Hiawatha National Guard Armory · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0How is Hiawatha run?
Hiawatha’s city government spent $4.4 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,368 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Hiawatha didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Hiawatha is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,368 per resident a year, or $3.75 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 29%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Hiawatha didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Hiawatha yet
Every year of Hiawatha’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, up from 32 in 2022.
The typical homeowner pays $1,503 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.23% of the home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Hiawatha’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Hiawatha’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Hiawatha →
Who’s in charge in Hiawatha
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Hiawatha’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofhiawatha.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 98 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (3,225).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Hiawatha Unified School District 415
Hiawatha’s K–12 school district, shared with Fairview, Hamlin, Hiawatha Township, Padonia Township, Reserve and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,351 per pupil, $9,753 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Kansas districts overall: 28% local, 61% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Hiawatha’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Hiawatha alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Brown County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican72.9%3,106 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat25.0%1,065 votesOthers: 2.0% (87 votes).
Most votes in Brown County: Donald J Trump
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Hiawatha lies in Brown County. Every 2024 race in Brown County is on the county’s page.
Brown County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Hiawatha.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofhiawatha.org ↗
- 2Kansas HouseState representatives
- 3Kansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Kansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Hiawatha’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Hiawatha’s government
How much does Hiawatha spend per resident?
About $1,368 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Hiawatha didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $7.1 million.
What is the property tax rate in Hiawatha?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,503 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.23% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofhiawatha.org.
Who runs Hiawatha’s government?
See cityofhiawatha.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Hiawatha yet.
How did Hiawatha vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Hiawatha alone. Brown County, where 100% of Hiawatha lies, voted Trump 72.9%, Harris 25.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Hiawatha?
33 full-time and 20 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $162,439 (about $1.9M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Hiawatha in the state legislature?
State Senate District 1 (Craig Bowser) and State House District 62 (Sean Willcott). The House district also covers 53 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Hiawatha’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Hiawatha, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →