Junction City, Kansas

Area Profile

22,331 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Junction City, in Geary County.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 23% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity4,012th of 4,199 cities measured27
SchoolsTop 45% of 4,162 cities measured53
Growth3,177th of 4,224 cities measured37
Housing affordabilityTop 7% of 4,218 cities measured83
Climate3,482nd of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilience2,122nd of 4,226 cities measured57
Access3,968th of 4,226 cities measured60
Economic stability3,329th of 4,226 cities measured40
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.2% and the Opportunity signal places Junction City in the bottom 4%.

In the public schools here, 29% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.5 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 59 units authorized over the past twelve months, 36% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
22,331
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,181
Bottom 41% nationally
Density
1,934/sq mi
11.5 sq mi of land
Median age
28.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Kansas
Metro area
Nearest major airport
FOE
64 mi · Topeka Rgnl
Median home value
$171,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.2% — higher than in all but 19% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 4.5% over the past year, to 9,056 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsGeary County, KS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,9963rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftGeary County, KS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$46,9734th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,3232024 ACS 5-Year$61,181Bottom 41%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,8602024 ACS 5-Year$30,389Bottom 38%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.3%Bottom 29%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.9 minTop 17%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.6%Top 38%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.6%58th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20269,056Bottom 2%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 24%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−4.5%Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20269,5562nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageManhattan, KS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,680Bottom 7%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageManhattan, KS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,900Bottom 9%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%85th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 34%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.2%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.9%41st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.22.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.2% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202461k56k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $61,181 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Manhattan, KS

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,190$27,130
Cashiers1,620$27,870
Retail Salespersons1,390$29,540
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,230$40,460
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary1,100$31,020
Stockers and Order Fillers1,020$30,990

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

29% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 32% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
28.6%
Bottom 47% in Kansas
Reading proficiency
31.9%
Bottom 47% in Kansas
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Junction City Sr HighGeary County Schools1,71313.519%25%
Junction City Middle SchoolGeary County Schools90011.717%23%
Spring Valley ElementaryGeary County Schools40016.047%42%
Eisenhower ElemGeary County Schools37014.852%52%
Washington ElemGeary County Schools35013.527%17%
Lincoln ElemGeary County Schools30517.952%52%
Westwood ElemGeary County Schools27812.632%37%
Sheridan ElemGeary County Schools25512.837%52%
Grandview ElemGeary County Schools8313.845%45%

59.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Kansas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 90.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Manhattan, KS Metro Area is up 37% over five years, and up 4.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,586 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.51% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,048, close to the $1,024 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,048 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,900 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $61,181.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,024 a month.

A median home at $171,500 costs 2.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,090, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
90.2

Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Manhattan, KS Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
25.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,048
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,024
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$171,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Junction City’s median household income of $61,181, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Manhattan, KS Metro Area’s figure202390.2Top 7%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Manhattan, KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.3%70th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Manhattan, KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+36.6%34th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Manhattan, KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+54.8%5th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.0Top 33%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year50.4%10th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3062024 ACS 5-Year10,84694th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$848Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,458Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,048Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$512024 ACS 5-Year$1,024Bottom 45%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,3072024 ACS 5-Year$171,50046th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2132024 ACS 5-Year$2,58667th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,2682024 ACS 5-Year$85,090Top 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.17%2024 ACS 5-Year1.51%78th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.3%Top 34%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±352024 ACS 5-Year3980th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%55th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%70th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3102024 ACS 5-Year1,32096th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

37/ 100
Ranks 3,177 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2023 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 4% since 2020, to 22,053 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 59 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 8% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Geary County, which contains Junction City, lost about 2.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $45,996, close to the $46,973 of households that moved out.

At 2.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
59
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.6
Top 49% nationally
Year over year
−36%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
8.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202423k22k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−2.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
79%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$45,996
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$46,973
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Riley County, KS 597 people · 10% of arrivals
  2. El Paso County, TX 143 people · 2.4% of arrivals
  3. Honolulu County, HI 139 people · 2.3% of arrivals
  4. Bell County, TX 128 people · 2.2% of arrivals
  5. El Paso County, CO 126 people · 2.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Riley County, KS 579 people · 8.5% of departures
  2. Bell County, TX 175 people · 2.6% of departures
  3. Dickinson County, KS 168 people · 2.5% of departures
  4. El Paso County, CO 158 people · 2.3% of departures
  5. El Paso County, TX 148 people · 2.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Geary County, KS. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2023202420257810
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2023 (+680%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 32.2 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MANHATTAN MUNI AP, 12.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals32.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

57 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 40% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

WildfireElevated
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, ice storm, tornado, landslide, strong wind, drought, earthquake, cold wave, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
609
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,855
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Junction City's police department reported 609 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,855.

Geary County has a modeled homicide rate of about 5.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 31.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 10.1 per 100,000 residents in Geary County.

Homicide
5.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
31.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
20.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Junction City’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Junction City (Geary County) rather than Junction City itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Topeka Rgnl at 64 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year93.4%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle64 miBottom 7%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%Top 34%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Topeka RgnlFOE64 mi12,803 ft
Beech FactoryBEC94 mi8,001 ft
Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower NtlICT100 mi10,302 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
51
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Manhattan, KS

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ManhattanRiley County54,23960Manhattan vs Junction City

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Junction City side by side with a similar place.

Junction City vs EmporiaJunction City vs Hutchinson

Moving to Junction City from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Junction City

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Junction City with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Junction City closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6644125,828$59,522$169,800—