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Place dossier plate
SheetKS-OSAWATOMIE-KS · Osawatomie, KS 4,244 pop · income 28th pct
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 Osawatomie
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Osawatomie on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Spindale · lowest
38,509
Spindale · lowest
38,509 median HH income
24.1% of the leader · rank #1
West End-Cobb · near
55,603
West End-Cobb · near
55,603 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #2
Mayer · near
55,606
Mayer · near
55,606 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #3
Osawatomie · this city
55,612
Osawatomie · this city
55,612 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #4
Nassau Villag… · near
55,613
Nassau Villag… · near
55,613 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #5
Deering · near
55,625
Deering · near
55,625 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #6
Fairway · highest
159,821
Fairway · highest
159,821 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Osawatomie on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 4,244.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Osawatomie lands in the 28th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
28th
percentile, household income
23rd
percentile, home value
6th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Osawatomie, KS
Osawatomie is a small town in Kansas, home to 4,244 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Osawatomie households earn a median of $55,612 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.5%. Osawatomie's housing stock carries a median value of $137,400, and the median resident age is 40.0 years. 13.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 58.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 25 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity). NOAA puts Osawatomie's yearly average temperature at 55.0°F with 38.9 inches of precipitation per year and 8.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Kansas run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Kansas scores 90.1 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $947 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Kansas run around $217, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 29.9 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Osawatomie'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 comparison shortlist to schools and households to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to population change to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Osawatomie, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Osawatomie?
Within Kansas, the closest population matches are Russell (4,258 residents, $51,347 income); Wamego (4,205 residents, $82,756 income); Fairway (4,177 residents, $159,821 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hometown, IL (4,244 residents); Spackenkill, NY (4,244 residents); Spindale, NC (4,244 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.
What does the education layer cover for Osawatomie?
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 13.0% 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Osawatomie?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What physical conditions frame life in Osawatomie?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 55.0°F, with 38.9 inches of precipitation and 8.4 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.
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.
Population change
Is Osawatomie growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +53 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 25 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
+1.3%
2025 estimate
4,215
2020 estimate
4,162
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Osawatomie?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.5%, 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.
Household income
$55,612
Home value
$137,400
Value / income
2.5×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 9.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kansas average
D
City profile score · Osawatomie, KS
43/100
4 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 D
9.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$55,612
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Osawatomie profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.5%
Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,612
Bachelor's+ share: 15/100 (F) · 13.0%
How does Osawatomie compare to other US cities?
Where Osawatomie sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income28% higher than other cities
Home value23% pricier than other cities
Median rent6% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Osawatomie 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 Osawatomie near the bottom of Kansas's cities
Among the 552 Kansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Osawatomie ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Osawatomie only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#333 of 527
37th percentile in Kansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 552
0th percentile in Kansas
Median Home Value
#135 of 527
74th percentile in Kansas
Poverty Rate
#203 of 552
63rd percentile in Kansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#426 of 552
23rd 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
28th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Osawatomie's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$137,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 77% 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
Osawatomie's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,849 of 15,516
More affordable than 75% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,482 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.5×, Osawatomie sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,849 of 15,516 and #3,482 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$55,612Osawatomie, KS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Osawatomie, 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 Osawatomie, KS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,244
Median Income
$55,612
Median Home Value
$137,400
Median Age
40.0
Poverty Rate
9.5%
Labor force participation
58.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.0%
Climate
Avg Temperature
55.0°F
Annual Precipitation
38.9"
Annual Snowfall
8.4"
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Osawatomie's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,162 residents
2021
4,177 residents
2022
4,127 residents
2023
4,132 residents
2024
4,173 residents
2025
4,215 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
25
housing units authorized
Single-Family
25
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
3
3
0
$0.5M
2021
10
10
0
$2.0M
2022
10
10
0
$2.0M
2023
7
7
0
$1.0M
2024
25
25
0
$0.3M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
73.4%
Carpool
9.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
16.7%
Based on 2,089 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 Osawatomie. 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 Osawatomie 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 Osawatomie sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Osawatomie 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, 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.