Living in Colby, KS
Colby is a big small town of 5,387 people in Thomas County, Kansas. It's about 177 miles from Grand Island, NE and 206 miles from Denver, CO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 91°F and winter highs 43°F, with about 27 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $163k and rent runs about $750 a month.
5,387people
$163kTypical home
$750/moRent
91° / 43°Summer / winter
27"Snow
281Sunny days
73Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 5,387
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,465 people per sq mi
- 206 mi to Denver, CO
- 177 mi to Grand Island, NE
- 98 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $163k (≈$1,028/mo)
- Median rent $750/mo
- Median household income $63k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 91°F
- Winter highs around 43°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 56°F)
- 281 sunny days a year (108 totally clear)
- 84 cloudy days a year
- 29 of 90 winter days are gray
- 73 days a year with rain or snow
- 27" of snow a year
- 8 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 9 days a year over 100°F
- 27 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (54 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (543 per 100k)
People
- Median age 32
- 33% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 37% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 10% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 12 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 62 mi to MCK airport
- 196 mi to DEN (major hub)
- 60 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 76% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1969
- 89% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 3,186 ft
- 747 mi to the ocean
- 131 mi to a big lake
- 34 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 239 mi to the nearest ski area
- 37 mi to the nearest campground
- 2 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 13 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 2 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 150 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 15% of Kansas districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 135 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 21 mi to the nearest vet
- 2 mi to the nearest dog park
- 22 congregations per 10k people
- 98 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Thomas County: R+66 in 2024
- Kansas: R+16 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- High drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk