Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,315, settled in 1870. 46% more nonprofits per person than the typical Kansas town.
Trash day: look up yoursParsons gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $78K for a typical one, or 1.4 years of the county’s $56K median household income. It grades C overall, 108th among Kansas's 150 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. It reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, including 82 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 79% of the country. On the plus side, it has 8 miles of trail. 54% of working residents work locally in Parsons, against 15% in Kansas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Parsons is home to Labette Community College. Parsons's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Parsons beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Parsons is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,199 in 1880, a peak of 16,028 in 1920, 9,600 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 2 maps from 1945 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Parsons, 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 Parsons.
Parsons draws workers from Pittsburg and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
At 1.4 years of the county’s $56K median household income, the typical home (about $78K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of Kansas towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,327, against $2,798 across Kansas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Parsons’ median rent is $774 a month. The typical Parsons home is worth about $78,000, down 1.4% in a year, 68% below the Kansas typical home.
| Parsons | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $774 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Parsons school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Parsons Sr High, with 399 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parsons Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 273 | C |
| Parsons Sr HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 399 | D |
| Garfield SchoolTop results in townGrades 2–3 | Grades 2–3 | 176 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 477 to 340 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Parsons is 8.9 per 1,000 residents. Among 80 Kansas towns, just 8 have a higher property crime rate than Parsons. Parsons reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less.
| Parsons | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 27.8 per 1,000 residents | 10.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The biggest park or preserve is Parsons Arboretum, at 27 acres.
| Parsons | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forest Park | 0.9 mi | 18 |
| 2. Parsons Arboretum | 0.7 mi | 27 |
| 3. Circle Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
6,160 jobs are based in Parsons, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 13.1 minutes, against 19.7 across Kansas.
21% of Parsons residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Parsons has lost 877 jobs, to 6,160 in 2023. The top destinations are North Township (3%), Pittsburg (3%) and Wichita (2%).
| Parsons | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,607 U.S. towns with household incomes like Parsons’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
32% of adults get no exercise outside work in Parsons. Parsons beats the Kansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 42% of adults have obesity in Parsons.
| Parsons | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Parsons | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.3% | 11.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.1% | 13% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Parsons 2 Nw weather station records that about 47 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 79% of Kansas places with climate records.
Parsons has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 24° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 58 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Parsons.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Parsons
About 4 of every 100 Parsons residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
Where Parsons’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Parsons on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Parsons.
City in Labette County, Kansas
Parsons is a city in Labette County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,600. It is the most populous city of Labette County, and the second-most populous city in the southeastern region of Kansas. It is home to Labette Community College and the Parsons State Hospital & Training Center.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Parsons.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parsons | #108 | C | A− | D− | B+ | C− |
| North Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Osage Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
North Township and Osage Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Parsons with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Parsons grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #108 of 150 in Kansas. It grades C− for health, D− for safety and B+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
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−.
17 notable people were born here, including ZaSu Pitts and Buck Clayton.
