Pittsburg, KS

Micro Area Profile

39,008 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Pittsburg, KS micropolitan area.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 26% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity657th of 835 metro and micro areas measured36
SchoolsTop 23% of 695 metro and micro areas measured71
Growth643rd of 834 metro and micro areas measured34
Housing affordability486th of 835 metro and micro areas measured72
ClimateTop 32% of 835 metro and micro areas measured72
Physical resilience601st of 835 metro and micro areas measured38
Access741st of 835 metro and micro areas measured48
Economic stability564th of 835 metro and micro areas measured35
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 4.7% and the Opportunity signal places Pittsburg in the bottom 21%.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.1 students for every teacher.

63 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
39,008
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$52,844
Bottom 11% nationally
Density
66/sq mi
589.8 sq mi of land
Median age
33.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Kansas
Nearest major airport
SGF
82 mi · Springfield-Branson Ntl
Median home value
$132,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.7% — higher than in all but 31% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.5% over the past year, to 18,548 employed residents.

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 74% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Median household income of $52,844 is lower than in 89% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,6082024 ACS 5-Year$52,844Bottom 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3192024 ACS 5-Year$30,263Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.5%Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.9 minTop 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year32.2%Top 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.7%71st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202618,548Bottom 21%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.9%Bottom 18%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 45%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202619,45622nd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year79.0%Top 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%8th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Bottom 40%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.7%Bottom 31%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.9%20th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.82.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.7% 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.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 35% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.1 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
31.5%
Top 31% in Kansas
Reading proficiency
34.6%
Top 31% in Kansas
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Pittsburg HighPittsburg1,03314.320%26%
Pittsburg Middle SchoolPittsburg69212.138%35%
R V Haderlein ElemGirard52715.144%49%
Westside ElemPittsburg49820.837%42%
Frank Layden ElemFrontenac Public Schools48914.047%47%
Lakeside ElemPittsburg40612.741%39%
Meadowlark ElementaryPittsburg40312.627%27%
Geo E Nettels ElemPittsburg34313.237%42%
Northeast ElemNortheast33810.932%27%
Frontenac Sr. High SchoolFrontenac Public Schools29813.522%22%
Girard HighGirard28411.822%27%
Frontenac Jr. HighFrontenac Public Schools21912.933%41%

62.0% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,406 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.06% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $901, close to the $849 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $901 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $36,000 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $52,844.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $849 a month.

A median home at $132,600 costs 2.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,722, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
30.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$901
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$849
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$132,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Pittsburg’s median household income of $52,844, 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
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.0Top 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year60.8%9th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±452024 ACS 5-Year18,12622nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$687Top 4%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,253Top 20%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$901Top 6%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$342024 ACS 5-Year$849Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,0502024 ACS 5-Year$132,6009th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$782024 ACS 5-Year$1,40630th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,7022024 ACS 5-Year$67,722Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year1.06%66th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.3%Bottom 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1142024 ACS 5-Year22718th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%35th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%80th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3052024 ACS 5-Year2,28824th percentileof 9352024 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.

Development Momentum

34/ 100
Ranks 643 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 38,904 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 63 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
63
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.6
Bottom 31% nationally
Year over year
+3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202439k39k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.8 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JOPLIN 24 N, 15.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

38 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and drought, with inland flooding alone responsible for 42% of it.

DroughtHigh
Ice stormElevated
Strong windModerate
TornadoModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Heat waveModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveElevated

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, wildfire, landslide, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. 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 Springfield-Branson Ntl at 82 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.5%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle82 miBottom 10%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%Top 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Springfield-Branson NtlSGF82 mi8,000 ft
Northwest Arkansas NtlXNA90 mi8,801 ft
Tulsa IntlTUL107 mi10,000 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.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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.

Cities in this metro