Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Kansas (2026)

Kansas closed 9,462 homes over the past six months at a statewide median of $350,000, but that figure is pulled upward by the Johnson County suburbs on the Kansas City metro edge. Look past them and Kansas offers entry points as low as $162,450, including two markets that pair sub-$240,000 medians with some of the highest transaction volumes in the state. First, a note on what this ranking measures, because it determines how much weight the list can carry.

What this ranking is based on

Every city below is ranked on two verified figures: median sold price over the past six months, and the number of closings in that period. Entry cost, and liquidity. We do not have rent data for these markets. This article therefore contains no rent estimates, no rent-to-price ratios, no cap rates, and no cash-on-cash returns. Those figures would have to be fabricated to appear here, and a fabricated rent assumption is the single most common cause of a rental purchase that fails. Rent must be verified on the specific property using local research. When you have a real number, test it in the rental property calculator and the deal analyzer. A second caveat particular to Kansas: this list is ordered cheapest first, and its upper entries are not cheap in absolute terms. Shawnee at $417,250 and Basehor at $450,000 are affordable only relative to Overland Park at $480,000 and Leawood at $749,950. They belong on a Kansas list because of how the state's prices are distributed, but calling a $450,000 purchase affordable without that context would be misleading.

The ranking, cheapest entry price first

1. Pittsburg, $162,450 median, 122 closings

The lowest entry price in Kansas among markets with meaningful volume, roughly $187,550 below the statewide median. Southeast corner of the state, with a university presence that shapes local rental demand in ways worth researching directly rather than assuming. 122 closings over six months is a functioning market but a small one, so expect a limited comparable set and a narrow buyer pool at exit.

2. Emporia, $192,499 median, 142 closings

The only other Kansas market under $200,000 on this list. 142 closings. East-central Kansas, standalone regional economy with a university. Similar structural profile to Pittsburg at a slightly higher entry cost.

3. Topeka, $209,900 median, 966 closings

One of the two strongest structural positions on this list. Topeka combines a $209,900 median, roughly $140,100 below the state figure, with 966 closings, the third-highest transaction volume in Kansas behind only Overland Park and Olathe. That volume is the point. It means comparable sales are plentiful enough to support a real valuation rather than a guess, and it means exit liquidity does not depend on finding one of a small handful of buyers. As the state capital, Topeka also has a government employment base that is less cyclical than a single-industry town. The caveat with any large market is dispersion: a $209,900 median spans many neighborhoods and conditions, so the citywide number is a starting frame, never a valuation.

4. Kansas City, $235,000 median, 858 closings

The Kansas side of the metro, in Wyandotte County, and the second of the two standouts. 858 closings is the fourth-highest volume in the state, paired with a $235,000 median. Tenant and buyer pools connect to the broader Kansas City economy rather than to a local one.

5. Dodge City, $236,819 median, 107 closings

Western Kansas, agricultural and meatpacking economy. 107 closings is the thinnest volume on this list. A single-industry regional town, which concentrates risk in a way that a diversified metro does not. Entry price is the draw, liquidity is the constraint.

6. Hays, $242,000 median, 147 closings

Western Kansas regional center along the interstate, with a university. 147 closings gives it modestly better depth than Dodge City at a comparable entry price.

7. Ottawa, $244,450 median, 108 closings

South of the Kansas City metro, close enough that some commuter demand reaches it. 108 closings makes it one of the thinner markets here, though its metro proximity broadens the potential tenant pool relative to an isolated town at the same price.

8. Leavenworth, $249,900 median, 226 closings

226 closings is solid volume, and Leavenworth is the best liquidity available under $250,000 outside of Topeka and Kansas City. Northeast Kansas, with a substantial military installation nearby that shapes local housing demand in a specific way. Research that dynamic directly, because it is a different tenant profile from a civilian market.

9. Garden City, $257,000 median, 158 closings

Southwest Kansas, agricultural regional center. 158 closings. Same single-industry consideration as Dodge City, with somewhat better transaction volume.

10. Lawrence, $325,000 median, 285 closings

The transition point on this list. Lawrence at $325,000 is the first market approaching the statewide median, with 285 closings. Home to the state's flagship university, which dominates the local rental market and makes it structurally distinct from any other Kansas city. Strong volume, considerably higher entry cost than everything above it.

11. Tonganoxie, $328,847 median, 122 closings

Small market between Lawrence and the Kansas City metro. 122 closings. Commuter-corridor position, entry price above the affordable tier.

12. Gardner, $357,500 median, 232 closings

Now above the statewide median of $350,000. Southern Johnson County, 232 closings, and effectively the entry point into the metro's suburban ring. Priced roughly $122,500 below Overland Park.

13. Spring Hill, $384,990 median, 223 closings

Further into the suburban ring at $384,990 with 223 closings. Growth-corridor market on the metro's southern edge.

14. Shawnee, $417,250 median, 442 closings

The highest volume on this list at 442 closings, which is genuine liquidity, at an entry price of $417,250. Shawnee is a core Johnson County suburb, and it appears here only because it sits below Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, and Leawood. Strong market, high capital requirement.

15. Basehor, $450,000 median, 124 closings

The most expensive entry on this list and among the thinner ones at 124 closings. Leavenworth County, on the metro's northwestern growth edge. Included for completeness rather than as an affordability recommendation.

How to use this list

The honest summary is that Kansas has two markets on it. Topeka and Kansas City are the standouts by a wide margin, combining entry prices under $240,000 with 966 and 858 closings respectively, which is the rare pairing of low capital requirement and real liquidity. Leavenworth at 226 closings, Garden City at 158, and Hays at 147 form a workable second tier. Pittsburg, Emporia, Dodge City, and Ottawa offer the cheapest entry alongside the thinnest volume, between 107 and 142 closings. Everything from Lawrence upward is a different conversation about metro suburban exposure, not affordability. Whichever tier you work in, the deal is decided at the property level. A median price says nothing about a specific home's condition, and condition is where cheap markets punish investors hardest. Resideline estimates condition from listing photos, shows the comparable sales behind each valuation so you can adjust a wrong comp yourself, and freezes every estimate at listing before grading it against the actual closing price, published on the accuracy dashboard. Live valuations cover 31 states. Run the specific address through the ARV calculator if a renovation is part of the plan, then the deal analyzer for purchase, rehab, and financing together. The free tools work without a signup. And verify rent on the property itself before relying on any cash-flow number.