Ness County Bank · National Register of Historic Places
Ness City’s story
145 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1887.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1881Ness City is settled
Ness CityKS
2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Kansas town.
Photo: Catlady95 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,313
2025 Census estimate · −2.3% since 2020
Typical home
$121K
+10% in a year
Household income
$65K
median
Median age
43.0
years
Jobs based here
560
Balanced
Is Ness City a good place to live?
Ness City’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and an A+ for civic life; its weakest is a D for schools. 41% of working residents work locally in Ness City, above both the Kansas town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Among 152 Kansas towns, just 5 have a higher July high than Ness City. On civic life, just 19 of Kansas’ 362 towns do better. Ness City has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ness County Bank and Lion Block. Ness City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Ness City stand out
Where Ness City beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Ness City8.8
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical KS town4.2
Civic lifeA+
2.1 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical Kansas town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
Typical home value
Ness City$121K
Kansas$246K
Cost of livingA
1.8 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 93% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
Ness County BankHistory
Settled in 1881
2 places on the National Register
A history going back 145 years.
Small town
1,313 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
How Ness City grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Ness City is from typical.
Cost of livingAOpen →SchoolsBehind 89% of Kansas districts on tests and graduationDOpen →Jobs & income$65K median household incomeC−Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7.3 of 20; 2.6% of households have no car; 0.8% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →HealthNess County Hospital District #2 4.2 miles awayC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsConserved land, trails and parksC−Open →History2 places on the National Register; 2 notable people born hereB+Open →Civic life6 library visits per resident; 8.8 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsA+Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Ness City: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ness City, and how to reach them.
PowerMidwest Energy12.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCity of Ness City water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Ness City’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Kansas you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person until 21 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 21 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereNess County ClerkNess County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2026
ZIP code6756067560 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ness City.
HousingCost of living grade A
Homes in Ness City are worth about $121K, by Zillow’s estimate
The typical Ness City home is worth about $121,000, up 10% in a year, 51% below the Kansas typical home. 82% of Ness City households own their home, against 72% in Kansas’ towns and 73% across U.S. towns.
$121KZillow home value
Typical home value
Ness City$121K
Kansas$246K
+10%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Climate
Ness City has four seasons and hot summers
Ness City has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 18° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
15″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–46°
Spring39–68°
Summer63–91°
Fall42–70°
Oct 14
typical first frost
Apr 29
typical last frost
+0.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
With 1.1 jobs for every working resident, Ness City draws in 357 commuters
Ness City’s average trip to work is 14 minutes. Jobs based in Ness City fell to 560 in 2023, 150 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Ransom (12%), Bazine (5%) and Nevada Township (3%).
41%work in town
| Ness City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Ness City41%
Ransom12%
Bazine5%
Nevada Township3%
Copeland Township2%
12 mi
median commute distance
560
jobs based in Ness City
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C
Ness City faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities.
61risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesDrought
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthC+
Ness City is less healthy than 56% of U.S. towns
Ness City beats the Kansas average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 40% of adults have high blood pressure in Ness City. Only 2 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Ness City.
44%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Ness City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 26% | 25% |
32 measures vs. Kansas
2 better21 too close to call9 worse
| What stands out | Ness City | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.7% | 77.6% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 86.7% | 84.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.2% | 11.3% |
Ness County Hospital District #2
4.2 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Who lives here
An age mix much like Kansas’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kansas average. The median age in Ness City is 43 years. Ness City has lost 2.3% of its people since 2020, down to 1,313 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
43median age · KS 37.4
| Ness City | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 43 years | 38.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 24% | 22% |
Ness CityKansasUnited States
Ages · share of residents
17%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma8%
High school31%
Some college23%
Associate’s9%
Bachelor’s21%
Graduate8%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.6 points. Across Kansas, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Ness City | KS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.1% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15.3% | 11.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.7% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.6% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.5% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.4% | 8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.6% | 25.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.8% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.3% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.3% | 13.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,300, single groups can be off by several points
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Ness City
17pages on Ness City
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Ness City; the nearest are
Fort Hays State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Hays41.9 mi$5,923 in-state tuitionDodge City Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Dodge City47.3 mi$4,650 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Ness City residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
Landmarks
2 places in Ness City on the National Register of Historic Places.
About Ness City
City in Ness County, Kansas
Ness City is a city in and the county seat of Ness County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,329. Ness City is famous for its four-story Old Ness County Bank Building located downtown and nicknamed Skyscraper of the Plains.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,254 ft
- ZIP code
- 67560
- Area code
- 785
Questions about Ness City
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ness City, KS a good place to live?
2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Kansas town.
Is Ness City, KS expensive?
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.
What is Ness City, KS known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Gilmore Kinney and Tim Beck.