Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Burlington gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $182K, 2.6 years of the county’s $70K median household income. It grades C overall, 103rd among Kansas's 150 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $51K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 34% of working residents work locally in Burlington, above both Kansas’ towns (15%) and U.S. towns (8%). Burlington's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 98% of U.S. towns. Burlington has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Burlington Carnegie Free Library and Plaza Theater.
Where Burlington beats most towns.
Burlington Carnegie Free LibraryEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Burlington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 118 in 1860, 2,634 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 5 maps from 1885 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Burlington, 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 Burlington.
Burlington fares better on crime within Kansas than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Kansas (mostly inland flooding).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Kansas towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Of the 151 Kansas towns we compare, none has a higher FEMA risk score than Burlington. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Burlington since 2019.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Burlington school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 322 | A− |
| Burlington HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 246 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,099 U.S. towns with household incomes like Burlington’s, it is healthier than 59%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Burlington beats the Kansas average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 40% of Burlington adults have high blood pressure. Only 9 of the 150 Kansas towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Burlington.
| Burlington | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Burlington | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.3% | 77.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 6.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
59% of households own their home in Burlington. The typical Burlington home is worth about $182,000, up 2.9% in a year, 26% below the Kansas typical home. Burlington’s median rent is $834 a month.
| Burlington | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $834 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Burlington has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Burlington is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 2,659 in 2013 to 1,269.
About one in 3 of Burlington’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Burlington fell to 1,269 in 2023, 1,390 fewer than in 2013. Among 151 Kansas towns, just 10 have a lower median household income than Burlington.
| Burlington | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 20.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 63% of Kansas’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.1 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Dog Park, at 28 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dog Park | — | 28 |
| 2. Burlington RV Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Kelley Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Burlington; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Burlington residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kansas.
3 places in Burlington on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Burlington.
City in Coffey County, Kansas, United States
Burlington is a city in and the county seat of Coffey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,634.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Burlington.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington · Burlington Township | #103 | C | A− | B− | B | C |
| Hampden Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Hampden Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Burlington Township and Burlington are one community, graded once. Compare Burlington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Burlington grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #103 of 150 in Kansas. It grades C for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
3 notable people were born here, including Christian Braun and Walt Kinzie.
