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Towns / Kansas

Lansing, Kansas

Lansing is a small town of about 11,300 people in Leavenworth County, Kansas. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Kansas City, is about 20 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
11,331
up 0.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$270,800
Leavenworth County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$102,786
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Kansas City area
92.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Leavenworth, KS
To Kansas City
20 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.5% below the U.S. average in the Kansas City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood11 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySaint John Hospital in Leavenworth, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 20 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 Lansing 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

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$270,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Leavenworth County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,406 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$102,786U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,603 a yearKansas: $2,798
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.5U.S. average = 100 (the Kansas City metro area)

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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kansas City metro area, not Lansing 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
11,3312020: 11,239
Median age
37.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
36%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (32%); government (15%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Saint John Hospital, Leavenworth, KS, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

4 public schools in Lansing, run by Lansing.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Saint Mary (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
87%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
15°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
30 a year
Nights at or below freezing
136 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.3 inches a year
Snow
19 inches a year
Elevation
855 feet

Weather stations: Leavenworth 3SW (4 miles away) and Leavenworth (6 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

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: Saint John Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas City.

Leavenworth County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harry S Truman National Historic Site31 miles
  • Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park44 miles

Campus life. Check University of Saint Mary's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Lansing's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lansing?

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

Smaller places

  • Farley, MO259 people, 5 miles
  • Tracy, MO345 people, 11 miles
  • Platte Woods, MO395 people, 13 miles
  • Ferrelview, MO656 people, 13 miles
  • Easton, KS209 people, 14 miles
  • Lake Waukomis, MO941 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.