Wathena Fruit Growers' Association Building · Photo: Kristi Bender · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Wathena run?
Wathena’s city government spent $660,000 on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, about $531 per resident. Water and other utilities ($1.5 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Wathena is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $531 per resident a year, or $1.45 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 25%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$520 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Wathena’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($520 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 252 Kansas cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $516, and the middle half spent $249–$751. Wathena spent more than 51% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($118,000), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Kansas cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Wathena itself left out).
Day-to-day spending has held about steady since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Wathena reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $520 · 2023: $531.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,646 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.02% of the home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Wathena’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Wathena’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Wathena →
Who’s in charge in Wathena
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Wathena’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on wathenakansas.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 155 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (1,242).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Riverside Unified School District 114
Wathena’s K–12 school district, shared with Burr Oak Township, Elwood, Marion Township, Washington Township. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,179 per pupil, $8,942 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Kansas districts overall: 28% local, 61% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Wathena’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Wathena alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Doniphan County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican81.0%2,899 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat17.5%626 votesOthers: 1.5% (52 votes).
Most votes in Doniphan County: Donald J Trump
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Wathena lies in Doniphan County. Every 2024 race in Doniphan County is on the county’s page.
Doniphan County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Wathena.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: wathenakansas.com ↗
- 2Kansas HouseState representatives
- 3Kansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Kansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Wathena compares with the towns next door
Wathena spent $520 per resident in 2022; the neighbor that reported 2022 spent $210. Towns that run more services spend more. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Elwood | $210 | $949 |
| Wathena | $520 | $1,646 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Wathena’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Wathena’s government
How much does Wathena spend per resident?
About $531 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $520 was more than 51% of 252 Kansas cities of under 2,500 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Wathena?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,646 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.02% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see wathenakansas.com.
Who runs Wathena’s government?
See wathenakansas.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Wathena yet.
How did Wathena vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Wathena alone. Doniphan County, where 100% of Wathena lies, voted Trump 81.0%, Harris 17.5% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Wathena?
8 full-time and 2 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $29,519 (about $354,228 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Wathena in the state legislature?
State Senate District 1 (Craig Bowser) and State House District 63 (Allen Reavis). The House district also covers 29 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Wathena’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →