Photo: Kevin Zollman Kzollman 22:00, 4 May 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Manhattan run?
Manhattan’s city government spent $87.1 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,617 per resident. Water and other utilities ($10.2 million) and the airport ($1.9 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Manhattan is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,617 per resident a year, or $4.43 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 23%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison or trend for Manhattan yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample), and Manhattan’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars). It reported 2024 only (2022 and 2023 are estimates), so there is no trend yet either. The next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, down from 414 in 2022.
The typical homeowner pays $3,767 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.53% 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 Manhattan’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 Manhattan’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Manhattan →
Who’s in charge in Manhattan
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Manhattan’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofmhk.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 139 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 (53,829).
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.
Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District 383
Manhattan’s K–12 school district, shared with Ogden, Manhattan Township, Ogden Township, Ashland Township, Zeandale Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,618 per pupil, $8,034 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.
Riley County Unified School District 378 · $13,440 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Manhattan’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Manhattan alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Riley County’s results.
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat49.6%12,063 votes
Donald J TrumpRepublican47.8%11,630 votesOthers: 2.6% (620 votes).
Most votes in Riley County: Kamala D Harris
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Manhattan lies in Riley County; the rest in Pottawatomie County. Every 2024 race in Riley County is on the county’s page.
Riley 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
Manhattan sends 5 representatives to the Kansas House alone.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofmhk.com ↗
- 2Kansas HouseManhattan is split between 5 districts
- 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.
How Manhattan compares with the towns next door
Manhattan’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate, so it isn’t placed among them. Neighbors that reported 2022 spent $80 to $245 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Manhattan Township | $80 | $2,518 |
| Wildcat Township | $92 | $3,324 |
| Ogden | $245 | $2,390 |
| Ogden Township | estimate | $2,696 |
| Blue Township | estimate | $4,419 |
| Madison Township | estimate | $2,521 |
| Manhattan | estimate | $3,767 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Manhattan’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Manhattan’s government
How much does Manhattan spend per resident?
About $1,617 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Manhattan?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,767 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.53% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofmhk.com.
Who runs Manhattan’s government?
See cityofmhk.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Manhattan yet.
How did Manhattan vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Manhattan alone. Riley County, where 100% of Manhattan lies, voted Harris 49.6%, Trump 47.8% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Manhattan?
386 full-time and 192 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $2.5M (about $30.2M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Manhattan in the state legislature?
Manhattan is split among 5 State House districts and 2 State Senate districts, so your address decides. The Kansas Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Manhattan’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 →