Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Kensington run?
Kensington’s city government spent $261,000 on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $603 per resident. Water and other utilities ($117,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Kensington is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $603 per resident a year, or $1.65 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 59%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$603 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Kensington’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($603 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 252 Kansas cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $516, and the middle half spent $249–$751. Kensington spent more than 58% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($65,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Kansas cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Kensington itself left out).
No trend yet
Kensington reported only 2022 to the Census Bureau, so there is no trend yet.
The typical homeowner pays $1,283 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Kensington’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. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Kensington’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Kensington →
Who’s in charge in Kensington
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 433 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (433).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Thunder Ridge Unified School District 110
Kensington’s K–12 school district, shared with Agra, Athol, Cedar Township, Crystal Township, German Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $23,196 per pupil, $14,240 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.
Kensington’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Kensington alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Smith County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican83.5%1,675 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat15.0%300 votesOthers: 1.5% (31 votes).
Most votes in Smith County: Donald J Trump
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Kensington lies in Smith County. Every 2024 race in Smith County is on the county’s page.
Smith 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 Kensington.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 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 Kensington’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Kensington’s government
How much does Kensington spend per resident?
About $603 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $603 was more than 58% of 252 Kansas cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.
Who runs Kensington’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Kensington yet.
How did Kensington vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Kensington alone. Smith County, where 100% of Kensington lies, voted Trump 83.5%, Harris 15.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Kensington?
1 full-time and 9 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $10,393 (about $124,716 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Kensington in the state legislature?
State Senate District 36 (Elaine Bowers) and State House District 109 (Troy Waymaster). The House district also covers 115 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Kensington’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; 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 →