Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Atchison gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $173K for a typical one, or 2.8 years of the Atchison area’s $61K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 100th among Kansas's 150 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $54K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. 40% of working residents work locally in Atchison, above both Kansas’ towns (15%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Amelia Earhart Birthplace and Edgar W. Howe House. Atchison's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Where Atchison beats most towns.
Amelia Earhart Birthplace
Its founding year, 1854, comes before those of 91% of the Kansas towns we grade with a known year. Its 46 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Kansas towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,616 in 1860, a peak of 16,429 in 1910, 10,885 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1861 and 3 maps from 1926 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Atchison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Atchison, 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 Atchison.
Atchison trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, fares better on crime within Kansas than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
There are 4.0 miles of trail across 11 parks and preserves. Warnock Lake Park, at 162 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Atchison’s trail density stands at 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Atchison | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.7% | 2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Warnock Lake Park | 1.4 mi | 162 |
| 2. Jackson Park | 1.3 mi | 99 |
| 3. Atchison Recreation Sports Complex | 0.6 mi | 58 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Atchison High School, with 419 students. The Atchison Public Schools runs its public schools. Two of its 7 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atchison Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 693 | C+ |
| Atchison High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 419 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $173K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles.
The typical home value in Atchison is about $173,000, up 6.6% in a year, 30% below the Kansas typical home. The going rate for rent for Atchison comes to $737 a month. Also worth knowing: 61% of Atchison households live in a home they own.
| Atchison | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $737 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Only 10 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a lower median age than Atchison. Adults 18 to 34 are 32% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (36% statewide). The share of residents in Atchison who are 65 or older: 14%. Four-year graduates: 27% of adults 25 and older here, 36% across Kansas.
| Atchison | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 29.1 years | 38.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 30% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.2 points). Across Kansas, 49.8% of residents are women. Among residents 35 to 44, 63% are women (KS 49%).
| Atchison | KS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 11.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 22.6% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.1% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.5% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38.6% | 25.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.7% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.3% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.5% | 13.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Atchison weather station records that about 38 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 92% of Kansas places with climate records. July afternoons average 88.3°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 95% of Kansas places with climate records; January nights average 18.8°.
Atchison’s July high is 88°F. About 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Atchison | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 88°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 19°F | 21°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute in Atchison is 18 minutes. The top destinations are St. Joseph (6%), Kansas City (5%) and Leavenworth (4%). 8.6% of workers work remotely from home here.
| Atchison | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.6% | 8.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 22.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 57% of Kansas’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 255 to 135 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
For Atchison, the violent crime rate is 1.9 per 1,000 residents. In Atchison, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 10.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Atchison | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.6 per 1,000 residents | 11.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Atchison after 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2019. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 49% come from inland flooding and 20% from tornadoes. One claim on flood insurance has been paid out locally since 2011.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 7,260 U.S. towns with household incomes like Atchison’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Atchison, 17% binge drink. In Atchison, 19% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 34% feel lonely.
| Atchison | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 77% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 31% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Atchison | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.5% | 11.3% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8.5% | 7.1% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 18.9% | 16% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Atchison
College town 17 of every 100 Atchison residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
46 places in Atchison on the National Register of Historic Places.
20 notable people were born in Atchison.
City in northeast Kansas, U.S.
Atchison is a city in and the county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri and was the original eastern terminus of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Atchison is also the home of Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts university.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Atchison.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atchison | #100 | C+ | B+ | C+ | C | B− |
| Shannon Township | — | — | B− | — | C | B− |
| Lancaster Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Walnut Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mount Pleasant Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Shannon Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Shannon Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lancaster Township, Walnut Township and Mount Pleasant Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Atchison with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Atchison grades C+ overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #100 of 150 in Kansas. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
20 notable people were born here, including Amelia Earhart and Mary Peters Fieser.
