Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Russell is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 137th of 150 graded towns in Kansas, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $123K, 2 years of the county’s $62K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 81% of the country. 51% of working residents work locally in Russell, where Kansas’ towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 8%. On the outdoors, just 22 of Kansas’ 373 towns do better. Memorial Park, at 123 acres with 4.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Russell beats most towns.
US Post Office-RussellEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Russell is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 861 in 1880, a peak of 6,483 in 1950, 4,401 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1948 and 3 maps from 1896 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Russell, 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 Russell.
Russell has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of Kansas.
4.9 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Russell’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Russell | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | 4.2 mi | 123 |
| 2. Water Tower Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Russell County school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Russell Junior-Senior High, with 328 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bickerdyke ElemLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–6 | Grades 2–6 | 261 | B |
| Russell Junior-Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 328 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
At 2 years of the county’s $62K median household income, the typical home (about $123K) costs less against local pay than in 90% of Kansas towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 11% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Russell is $824 a month.
| Russell | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $824 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
42% of adults have obesity in Russell. Russell beats the Kansas average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 40% of adults have high blood pressure in Russell.
| Russell | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Russell | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.3% | 77.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.3% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Russell has chilly winters and hot summers. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 19° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,819 working residents takes 11.2 minutes, against 19.7 across Kansas.
18% of Russell residents live below the poverty line. Only 8 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a lower average trip to work than Russell. Jobs based in Russell fell to 1,650 in 2023, 129 fewer than in 2013.
| Russell | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 11 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Russell's reported crime rate is well below Kansas's. 13 violent crimes were reported in 2023.
| Russell | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 6.7 per 1,000 residents | 14.2 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Russell; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Russell residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
8 places in Russell on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Russell.
City in Russell County, Kansas
Russell is the most populous city in and the county seat of Russell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,401.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Russell.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell · Russell Township | #137 | C− | B− | — | C+ | C− |
| Grant Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Russell reports no FBI crime data of its own. Grant Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Russell Township and Russell are one community, graded once. Compare Russell with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Russell grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #137 of 150 in Kansas. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
7 notable people were born here, including Bob Dole and Marj Dusay.
