Montgomery County

Montgomery County is located in southeastern Kansas along the Oklahoma border, with Independence near the county’s center and Coffeyville in the southeast. Established in 1867 and named for General Richard Montgomery, the county developed as part of the southern Kansas frontier and later as a regional hub for rail transport and early petroleum activity. It is mid-sized by Kansas standards, with a population of roughly 31,000 (2020). The landscape consists of rolling prairies and river valleys, including areas associated with the Verdigris River basin. Settlement is concentrated in a few cities, while much of the county remains rural. Agriculture and energy-related industries have been long-standing parts of the local economy, alongside manufacturing and service employment in the principal towns. The county seat is Independence, which functions as the primary administrative and civic center.

Montgomery County is located in southeastern Kansas along the Oklahoma border, with its county seat in Independence and additional population centers including Coffeyville. The county lies within the broader economic and service region anchored by the Independence–Coffeyville area.

Population Size

According to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Montgomery County, Kansas, the county’s population was 31,486 (2020 Census). The same Census Bureau source lists a 2023 population estimate of 30,514.

Age & Gender

County-level age distribution and sex composition are published by the U.S. Census Bureau via QuickFacts. According to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (Montgomery County, Kansas), the profile includes:

• Age distribution (under 18, 18–64, and 65+)
• Gender ratio / sex composition (male and female shares)

(These values are reported directly by the Census Bureau at the county level on the linked QuickFacts page.)

Racial & Ethnic Composition

The U.S. Census Bureau provides county-level race and ethnicity shares (including Hispanic/Latino origin) through QuickFacts. See the Race and Hispanic Origin section in U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (Montgomery County, Kansas) for the county’s distribution across:

• White (alone)
• Black or African American (alone)
• American Indian and Alaska Native (alone)
• Asian (alone)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (alone)
• Two or more races
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

Household & Housing Data

Household characteristics and housing stock measures are available from the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, including household count, average household size, owner/renter occupancy, and selected housing characteristics. The Housing and Families & Living Arrangements sections of U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (Montgomery County, Kansas) provide the county’s published values.

For local government and planning resources, visit the Montgomery County, Kansas official website.

Montgomery County, Kansas is largely rural outside the Coffeyville–Independence corridor, so lower population density and longer last‑mile distances can constrain fixed network buildout and make digital communication more dependent on available broadband or mobile coverage.

Direct county-level email usage statistics are not generally published; broadband and device access serve as proxies for likely email adoption. The U.S. Census Bureau (ACS) reports household indicators such as broadband internet subscriptions and computer ownership for Montgomery County, which collectively describe the baseline capacity to access email. Areas with lower broadband subscription or without a computer typically face more friction using webmail, account recovery, and document attachments.

Age composition also influences adoption: ACS age distributions for the county show the share of residents in older age brackets versus working-age and school-age groups, and older populations tend to have lower rates of routine digital account use relative to younger cohorts. Gender distribution is available from ACS, but it is generally less predictive of email access than age and connectivity measures.

Connectivity constraints are reflected in provider availability and service types; the FCC National Broadband Map provides location-based coverage for fixed and mobile broadband, highlighting potential infrastructure gaps.

Montgomery County is in southeastern Kansas along the Oklahoma border, with its population concentrated in and around Coffeyville, Independence (the county seat), and smaller communities in a predominantly rural setting. The county’s mix of small cities, dispersed rural housing, and agricultural land contributes to uneven cellular coverage and capacity, because terrain, tower spacing, and backhaul availability tend to affect service quality more in low-density areas than in urban cores. County geography and boundaries can be referenced through the county’s official resources and Kansas datasets (see the Montgomery County, Kansas official website and Kansas statewide mapping portals referenced by state agencies).

Key distinction: network availability vs. household adoption

• Network availability (supply): Where mobile broadband networks (4G LTE, 5G) are reported as available, by location, based on provider filings and coverage modeling.
• Household adoption (demand): Whether residents subscribe to and use mobile service and/or mobile broadband, including “smartphone-only” internet access or mobile as a supplement to fixed broadband.

County-level adoption indicators are often limited or imprecise; where county-specific adoption is not published, the most reliable figures come from multi-county surveys or modeled estimates. Availability data is generally more granular (address- or grid-based) but reflects reported coverage rather than measured performance.

Mobile penetration or access indicators (where available)

County-level availability indicators (reported coverage)

• The primary public source for location-level mobile broadband availability is the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Data Collection (BDC) and associated maps. The FCC’s map can be used to view reported 4G LTE and 5G coverage in Montgomery County by address and provider (see the FCC National Broadband Map).
• Reported mobile coverage is not equivalent to consistent in-building service, and it does not confirm that a household subscribes. It represents provider-reported coverage where a signal is expected to meet minimum service thresholds defined in FCC methodology.

