Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,606, settled in 1872. 4.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Kansas town.
Oberlin’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and walkability and an A+ for civic life; its weakest is a D for incomes. On civic life, just 2 of Kansas’ 362 towns do better. Bank of Oberlin is on the National Register of Historic Places. Oberlin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Oberlin beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Oberlin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 976 in 1890, a peak of 2,387 in 1980, 1,644 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1886 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oberlin, 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 Oberlin.
Typical home values rose 3.7% in the year to September 2026. In Oberlin, 77% of households own their home, above both Kansas’ towns (72%) and U.S. towns (73%).
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Public schools: the Oberlin school district. Its two schools are below. 2 public schools serve Oberlin, with 376 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin ElemLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 232 | B |
| Decatur Community Jr/Sr HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 144 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
Only 2 of the 152 Kansas towns we compare have a higher age of the median resident than Oberlin. In Oberlin, 20% of residents are under 18, where Kansas’ towns sit at 24% and U.S. towns at 22%. Nearly a third of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 36% across Kansas.
| Oberlin | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 34% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 52.5 years | 38.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 29% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Kansas, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Oberlin | KS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.3% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 11.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.8% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19.1% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.7% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.7% | 25.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.4% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.5% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.6% | 13.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Oberlin, the income of the median household is $52,000. Roughly one working resident in three has a job in Oberlin itself. Jobs based locally fell to 590 in 2023, 96 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Liberty Township (7%), McCook (6%) and Norton (4%).
| Oberlin | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 15% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 12 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The violent crime rate in Oberlin is 5 per 1,000 residents. Oberlin's reported crime rate is well below Kansas's. Among 87 Kansas towns, just 7 have a lower property offense rate than Oberlin.
| Oberlin | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 13.6 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
In Oberlin, 13% of adults have diabetes. Only 9 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Oberlin. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Oberlin is ahead of Kansas on 6 and behind on 6.
| Oberlin | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Oberlin | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.3% | 11.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10% | 13% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.5% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected losses in Oberlin break down as 36% from hail and 20% from inland flooding. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in the town than in 51% of U.S. communities. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2017.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Oberlin’s trail network density is 0.1 miles per square mile. Across 1 park or preserve: 0.1 miles of trail. It has one park or preserve, 4 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Park | 0.1 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Oberlin; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Oberlin residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
4 notable people were born in Oberlin.
City in Decatur County, Kansas, US
Oberlin is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,644.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Oberlin.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin · Oberlin Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | B− |
| Liberty Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Center Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Oberlin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Oberlin reports no FBI crime data of its own. Liberty Township and Center Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Oberlin Township and Oberlin are one community, graded once. Compare Oberlin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
4.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Kansas town.
Not for the area. That is 2 years of the area's median household income ($53,870 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
4 notable people were born here, including Brun Campbell and Elmer Hackney.
