While Midwestern winters can be rough and the summers can be steamy, places like Lawrence are "undiscovered gems" for retirement. That's been the report for years from personal finance pages such as those of
U.S. News & World Report and MarketWatch. The top reasons? Low cost of housing and a decent quality of life. Here is the breakdown of several facts about retirement in Kansas.
Free Retirement Calculator: When Can You Retire? — Click Here to Find Out
- You Can Pay Off a House Here - The median price for a house in Kansas is $111,000. Across the country, it's more like $188,900. That will get you about 450 square feet in New York City's Manhattan, the Huffington Post says. In Manhattan, Kansas, it will get you an entire house. That's why the Manhattan in Kansas has a website touting its rankings, like CNNMoney's "Best Places to Retire Young," one of Relocate America's "100 Best Places to Live" and Men's Journal's "50 Best Places to Live." Big-city Manhattan dwellers may have never heard of the town's 8,600-acre Konza Prairie or its Flint Hills and Tuttle Creek reservoir, but the cost of living is making Midwesterners give it a second look.
- You Won't Get Bored – "Only boring people get bored," author Ruth Burke once said. She could have been from Kansas, because this is a place where there's plenty to do, if you look for it. Retirees may be interested in the state's botanical gardens, like the gardens in Wichita or Overland Park, or the Sunflower State's libraries and museums. The state has wildlife parks, hiking and biking trails, monuments, historic sites, outdoor recreation, concerts, theaters, festivals and sporting events. "Honey, despite what you hear on TV or in movies, Kansas is not necessarily a desolate wasteland," a commenter named J-Dawn wrote on a Yahoo message board about what there is to do in Kansas. "Some parts are, yes, but others aren't. You really aren't going to die of boredom unless you choose to."
How Soon Can You Retire? Free Test Shows You When — Click Here
- You'll Be Living High on the Livability Index - AreaVibes, a site that ranks Livability scores, gives Kansas high marks for amenities, cost of living, crime, education, employment and housing. The only thing that gives the state "Cs" is the weather.
- You Can Still Take Advantage of College Life - Some of the state's top-ranked places to live in retirement are college towns, like Lawrence, home of the University of Kansas. Great Retirement Spots says that college towns make for a stimulating ambiance with a rich cultural scene, good hospital, educated population, sporting events and a smorgasbord of activities. One downside, the site says, is "The University of Kansas is a party school, and some sections of the city can get a little rowdy on weekends." The tornado risk here is 210 percent higher than the national average. But, as Dorothy Gale said, there's no place like home.
An Extremely Simple Way to Determine If You're Ready to Retire — Find Out Now
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.