Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Smith Center’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and civic life; its weakest is a C− for incomes. 51% of working residents work locally in Smith Center, above both the Kansas town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On cost of living, just 37 of Kansas’ 373 towns do better. Smith Center is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 71% of U.S. towns. Smith Center has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them First National Bank Building and Grimes House. Smith Center has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Smith Center beats most towns.
Grimes HouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Smith Center is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 254 in 1880, a peak of 2,389 in 1970, 1,571 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1914 and 3 maps from 1893 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Smith Center, 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 Smith Center.
The typical Smith Center home is worth about $108,000, up 2.2% in a year, 56% below the Kansas typical home. Smith Center’s median rent is $678 a month, against $975 a month in Kansas’ towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. 82% of households own their home in Smith Center.
| Smith Center | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $678 a month | $975 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Smith Center has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Smith Center is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
41% of Smith Center adults have high blood pressure. Smith Center beats the Kansas average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 14% of Smith Center adults have diabetes.
| Smith Center | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 26% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Smith Center | KS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.3% | 77.6% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 86.7% | 84.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.3% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Smith Center’s average trip to work is 12 minutes. Only 10 of the 152 Kansas towns we compare have a lower share of workers working from home than Smith Center. Smith Center’s median household income is $56,000.
| Smith Center | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 12 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 2.6% | 8.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wagner Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Smith Center; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Smith Center residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
3 places in Smith Center on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Smith Center.
City in Smith County, Kansas
Smith Center is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,571.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.
6 notable people were born here, including Roscoe Arbuckle and Kevin Saunders.
