These Are The 10 Most Successful Cities In Kansas

By Chris Kolmar
Jun. 27, 2016

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What is success? Is it the amount of money you have in your bank account, at any given point? Is it that feeling you get after delivering a killer presentation, or even a pretty decent bar joke?

Or is it something bigger–something wholly unnamable, undefinable, immeasurable, and totally subjective?

Probably so.

But here at Zippia, we like things that we can neatly measure and then expound upon. So yes, with the Power of Math, we have determined the unarguable, totally objective 10 most successful cities in Kansas. And here they are:

  1. Leawood
  2. Andover
  3. Prairie Village
  4. Mulvane
  5. Roeland Park
  6. Derby
  7. Overland Park
  8. Shawnee
  9. Bel Aire
  10. Olathe

If you are trying to argue already with our unarguable list, keep reading. There’s a method to this madness.

For more KS reading, check out:

How We Determined The Most Successful Cities In Kansas

The first thing that comes to most capitalist minds in terms of success is–money. After all, rich people must be successful, right?

Meh. Maybe. But we think there’s a bit more that goes into it than that. So we looked at this set of criteria from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey:

1. Leawood

Population 2014: 32,842 Median Income: $133,702
Poverty Level: 3.2%
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%

2. Andover

Population 2014: 12,113 Median Income: $81,622
Poverty Level: 3.1%
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%

3. Prairie Village

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 21,730Median Income: $81,422
Poverty Level: 4.1%
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%

4. Mulvane

Population: 6,000Median Income: $71,031
Poverty Level: 3.8%
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%

5. Roeland Park

Population: 6,799Median Income: $64,394
Poverty Level: 6.6%
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%

6. Derby

Population 2014: 23,419 Median Income: $67,720
Poverty Level: 5.0%
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%

7. Overland Park

Population: 178,945Median Income: $72,231
Poverty Level: 5.7%
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%

8. Shawnee

Population: 63,597Median Income: $74,992
Poverty Level: 7.0%
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%

9. Bel Aire

Population 2014: 6,923 Median Income: $70,221
Poverty Level: 4.1%
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

10. Olathe

Population: 129,913Median Income: $76,519
Poverty Level: 7.0%
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%

Measuring Success

If you’re still looking at this post thinking, “Surely, such superficial methods can’t possibly measure a city, or rather, the individuals that make up that city’s success!” well, you’re probably right.

But we like to measure things, and when it comes to success, we feel pretty successful in our approach. Congrats to Leawood and our winners. And for those who didn’t make the cut, well, better luck next year.

Detailed List Of The Most Successful Cities In Kansas

Rank City Median Income Poverty Rate Unemployment Rate
1 Leawood $133,702 3.2% 3.3%
2 Andover $81,622 3.1% 4.3%
3 Prairie Village $81,422 4.1% 3.4%
4 Mulvane $71,031 3.8% 4.5%
5 Roeland Park $64,394 6.6% 2.9%
6 Derby $67,720 5.0% 4.5%
7 Overland Park $72,231 5.7% 5.1%
8 Shawnee $74,992 7.0% 4.9%
9 Bel Aire $70,221 4.1% 5.3%
10 Olathe $76,519 7.0% 5.3%
11 McPherson $53,970 7.9% 2.8%
12 Spring Hill $64,729 4.1% 5.4%
13 Lenexa $75,400 6.9% 5.6%
14 Valley Center $53,552 7.2% 4.1%
15 Gardner $65,938 3.1% 6.4%
16 Lansing $82,288 7.8% 6.5%
17 Mission $51,080 8.3% 4.1%
18 Merriam $55,103 9.1% 5.0%
19 Haysville $52,951 6.7% 5.8%
20 Abilene $50,678 9.1% 4.7%
21 Colby $44,207 13.1% 2.7%
22 Bonner Springs $54,658 7.5% 7.2%
23 Pratt $45,295 12.1% 4.7%
24 Garden City $46,611 14.7% 4.5%
25 Park City $57,367 11.4% 7.7%
26 Paola $50,226 13.1% 6.1%
27 Eudora $55,625 8.9% 11.5%
28 De Soto $50,993 17.9% 5.9%
29 Leavenworth $52,022 13.0% 8.8%
30 Newton $44,210 15.6% 5.7%
31 Salina $44,398 16.7% 6.0%
32 Ulysses $53,393 14.2% 9.2%
33 El Dorado $44,233 15.0% 6.6%
34 Dodge City $49,083 17.3% 7.6%
35 Augusta $45,922 10.7% 10.9%
36 Hutchinson $41,677 13.7% 6.9%
37 Junction City $45,106 13.0% 9.0%
38 Liberal $47,286 16.2% 8.7%
39 Fort Scott $33,175 18.6% 4.5%
40 Hays $42,166 22.3% 5.2%
41 Ottawa $43,828 14.9% 8.0%
42 Wichita $45,907 15.8% 8.7%
43 Lawrence $46,929 25.0% 6.8%
44 Manhattan $43,275 31.1% 5.2%
45 Chanute $41,476 17.0% 7.0%
46 Wellington $43,450 13.6% 9.3%
47 Winfield $40,713 18.8% 7.7%
48 Topeka $41,412 19.9% 8.2%
49 Parsons $37,948 20.5% 8.0%
50 Great Bend $38,533 19.2% 9.4%
51 Pittsburg $32,655 34.4% 6.6%
52 Concordia $35,116 26.0% 8.0%
53 Atchison $41,283 23.3% 9.3%
54 Independence $39,050 19.6% 12.8%
55 Kansas City $38,073 21.5% 12.7%
56 Coffeyville $32,758 26.6% 8.8%
57 Emporia $36,697 26.9% 8.9%
58 Arkansas City $37,139 23.3% 11.9%
59 Iola $29,811 25.3% 8.9%

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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