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Place dossier plate
SheetKS-NEWTON-KS · Newton, KS 18,443 pop · income 46th pct · 7 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Newton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Newton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pittsburg · lowest
40,220
Pittsburg · lowest
40,220 median HH income
27.9% of the leader · rank #1
Bay Pines · near
67,012
Bay Pines · near
67,012 median HH income
46.5% of the leader · rank #2
Rock Valley · near
67,012
Rock Valley · near
67,012 median HH income
46.5% of the leader · rank #3
Miami Beach · near
67,014
Miami Beach · near
67,014 median HH income
46.5% of the leader · rank #4
Newton · this city
67,015
Newton · this city
67,015 median HH income
46.5% of the leader · rank #5
Bow · near
67,017
Bow · near
67,017 median HH income
46.5% of the leader · rank #6
Newburyport · highest
144,259
Newburyport · highest
144,259 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Newton on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 18,443.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Newton - the verdict
Newton ranks in the 46th percentile for household income and the 26th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
46th
percentile, household income
27th
percentile, home value
6th
percentile, median rent
26th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Newton, KS
Newton is a small town in Kansas, home to 18,443 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $67,015 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.5%. Newton's housing stock carries a median value of $151,800, and the median resident age is 39.9 years. About 29.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 65.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 120 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 1233% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2286.9 in FBI UCR data, near the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Newton's yearly average temperature at 56.2°F with 33.8 inches of precipitation per year and 8.8 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Kansas run below the national norm: the state registers 90.1 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $947 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $217 across Kansas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 29.9 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Newton's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from climate and hazard context to housing and income to schools and households to comparison shortlist to population change to within-city variation to work and mobility to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Newton, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Newton?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 56.2°F, with 33.8 inches of precipitation and 8.8 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Kansas is 29.9 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
How far does income reach against housing in Newton?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Which cities make useful reference points for Newton?
Within Kansas, the closest population matches are Liberal (19,107 residents, $61,875 income); Pittsburg (20,606 residents, $40,220 income); Hays (21,078 residents, $56,861 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Newburyport, MA (18,444 residents); Fort Carson, CO (18,447 residents); Fairwood CDP (King County), WA (18,437 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Newton?
The NCES join finds 8 public schools within the city match. 29.5% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
8
Bachelor's degree+
29.5%
Poverty estimate
4.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -223 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 120 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-1.2%
2025 estimate
18,353
2020 estimate
18,576
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Newton?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
8.1%
Drive alone
77.9%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 9,400 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Newton?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2286.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 0% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1669.7
Violent rate
617.2
Total reported rate
2286.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 4.5% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kansas average
C-
City profile score · Newton, KS
52/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A
90.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate B-
4.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C
29.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$67,015
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
617 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Newton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Poverty rate: 69/100 (B-) · 4.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 57/100 (C) · 29.5%
Household income: 45/100 (D) · $67,015
Violent crime: 9/100 (F) · 617 /100k
Where Newton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Newton's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Newton highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Newton, KS (this city): home $151,800, crime 2,287/100k
Newburyport, MA : home $792,400, crime 442/100k
Centralia, WA : home $267,600, crime 3,008/100k
Dover, NJ : home $347,100, crime 1,093/100k
Liberal, KS : home $134,500, crime 1,397/100k
Pittsburg, KS : home $110,800, crime 3,860/100k
Hays, KS : home $220,100, crime 1,694/100k
Andover, KS : home $272,600, crime 1,397/100k
Great Bend, KS : home $118,700, crime 1,872/100k
Junction City, KS : home $162,500, crime 3,083/100k
How does Newton compare to other US cities?
Where Newton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income46% higher than other cities
Home value27% pricier than other cities
Median rent6% pricier than other cities
Safety26% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Kansas, Newton ranks #83 of 109 Kansas cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Newton against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Kansas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Kansas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Newton near the bottom of Kansas's cities
Among the 552 Kansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Newton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Newton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#177 of 527
66th percentile in Kansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 552
0th percentile in Kansas
Median Home Value
#113 of 527
79th percentile in Kansas
Poverty Rate
#364 of 552
34th percentile in Kansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#117 of 552
79th percentile in Kansas
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Kansas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
46th percentile nationally for median household income · 26th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Newton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Newton's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Newton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$151,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 73% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Newton's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,790 of 15,516
More affordable than 82% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#190 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.3×, Newton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,790 of 15,516 and #190 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$67,015Newton, KS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Newton, KS median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Newton, KS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)29.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
18,443
Median Income
$67,015
Median Home Value
$151,800
Median Age
39.9
Poverty Rate
4.5%
Labor force participation
65.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
29.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2286.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
617.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1669.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
56.2°F
Annual Precipitation
33.8"
Annual Snowfall
8.8"
Schools
Total Schools
8
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Newton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
18,576 residents
2021
18,442 residents
2022
18,351 residents
2023
18,319 residents
2024
18,310 residents
2025
18,353 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
120
housing units authorized
Single-Family
14
detached homes
Multifamily
106
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
9
9
0
$1.6M
2020
15
15
0
$2.6M
2021
13
13
0
$3.4M
2022
56
20
36
$12.0M
2023
36
22
14
$7.9M
2024
120
14
106
$16.3M
Permit volume increased 1233% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.9%
Carpool
9.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.7%
Work from Home
8.1%
Other
2.6%
Based on 9,400 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Kansas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $217
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Kansas at $217 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Kansas statewide averages, not a meter reading for Newton. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Kansas's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.1 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Newton is $947/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Kansas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 29.9 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Kansas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Newton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Newton compares to similar-size Kansas cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.