Kansas cities

The best places to live in Kansas

Kansas's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Andover leads the list.

We scored Kansas's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
6 Olathe $273,600 $1,138 61 67
7 Lenexa $299,400 $1,277 54 64
9 Overland Park $314,500 $1,248 51 60
12 Shawnee $266,800 $1,042 52 53
19 Lawrence $216,700 $986 20 35
20 Manhattan $222,300 $932 23 34
21 Kansas City $112,500 $941 40 29
22 Wichita $145,300 $856 35 25
23 Salina $138,500 $805 34 25
25 Topeka $106,500 $865 42 17

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Kansas. Updated 2026.