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Place dossier plate
SheetKS-SMOLAN-KS · Smolan, KS 171 pop · income 51st 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 Smolan
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Smolan on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Stites · lowest
29,583
Stites · lowest
29,583 median HH income
33.3% of the leader · rank #1
Smolan · this city
71,250
Smolan · this city
71,250 median HH income
80.3% of the leader · rank #2
Whatley · near
71,250
Whatley · near
71,250 median HH income
80.3% of the leader · rank #3
Gay · near
71,250
Gay · near
71,250 median HH income
80.3% of the leader · rank #4
Pine Lake · near
71,250
Pine Lake · near
71,250 median HH income
80.3% of the leader · rank #5
Deary · near
71,250
Deary · near
71,250 median HH income
80.3% of the leader · rank #6
Belvue · highest
88,750
Belvue · highest
88,750 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 Smolan 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: 171.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Smolan places in the 51st percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
51st
percentile, household income
28th
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: Smolan, KS
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 171 residents in Smolan, a small town within Kansas. Median household income here is $71,250 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 14.0%. Typical homes in Smolan are valued around $154,200, and the median resident age is 43.8 years. 33.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 62.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 54.7°F.
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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $947 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Kansas's average monthly utility costs around $217 (state average). 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 Smolan'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 population change to climate and hazard context to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Smolan, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Smolan?
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.
Within Kansas, the closest population matches are Belvue (170 residents, $88,750 income); Lane (170 residents, $42,500 income); Morganville (170 residents, $48,021 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Spring Garden, AL (171 residents); Grayling, AK (171 residents); Keswick, CA (171 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -6 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
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.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 54.7°F. 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Smolan?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 83.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Smolan?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.2×
Home value
$154,200
Household income
$71,250
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 14.0% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.1 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kansas average
C
City profile score · Smolan, KS
55/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share C+
33.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C-
$71,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Smolan profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 64/100 (C+) · 33.6%
Household income: 51/100 (C-) · $71,250
Poverty rate: 24/100 (F) · 14.0%
How does Smolan compare to other US cities?
Here's how Smolan stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income51% higher than other cities
Home value28% 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 Smolan 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 Smolan near the bottom of Kansas's cities
Among the 552 Kansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Smolan ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Smolan only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#137 of 527
73rd percentile in Kansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 552
0th percentile in Kansas
Median Home Value
#111 of 527
79th percentile in Kansas
Poverty Rate
#114 of 552
79th percentile in Kansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#76 of 552
86th 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
51st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Smolan's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$154,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 72% 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
Smolan's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,291 of 15,516
More affordable than 85% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,161 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.2×, Smolan sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,291 of 15,516 and #2,161 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
$71,250Smolan, KS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Smolan, 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 Smolan, KS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)33.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
171
Median Income
$71,250
Median Home Value
$154,200
Median Age
43.8
Poverty Rate
14.0%
Labor force participation
62.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
33.6%
Climate
Avg Temperature
54.7°F
Annual Precipitation
N/A
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Smolan's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
164 residents
2021
164 residents
2022
163 residents
2023
161 residents
2024
159 residents
2025
158 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
1
1
0
$0.2M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
83.8%
Carpool
11.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
2.5%
Other
2.4%
Based on 80 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 Smolan. 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 Smolan 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 Smolan sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Smolan 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, 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.