Plainville KS - 1911, 1911
Plainville’s story
148 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1911.
- 1878Plainville is settled
PlainvilleKS
A town of 1,657, settled in 1878.
Photo: Palbert01 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
1,657
2025 Census estimate · −5.1% since 2020
Typical home
$117K
+2.6% in a year
Household income
$59K
median
Median age
41.9
years
Jobs based here
519
A commuter town
Is Plainville a good place to live?
Plainville’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and civic life; its weakest is a D for schools. Only 8 of the 152 Kansas towns we compare have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Plainville. Plainville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Plainville stand out
Where Plainville beats most towns.
Typical home value
Plainville$117K
Kansas$246K
Cost of livingA
1.9 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 94% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Plainville10.3
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical KS town4.2
Civic lifeA
2.4 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical Kansas town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
How Plainville grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Plainville is from typical.
SchoolsBehind 94% of Kansas districts on tests and graduationDOpen →Cost of livingAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7.3 of 20; 6.9% of households have no car; 3.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB+Open →Hazard riskhail tops the listC+Open →Jobs & income$59K median household incomeC+Open →HealthRooks County Health Center 0.8 miles awayB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsC−Open →History1 notable person born hereC+Open →Civic life8.3 library visits per resident; 10.3 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsAOpen →
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 Plainville: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plainville, and how to reach them.
PowerMidwest Energy12.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCity of Plainville water system2 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Plainville’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 hereRooks County ClerkRooks County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Dec 2025
ZIP code6766367663 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 Plainville.
HousingCost of living grade A
The typical home in Plainville is valued at about $117K
The typical Plainville home is worth about $117,000, up 2.6% in a year, 53% below the Kansas typical home. Plainville’s median rent is $773 a month, against $975 a month in Kansas’ towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns.
$117KZillow home value
| Plainville | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $773 a month | $975 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 72% | 73% |
Typical home value
Plainville$117K
Kansas$246K
+2.6%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Most of Plainville’s workers commute out: the town has 0.7 jobs for each of them
About one in 4 of Plainville’s working residents works in town. Plainville’s average trip to work is 14 minutes, below both the Kansas town median (20 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs based in Plainville fell to 519 in 2023, 241 fewer than in 2013.
25%work in town
| Plainville | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 15% | 8% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Plainville25%
Hays16%
Township 1112%
Stockton6%
Palco3%
21 mi
median commute distance
519
jobs based in Plainville
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Plainville has four seasons and hot summers
Plainville has chilly winters and hot summers. Plainville’s July high is 92°F.
20″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–44°
Spring39–67°
Summer63–90°
Fall42–69°
Oct 20
typical first frost
Apr 23
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Who lives here
An age mix much like Kansas’s
21% of residents are 65 or older in Plainville. Plainville has lost 5.1% of its people since 2020, down to 1,657 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Kansas.
41.9median age · KS 37.4
| Plainville | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.9 years | 38.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 24% | 22% |
PlainvilleKansasUnited States
Ages · share of residents
15%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma4%
High school36%
Some college16%
Associate’s16%
Bachelor’s20%
Graduate7%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 91 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.8 points). Across Kansas, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Plainville | KS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.1% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.3% | 11.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.9% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.3% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.5% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.8% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.2% | 25.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 16% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.7% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.4% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.3% | 13.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,700, single groups can be off by several points
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Moderate risk in Plainville, with hail at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities.
56risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
HailTornadoesDrought
4
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthB−
On CDC estimates, Plainville is healthier than 53% of U.S. towns
Plainville beats the Kansas average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 40% of Plainville adults have obesity.
53%healthier than U.S. townsB−Health Grade
| Plainville | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 35% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 25% |
32 measures vs. Kansas
1 better29 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Plainville | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults seeing a dentist | 68.4% | 64.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.1% |
Rooks County Health Center
0.8 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 759 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Dr. & Mrs W.E. Anderson Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Plainville
19pages on Plainville
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Plainville; the nearest are
Fort Hays State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Hays25.1 mi$5,923 in-state tuitionBarton County Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Great Bend65.1 mi$3,680 in-state tuition
About 5 of every 100 Plainville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
About Plainville
City in Rooks County, Kansas
Plainville is a city in Rooks County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,746. It was named from its setting upon the plains.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,146 ft
- ZIP code
- 67663
- Area code
- 785
Questions about Plainville
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Plainville, 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.