Living in Haven, Kansas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of Kansas outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Haven to say.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Haven itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byHutchinson Regional Medical Center INC in Hutchinson, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 161 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Haven meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then: Up 17%Reno County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $876 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $59,091U.S.: $80,734
Homes built before 1940: 23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Kansas outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Kansas outside metro areas, not Haven alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,1692020: 1,165
Median age: 48.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Under 18: 17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (21%); retail (9%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 9%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hutchinson Regional Medical Center INC, Hutchinson, KS, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Haven, run by Haven Public Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kansas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 20°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 67 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 124 a year
Rain and melted snow: 33.5 inches a year
Snow: 12 inches a year
Elevation: 1,486 feet

Weather stations: Hutchinson Muni Ap (12 miles away) and Mt Hope (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Hutchinson Regional Medical Center INCEmergency room14

Wichita, KSCity of 401,00028

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 million161

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Hutchinson Regional Medical Center INC, Wichita, Tulsa.

Reno County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Haven's history on Wikipedia.

Know Haven?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

South Hutchinson, KS2,500 people, 12 miles
Hutchinson, KS40,000 people, 13 miles
Colwich, KS1,400 people, 16 miles
Buhler, KS1,300 people, 16 miles
Halstead, KS2,100 people, 16 miles
Garden Plain, KS1,000 people, 18 miles

Smaller places

Mount Hope, KS803 people, 7 miles
Burrton, KS836 people, 10 miles
Andale, KS926 people, 11 miles
Bentley, KS586 people, 15 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.