Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2,516 people, the town was settled in 1887.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. South Hutchinson’s overall grade, C, puts it better than 34% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 102nd of 150 in Kansas. Its weakest is health — residents are less healthy than just over four fifths of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It lags on schools as well: its public schools trail 65% of Kansas towns on state tests and graduation. Where it does best is walkability (A−): it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $148K, 2.4 years of the Hutchinson area’s $61K median household income. On civic life, just 36 of Kansas’ 362 towns do worse.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
Where South Hutchinson beats most towns.
Where South Hutchinson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far South Hutchinson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 321 in 1890, 2,521 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 4 maps from 1891 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Hutchinson, 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 South Hutchinson.
South Hutchinson draws workers from Hutchinson and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
1,811 jobs are based in South Hutchinson, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
For most workers, South Hutchinson is a place to come home to: only 9% work in town. The mean commuting time in the town is 14 minutes. The town’s median household income stands at $50,000, below both Kansas’ towns ($73,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Jobs in South Hutchinson grew by 121 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 1,811.
| South Hutchinson | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.1% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 5,940 U.S. towns with household incomes like South Hutchinson’s, it is less healthy than 55%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in South Hutchinson, 23% say their health is fair or poor. Of the 150 Kansas towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than South Hutchinson. 13% of adults in South Hutchinson binge drink; 34% get no exercise outside work. The town does better than the Kansas average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 15.
| South Hutchinson | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 26% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | South Hutchinson | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.7% | 16.3% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.8% | 77.6% |
| More adults with heart disease | 10.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.2 miles of trail. South Hutchinson’s density of trails stands at 0.4 miles per square mile, against 0.3 in Kansas’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| South Hutchinson | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 2.5% in value. For households in South Hutchinson, the share who are owner-occupiers is 59%.
| South Hutchinson | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $602 a month | $977 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 21° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
South Hutchinson has had 2 paid flood insurance claims since 2007. On expected storm and flood damage, South Hutchinson sits below 62% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 28% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to tornadoes, and 27% to inland flooding. Federal aid has come to South Hutchinson households in 6 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of South Hutchinson
About 4 of every 100 South Hutchinson residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
2 towns share a border with South Hutchinson.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hutchinson | #102 | C | B | — | C+ | C− |
| Reno Township | #104 | C | B | — | C+ | C− |
| Yoder Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
South Hutchinson and Reno Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Yoder Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare South Hutchinson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South Hutchinson grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #102 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.