66502Manhattan, Kansas

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 66502.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 44% of 5,298 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity4145th of 6,210 published ZIP areas47
SchoolsTop 27% of 4,422 published ZIP areas70
GrowthTop 39% of 5,428 published ZIP areas56
Housing affordabilityTop 48% of 6,685 published ZIP areas82
Climate4607th of 6,789 published ZIP areas64
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 6,709 published ZIP areas61
Access5847th of 6,791 published ZIP areas73
Economic stability4664th of 6,742 published ZIP areas48
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $54,833, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published ZIP profiles.

In the public schools here, 37% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.1 students for every teacher.

176 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 11% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

At a glance

Population
43,693
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$54,833
Bottom 21% nationally
Density
197/sq mi
221.7 sq mi of land
Median age
25.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Manhattan
Kansas
Metro area
Manhattan, KS
Nearest major airport
FOE
48 mi · Topeka Rgnl
Median home value
$223,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0% is lower than 68% of the 6,544 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment fell 2.3% over the past year, to 29,637 employed residents.

48% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 86% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $54,833 is below 79% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,387$54,833Bottom 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,499$34,089Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate25.9%Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute18.1 minBottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher48.0%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment29,637Bottom 31%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.3%Bottom 44%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.3%Bottom 14%June 2026
Labor force30,871Bottom 31%June 2026
Labor force participation70.1%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$56,680Bottom 9%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,900Bottom 11%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.3%Top 40%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.0%Bottom 32%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202455k48k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $54,833 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

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Manhattan, KS, the city containing this ZIP code.

37% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.1 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
36.6%
Top 33% in Kansas
Reading proficiency
44.7%
Top 27% in Kansas
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Manhattan High SchoolManhattan-Ogden2,08715.2
Susan B Anthony Middle SchoolManhattan-Ogden77513.637%42%
Dwight D Eisenhower Middle SchoolManhattan-Ogden73012.822%27%
Theo Roosevelt ElemManhattan-Ogden46824.641%55%
Marlatt ElemManhattan-Ogden45415.754%62%
Northview ElemManhattan-Ogden36413.030%39%
Oliver Brown ElementaryManhattan-Ogden33813.5
Lee ElemManhattan-Ogden29910.343%47%
Woodrow Wilson ElemManhattan-Ogden20710.334%52%
Bluemont Elementary SchoolManhattan-Ogden20710.943%56%

44.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Kansas’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $949 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.1 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.1×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$949
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$223,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.07Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate46.0%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±48320,738Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$31$949Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,909$223,100Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.8%Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.1%Bottom 42%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
56/ 100
Top 39% of 5,428 published city profiles

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.

At 3.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
176
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.2
Top 45% nationally
Year over year
+11%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
58.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Manhattan, KS, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.4 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MANHATTAN 6 SSW, 5.0 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation33.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing49°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

61 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and heat wave.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 74% of measured US ZIP areas.

WildfireElevated
TornadoModerate
Heat waveElevated
LightningModerate
Strong windModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, winter weather, landslide, earthquake, drought, cold wave.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Riley County records 3.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 7.6 per 100,000 residents in Riley County.

Homicide
3.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
7.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
18.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Riley County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around 66502 rather than 66502 itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 48 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Topeka RgnlFOE48 mi12,803 ft
Rosecrans MemlSTJ97 mi8,061 ft
Kansas City IntlMCI98 mi10,801 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
61
Your Score

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

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

66502 vs Manhattan

How this ZIP area compares with Manhattan as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

66502
Manhattan
Median household income
$54,833
vs
$60,172
Per capita income
$34,089
vs
$36,557
Population density
197/sq mi
vs
2,660/sq mi
Median home value
$223,100
vs
$246,700
Median gross rent
$949
vs
$1,003
Homeownership rate
46.0%
vs
43.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher
48.0%
vs
53.3%
Poverty rate
25.9%
vs
23.3%
Median age
25.9
vs
25.7

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.