Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Salina is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 134th of 150 graded towns in Kansas, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $177K, 2.7 years of the Salina area’s $66K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: it reports more crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns, including 201 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 61% of working residents work locally in Salina, against 15% in Kansas’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 6 of Kansas’ 372 towns score higher on walkability. Salina has 16 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Fox-Watson Theater Building and Masonic Temple.
Where Salina beats most towns.
A. J. Schwartz House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Kansas Wesleyan University | 884 |
| Salina Area Technical College | 852 |
Census counts: 918 in 1870, 46,889 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1887 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Salina is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Salina, 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 Salina.
Salina is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
Reported crimes fell from 1,575 to 1,231 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Salina’s property crime rate is 22.4 per 1,000 residents. Salina reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 87% report less. Salina’s violent crime rate is 4.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Salina | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.4 per 1,000 residents | 10.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Salina school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salina South MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 782 | C |
| Salina High SouthLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,046 | C− |
| Meadowlark Ridge ElemTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 431 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
13 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is East Crawford Recreation Area, at 113 acres.
| Salina | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lakewood Park | 2.3 mi | 92 |
| 2. Oakdale Park | 1.7 mi | 41 |
| 3. Jerry Ivey Park | 1.7 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Salina home is worth about $177,000, up 4.3% in a year, 28% below the Kansas typical home. 64% of Salina households own their home.
| Salina | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 72% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 42% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $959 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Salina has chilly winters and hot summers. The July high in Salina is 93°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
13% of residents live below the poverty line in Salina. The top destinations are Smolan Township (4%), Wichita (3%) and Manhattan (2%). 6.6% of workers work from home in Salina.
| Salina | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.6% | 8.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,357 U.S. towns with household incomes like Salina’s, it is healthier than 58%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Salina beats the Kansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Salina | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 8.9% | 8.1% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Salina | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.8% | 6.7% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.6% | 3.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kansas average. 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 36% across Kansas.
| Salina | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 22% | 24% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 38.1 years | 40.5 years |
50.3% women, 49.7% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.9 points. Across Kansas, 49.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.2, men 37.6.
| Salina | KS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.1% | 12.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 11.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.9% | 10.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.4% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.8% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.8% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.4% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.7% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.9% | 8% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.9% | 25.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.6% | 21.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.9% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.8% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.9% | 13.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 88 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Salina.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Salina
About 5 of every 100 Salina residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
2 colleges in town.
16 places in Salina on the National Register of Historic Places.
42 notable people were born in Salina.
6 towns share a border with Salina.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salina | #134 | C− | B− | D | C | C+ |
| Greeley Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smoky Hill Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smolan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Elm Creek Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Walnut Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cambria Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Greeley Township, Smoky Hill Township, Smolan Township, Elm Creek Township, Walnut Township and Cambria Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Salina with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Salina grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #134 of 150 in Kansas. It grades C+ for health, D for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
42 notable people were born here, including Dwight Frye and Adrianna Franch.
