IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Ottawa, KS
Ottawa is a big small town of 12,678 people in Franklin County, Kansas. It's about 25 miles from Lawrence, KS and 53 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 89°F and winter highs 40°F, with about 9 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $167k and rent runs about $1k a month.
12,678people
$167kTypical home
$1,032/moRent
89° / 40°Summer / winter
9"Snow
256Sunny days
102Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 12,678
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 1,228 people per sq mi
- 53 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 25 mi to Lawrence, KS
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $167k (≈$1,050/mo)
- Median rent $1,032/mo
- Median household income $72k
- Property tax about 1.8% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 89°F
- Winter highs around 40°F
- Muggy summers (dew point 66°F)
- 256 sunny days a year (109 totally clear)
- 109 cloudy days a year
- 33 of 90 winter days are gray
- 102 days a year with rain or snow
- 9" of snow a year
- 4 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 5 days a year over 100°F
- 13 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (203 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,062 per 100k)
People
- Median age 37
- 33% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 26% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 7% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 57 mi to MCI airport
- 57 mi to MCI (major hub)
- 26 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 70% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1967
- 90% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 951 ft
- 601 mi to the ocean
- 320 mi to a big lake
- Trailhead in town
- 49 mi to the nearest ski area
- 16 mi to the nearest campground
- 9 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 88 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 20 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 15 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 29 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 18% of Kansas districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 21 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 29 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 22 mi to the nearest vet
- 2 mi to the nearest dog park
- 9 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Franklin County: R+40 in 2024
- Kansas: R+16 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- High heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk