Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
El Dorado gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $173K for a typical one, or 2.4 years of the Wichita metro’s $71K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 87th of 150 in Kansas. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 79% of U.S. towns. 35% of working residents work locally in El Dorado, where Kansas’ towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 8%. El Dorado is home to Butler Community College.
Where El Dorado beats most towns.
El Dorado Carnegie Library
Census counts: 1,411 in 1880, 12,870 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1878 and 5 maps from 1888 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far El Dorado is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in El Dorado, 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 El Dorado.
El Dorado is healthier than towns with similar incomes and fares better on crime within Kansas than nationally.
6.1 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. El Dorado’s trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| El Dorado | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. El Dorado State Park | 0.5 mi | 13 |
| 2. North Main Park | 0.4 mi | 13 |
| 3. East Park | 0.3 mi | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the El Dorado school district. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is El Dorado High, with 543 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Dorado MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 370 | C− |
| El Dorado HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 543 | C− |
| Grandview ElemTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 252 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
Against the 8,707 U.S. towns with household incomes like El Dorado’s, it is less healthy than 57%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
El Dorado beats the Kansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 41% of adults have obesity in El Dorado. Among 150 Kansas towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than El Dorado.
| El Dorado | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | El Dorado | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 6.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15% | 11.3% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
60% of El Dorado households own their home. The typical El Dorado home is worth about $173,000, up 3.4% in a year, 30% below the Kansas typical home. The median rent in El Dorado is $844 a month.
| El Dorado | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $844 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
El Dorado has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 21° and about 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 127 flood insurance claims have been paid out in El Dorado.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 24.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 51% of Kansas’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
About one in 3 of El Dorado’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in El Dorado grew to 6,097 in 2023, 483 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Wichita (27%), El Dorado Township (3%) and Spring Township (2%).
| El Dorado | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.6% | 8.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kansas average. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Kansas.
| El Dorado | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.2 years | 38.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 30% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 24% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across Kansas, 49.8% of residents are women.
| El Dorado | KS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 11.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.2% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.9% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.3% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.6% | 25.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.8% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.3% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.3% | 13.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of El Dorado
About 6 of every 100 El Dorado residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kansas.
8 places in El Dorado on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in El Dorado.
City in Butler County, Kansas
El Dorado ( EL-də-RAY-doh) is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in the central part of Butler County and located in south-central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 12,870. It is home to Butler Community College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with El Dorado.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Dorado · El Dorado Township | #87 | B− | A− | C+ | B− | C |
| Prospect Township | #132 | C− | A− | — | C− | C |
Prospect Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. El Dorado Township and El Dorado are one community, graded once. Compare El Dorado with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
El Dorado grades B− overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #87 of 150 in Kansas. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools.
12 notable people were born here, including Roger Marshall and Mort Walker.
