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Rawlins County, KS

Rent vs Own in Rawlins County, Kansas

Owning the median home in Rawlins County clears the monthly bar: about $690/mo versus HUD's $952/mo 2-bedroom rent. The stack below shows which line items create that edge. Owner-occupied homes: 827.

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Buying is cheaper in Rawlins County

Owning runs about $690/mo here, under $952/mo to rent a comparable 2-bedroom. That is a $262/mo difference.

Based on 20% down, 6.5% rate, 30-year mortgage. Adjust below.

What This Data Tells Us About Renting vs Owning in Rawlins County

Primary driver

Income supports the median purchase price

Median household income is $67,742, and the 1.5x home-price-to-income ratio leaves room for the ownership stack (property tax alone is 2.4% of median income). The monthly gap above is more about mortgage rate and insurance assumptions than about the purchase price being out of reach.

Decision signal 2

The tax rate is a national headwind

Rawlins County's 1.56% effective rate is among the highest of 3,135 tracked counties: only about 91% pay more. Treat that recurring tax line separately from principal and interest.

Decision signal 3

Buying compares well inside the state

Using the assumptions above, Rawlins County ranks 20 of 105 Kansas counties for buy-vs-rent value (rank 1 = the best relative deal for buying). It sits ahead of 85 other Kansas counties on this measure.

Decision signal 4

HUD moved the rent benchmark up

HUD raised its 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent for Rawlins County from $872/mo in FY2025 to $952/mo in FY2026: it increased by $80/mo (+9.2%). A rising rent benchmark widens the gap in favour of owning over time, because the mortgage share of the ownership cost below is fixed at origination while the rent it is compared against reprices every year.

Decision signal 5

Owning clears the monthly bar here

Rawlins County's median home ($103,800) carries $1,620/yr in property tax at 1.56%. Under a 20% down, 6.5%, 30-year stack the all-in ownership bill is about $690/mo, which undercuts HUD's $952/mo 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent by roughly $262/mo before maintenance, HOA, or closing costs.

Methodology & disclaimer

This calculator is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Property tax figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates and rent figures come from HUD Fair Market Rents; both describe area medians, not individual transactions. Insurance is estimated at 0.35% of home value annually and closing costs, maintenance, HOA, and PMI are not included. Consult a licensed mortgage, tax, or real-estate professional before making a buy-or-rent decision based on these numbers.

Monthly Cost Breakdown

Estimated Monthly Ownership
$690
Mortgage (P&I) $525
Property Tax $135
Insurance (est.) $30
Monthly Rent (2-BR FMR)
$952
Studio$697
1-Bedroom$726
2-Bedroom$952
3-Bedroom$1,141
4-Bedroom$1,385

Adjust Your Scenario

Affordability Context

Median Household Income
$67,742
$5,645/mo
Home Price / Income
1.5x
Affordable (≤3x)
Tax-to-Income Ratio
2.4%
National benchmark: 2-4%

Who actually pays it here

In Rawlins County, once the mortgage ends staying put is close to free: the largest cluster of debt-free households faces a yearly charge under $800, so insurance and upkeep, not the tax office, set what the home costs to keep.

Returns in the $75,000 to $100,000 range dominate the deduction in Rawlins County, though even in that band only about one in nine files for it nationally.

Against that holding-cost profile, the monthly ownership stack already undercuts HUD rent here, so the long-run tax bill is an ownership feature more than a reason to keep renting.

Bill bands are Census ACS counts of owner-occupied homes without a mortgage. Income brackets are IRS Statistics of Income county data for tax year 2022, counted over FILERS reporting real-estate taxes on Schedule A, which is a smaller group than homeowners: most filers take the standard deduction.

Nearby Counties

Johnson County
Home: $391,200 Tax: $4,447/yr
Sedgwick County
Home: $203,300 Tax: $2,461/yr
Shawnee County
Home: $180,900 Tax: $2,705/yr
Wyandotte County
Home: $172,300 Tax: $2,509/yr
Douglas County
Home: $309,400 Tax: $3,776/yr
Leavenworth County
Home: $282,900 Tax: $3,424/yr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Rawlins County, Kansas? ▼
On the standard 20%-down / 6.5% stack, owning the median Rawlins County home undercuts HUD's 2-bedroom rent by about $262/mo. Change the down payment, rate, or time horizon in the calculator and that gap can flip - owning also builds equity that rent never does.
What is the average rent in Rawlins County? ▼
HUD prices a 2-bedroom unit at $952/mo here. Sizing up matters: going from a studio to a 4-bedroom adds about $688/mo, so the per-bedroom jump is worth checking against your actual space needs before assuming the 2-BR figure applies to your situation.
How much house can you afford in Rawlins County? ▼
On the common 3x-income guideline, a $67,742 household here can afford up to $203,226, which comfortably covers this county's $103,800 median home price -- a healthier affordability picture than many of the counties tracked on this site.
What is the median home price in Rawlins County? ▼
$103,800, per the Census Bureau's ACS 5-Year Estimates. What stands out more than the price itself is the tax load on it: this county's 1.56% effective rate sits near the high end of the 3,135 counties tracked here.
How does Rawlins County compare to other Kansas counties for renting vs buying? ▼
Out of 105 Kansas counties ranked here on buy-vs-rent value, Rawlins County lands at spot 20, putting it in the more buy-favorable quarter of the state. The <a href="/states/kansas">Kansas state page</a> lists every peer county's tax bill beside this one.
Is rent going up or down in Rawlins County? ▼
HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent figure has risen 9.2% between the FY2025 and FY2026 publications, the two most recent years tracked here.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey). See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPropertyTax

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Government Finances State and local property tax revenue by jurisdiction · 2025

Verify with HUD →