Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Galena gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $120K, 1.9 years of the Joplin metro’s $62K median household income. It grades C overall, 114th among Kansas's 150 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its crime rate is higher than 77% of U.S. towns, with 18 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Galena’s violent crime rate is 6.5 per 1,000 residents, above both Kansas’ towns (2.5) and U.S. towns (1.6). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. Only 2 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a higher January low than Galena.
Where Galena beats most towns.
3,085 counted in 2010 and 2,761 in 2020; an estimated 2,788 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Galena is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,463 in 1880, a peak of 10,155 in 1900, 2,761 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 4 maps from 1959 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Galena, 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 Galena.
Galena sends many workers across the state line to Webb City, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
At 1.9 years of the Joplin metro’s $62K median household income, the typical home (about $120K) costs less against local pay than in 91% of Kansas towns; that ratio is one input to its A+ for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $747, against $2,798 across Kansas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Galena’s median rent is $692 a month. Typical home values rose 4.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Galena | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $692 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Galena school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Grove Primary CenterLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 229 | – |
| Galena HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 236 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
Against the 5,416 U.S. towns with household incomes like Galena’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
44% of Galena adults have obesity. Galena beats the Kansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 39% of Galena adults have high blood pressure.
| Galena | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Galena | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.1% | 11.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 6.7% |
| More smokers | 19.4% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The property crime rate in Galena is 4 per 1,000 residents. Galena reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 77% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Schermerhorn Park, at 23 acres.
| Galena | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Schermerhorn Park | 0.1 mi | 23 |
| 2. Shoal Creek Wildlife Area | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Galena has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 25° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
71% of working residents cross a state line to work, Webb City among the top destinations. Galena has about as many jobs (1,273) as working residents, but only 209 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Galena for work: only 18% work in town. Among 151 Kansas towns, just 5 have a lower median household income than Galena. 13% of residents live below the poverty line in Galena.
| Galena | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $49,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 15% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Galena since 2007.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Galena
About 2 of every 100 Galena residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
6 notable people were born in Galena.
City in Cherokee County, Kansas
Galena is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,761.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Galena.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galena | #114 | C | A+ | C− | C+ | C− |
| Garden Township | #127 | C− | B+ | — | C− | C− |
| Lowell Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Garden Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lowell Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Galena with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Galena grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #114 of 150 in Kansas. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
6 notable people were born here, including Jake LaTurner and James C. Corman.
