Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Arkansas City earns a D−, better than 5% of U.S. towns, mostly because of schools and safety. Its public schools trail 96% of Kansas towns on state tests and graduation. Its crime rate is higher than 87% of U.S. towns, with 51 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it has 10 miles of trail. 33% of working residents work locally in Arkansas City, against 15% in Kansas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 14 of Kansas’ 371 towns score lower on health. Arkansas City is home to Cowley County Community College.
Where Arkansas City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
5.9% of the town is conserved land, across 19 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Arkansas City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,012 in 1880, 11,974 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1890 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Arkansas City, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Arkansas City.
Arkansas City is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and is one of Kansas’s best towns for the outdoors.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #5 of 151 in Kansas.
9.8 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The trail density in Arkansas City is 1.0 miles per square mile. Arkansas River Area, at 202 acres with 2.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Arkansas City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.9% | 2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prairie Passage Recreation Area | 4.2 mi | 165 |
| 2. Arkansas River Area | 2.2 mi | 202 |
| 3. West Bypass Rec Area | 0.9 mi | 48 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Arkansas City school district. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas City Middle SchLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 628 | D |
| Arkansas City HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 885 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
At 1.7 years of the Arkansas City area’s $58K median household income, the typical home (about $98K) costs less against local pay than in 94% of Kansas towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. 55.9% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 43.5% across Kansas.
The typical Arkansas City home is worth about $98,000, up 4.7% in a year, 60% below the Kansas typical home. 57% of households own their home in Arkansas City.
| Arkansas City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $781 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 414 to 320 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Arkansas City’s property crime rate is 23 per 1,000 residents. Arkansas City reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 87% report less. Arkansas City’s violent crime rate is 4.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Arkansas City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23 per 1,000 residents | 10.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 5,654 U.S. towns with household incomes like Arkansas City’s, it is less healthy than 56%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Arkansas City beats the Kansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 43% of Arkansas City adults have obesity. Among 150 Kansas towns, just 9 have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Arkansas City.
| Arkansas City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 8.9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Arkansas City | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.4% | 11.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.4% | 13% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.3% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Arkansas City has chilly winters and hot summers. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 23° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Arkansas City’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Arkansas City has added 936 jobs, to 5,341 in 2023. Only 6 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a lower median household income than Arkansas City.
| Arkansas City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 3% | 8.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 50 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Arkansas City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Arkansas City
About 9 of every 100 Arkansas City residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
3 places in Arkansas City on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Arkansas City.
City in Cowley County, Kansas, USA
Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Arkansas City.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas City | #150 | D− | B+ | D | D− | C− |
| Creswell Township | — | — | C+ | — | D− | C− |
| Bolton Township | — | — | B+ | — | D− | C− |
| Pleasant Valley Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Parkerfield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Creswell Township and Bolton Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Creswell Township and Bolton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Pleasant Valley Township and Parkerfield aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Arkansas City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Arkansas City grades D− overall, better than 5% of U.S. towns. It grades C− for health, D for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 1.7 years of the area's median household income ($57,878 across the Arkansas City-Winfield, KS area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
21 notable people were born here, including Lionel Hollins and Frank Marshall Davis.
