.
The city ranks as having the 8th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 10th highest in Kansas.
Still not the best news for Emporia.
6. Independence
/10
Population: 8,584
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 3)
Median Income: $44,565 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.2% (13th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,476
More on Independence: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Independence ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Sunflower State.
It ranks as having the 13th highest incidence of poverty and the 55th highest unemployment rate.
7. Fort Scott
/10
Population: 7,579
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $40,417 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 16.7% (15th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,262
More on Fort Scott: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Fort Scott places as the seventh poorest city in Kansas.
The city of over 7,579 ranks as having the 15th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Winfield
/10
Population: 11,817
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 4)
Median Income: $50,388 (14th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.1% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,262
More on Winfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Winfield ranks as the eighth poorest city in Kansas.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 9th highest in the state.
9. Chanute
/10
Population: 8,737
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $49,421 (13th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.8% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,642
More on Chanute: Data | Cost Of Living
Chanute couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Kansas; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 13th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Chanute ranks as having the 8th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Kansas.
10. Great Bend
/10
Population: 14,864
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 4)
Median Income: $48,465 (10th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.0% (14th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,523
More on Great Bend: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Kansas is Great Bend.
The city of 14,864 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Sunflower State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Kansas for 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 62 places with more than 5,000 people in Kansas, we ranked each place from 1 to 62 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Pittsburg, crowned the “Poorest Place In Kansas For 2023”.
This report has been updated for 2023, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Kansas.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Kansas For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Kansas, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Kansas.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Kansas, according to data:
-
Richest: Leawood
2nd Richest: Lansing
3rd Richest: Andover
For more Kansas reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Kansas
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsburg | 20,667 | 29.2% | $36,657 | 6,025 |
| 2 | Coffeyville | 9,032 | 26.0% | $38,582 | 2,345 |
| 3 | Iola | 5,378 | 21.1% | $41,563 | 1,136 |
| 4 | Parsons | 9,652 | 21.3% | $44,674 | 2,060 |
| 5 | Emporia | 24,220 | 17.8% | $46,642 | 4,321 |
| 6 | Independence | 8,584 | 17.2% | $44,565 | 1,476 |
| 7 | Fort Scott | 7,579 | 16.7% | $40,417 | 1,262 |
| 8 | Winfield | 11,817 | 19.1% | $50,388 | 2,262 |
| 9 | Chanute | 8,737 | 18.8% | $49,421 | 1,642 |
| 10 | Great Bend | 14,864 | 17.0% | $48,465 | 2,523 |
| 11 | El Dorado | 12,855 | 17.2% | $49,248 | 2,213 |
| 12 | Kansas City | 155,745 | 18.4% | $50,707 | 28,605 |
| 13 | Manhattan | 54,794 | 25.9% | $52,747 | 14,207 |
| 14 | Atchison | 10,773 | 16.2% | $48,880 | 1,749 |
| 15 | Concordia | 5,096 | 14.8% | $48,333 | 751 |
| 16 | Hays | 20,870 | 17.6% | $50,941 | 3,671 |
| 17 | Arkansas City | 12,028 | 13.7% | $46,358 | 1,642 |
| 18 | Topeka | 126,802 | 15.2% | $50,870 | 19,326 |
| 19 | Liberal | 19,340 | 13.9% | $50,704 | 2,681 |
| 20 | Lawrence | 94,745 | 19.1% | $56,536 | 18,053 |
| 21 | Wellington | 7,745 | 12.7% | $50,676 | 983 |
| 22 | Junction City | 23,033 | 16.5% | $56,410 | 3,811 |
| 23 | Hutchinson | 40,202 | 13.1% | $52,277 | 5,271 |
| 24 | Wichita | 394,574 | 15.2% | $56,374 | 60,115 |
| 25 | Dodge City | 27,899 | 14.0% | $56,897 | 3,914 |
| 26 | Salina | 46,896 | 12.1% | $52,702 | 5,670 |
| 27 | Pratt | 6,618 | 13.2% | $56,104 | 873 |
| 28 | Augusta | 9,299 | 11.4% | $52,500 | 1,063 |
| 29 | Garden City | 28,022 | 13.7% | $59,331 | 3,838 |
| 30 | Ottawa | 12,592 | 11.4% | $56,091 | 1,433 |
| 31 | Abilene | 6,507 | 8.2% | $52,423 | 536 |
| 32 | Ulysses | 5,812 | 9.2% | $54,723 | 535 |
| 33 | Leavenworth | 37,216 | 13.1% | $63,260 | 4,883 |
| 34 | McPherson | 13,916 | 11.9% | $59,610 | 1,657 |
| 35 | Roeland Park | 6,871 | 13.3% | $73,984 | 911 |
| 36 | Newton | 18,576 | 10.7% | $59,586 | 1,984 |
| 37 | Haysville | 10,887 | 11.0% | $60,873 | 1,196 |
| 38 | Mulvane | 5,676 | 10.8% | $62,666 | 615 |
| 39 | Mission | 9,884 | 11.0% | $68,859 | 1,089 |
| 40 | Colby | 5,434 | 8.0% | $59,292 | 436 |
| 41 | Maize | 5,469 | 4.4% | $54,870 | 241 |
| 42 | Merriam | 11,110 | 7.9% | $64,703 | 880 |
| 43 | Bonner Springs | 7,858 | 10.1% | $75,168 | 792 |
| 44 | Tonganoxie | 5,383 | 8.9% | $72,623 | 480 |
| 45 | Spring Hill | 7,883 | 9.9% | $89,250 | 777 |
| 46 | Paola | 5,733 | 6.5% | $63,675 | 373 |
| 47 | Bel Aire | 8,148 | 9.3% | $90,957 | 756 |
| 48 | Park City | 7,817 | 7.7% | $71,045 | 598 |
| 49 | Derby | 25,365 | 7.0% | $74,427 | 1,784 |
| 50 | Basehor | 6,717 | 7.9% | $91,649 | 532 |
| 51 | Valley Center | 8,365 | 1.5% | $64,811 | 124 |
| 52 | Gardner | 23,065 | 5.9% | $83,284 | 1,358 |
| 53 | De Soto | 6,160 | 7.0% | $92,889 | 432 |
| 54 | Eudora | 6,457 | 7.9% | $99,615 | 510 |
| 55 | Shawnee | 67,021 | 5.9% | $93,835 | 3,958 |
| 56 | Prairie Village | 22,812 | 4.4% | $92,753 | 1,014 |
| 57 | Overland Park | 195,249 | 4.1% | $92,769 | 7,965 |
| 58 | Lenexa | 56,755 | 5.1% | $96,477 | 2,896 |
| 59 | Olathe | 140,339 | 6.0% | $100,849 | 8,453 |
| 60 | Andover | 15,162 | 4.1% | $103,383 | 614 |
| 61 | Lansing | 11,321 | 1.0% | $98,413 | 118 |
| 62 | Leawood | 33,748 | 2.0% | $159,540 | 677 |
I think you totally missed Manchester Kansas on this list. Either that, or you’re only looking at towns with names people would recognize. Some of the places on your list are tourist traps or college towns and only have income during those seasons. So yes I can understand where you are coming from but they should not be making the poorest list by any means.