Household adoption and “mobile-only” internet access

• The U.S. Census Bureau publishes internet subscription and device-use measures through the American Community Survey (ACS), but county-level margins of error can be large for detailed device categories in smaller counties. The most authoritative place to access ACS tables and methodology is data.census.gov (U.S. Census Bureau).
• County-specific “smartphone-only” reliance is not consistently available as a stable estimate for all counties; where it exists, it may be statistically unreliable due to sample size. Kansas- and national-level ACS patterns generally show that smartphone-only internet access is more common among lower-income households, renters, and younger adults, but a county-specific statement requires a publishable estimate from ACS or another survey.

Mobile internet usage patterns (4G, 5G availability)

4G LTE and 5G network availability (coverage reporting)

• 4G LTE: LTE coverage is typically more geographically extensive than 5G in rural counties, because LTE has been deployed longer and is often carried on lower-frequency spectrum that propagates farther from towers. Montgomery County’s LTE availability can be inspected using address-level queries on the FCC National Broadband Map.
• 5G: 5G availability in rural areas tends to be more variable, with coverage concentrated near population centers and major roads, and with differing performance depending on spectrum band and backhaul. The FCC map distinguishes provider-reported 5G availability, but does not directly indicate whether 5G is low-band, mid-band, or high-band in a way that guarantees comparable real-world speeds across providers.

Performance vs. availability limitations

• Public maps primarily represent reported availability, not measured throughput, latency, indoor penetration, or congestion. Real-world performance is affected by tower sector loading, backhaul constraints, terrain/vegetation, building materials, and device modem capabilities.
• County-level, carrier-neutral measured performance datasets exist in the private sector and in some research contexts, but they are not consistently published as official statistics for each county. For official availability and fixed/mobile comparisons, Kansas references are commonly routed through state broadband coordination materials (see the Kansas broadband information page (Kansas Department of Commerce), which links to planning and mapping resources used in statewide broadband efforts).

Common device types (smartphones vs. other devices)

What is typically measured

Public datasets more often measure internet subscription type and device access rather than “phone ownership” directly at the county level:

• The ACS includes indicators for households with a computer and type of internet subscription, and it includes mobile broadband subscription categories. These data are accessible via data.census.gov.

County-specific device mix: data constraints

• Smartphones vs. basic phones: Direct county-level estimates of smartphone ownership are not commonly published as official statistics. Most smartphone ownership measures come from national surveys (often not reliable for single-county reporting).
• Practical interpretation for Montgomery County: In rural Kansas counties, smartphones are the dominant personal mobile device type in day-to-day use, while dedicated mobile hotspots, fixed wireless customer-premises equipment, and vehicle-connected devices may also appear in household connectivity strategies. A definitive county-level device share requires a published county estimate; the ACS is the most suitable official source for device/subscription proxies, but it does not provide a simple “smartphone ownership rate” table for every county with high precision.

Demographic or geographic factors influencing mobile usage

Rural settlement patterns and tower economics

• Lower population density generally yields fewer towers per square mile and can increase the likelihood of coverage gaps or weaker indoor signal away from town centers. This affects both availability (whether service is reported at a location) and service quality (consistency and speed), but quality is not directly captured by FCC availability layers.

Fixed-broadband alternatives and substitution

• Mobile broadband is more likely to be used as a primary connection in areas where fixed options are limited or expensive, but county-specific substitution rates are not reliably published everywhere. Fixed-broadband availability and adoption measures used for comparison are also accessible through the FCC and Census:
  • Fixed and mobile availability by location: FCC National Broadband Map
  • Internet subscription and related household characteristics: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS tables via data.census.gov)

Income, age, and housing tenure patterns (general relationships; county specificity requires ACS estimates)

• National and state-level evidence from ACS and other large surveys consistently shows:
  • Lower-income households have higher rates of smartphone-only internet dependence and lower fixed-broadband subscription rates.
  • Younger adults show higher smartphone reliance for internet use.
  • Renters more often rely on mobile-only access than homeowners.
• For Montgomery County, these relationships can be evaluated using county ACS profiles and table extracts, but claims about magnitude require the county’s published estimates and margins of error from data.census.gov.

What can be stated with high confidence for Montgomery County (and what cannot)

• High confidence (public, county-addressable sources):
  • Reported 4G LTE and 5G availability can be checked location-by-location using the FCC National Broadband Map.
  • County context (rurality, population distribution) supports an expectation of more variable coverage outside the Coffeyville–Independence area, but specific gaps and performance require map queries or measurement datasets.
• Not reliably stated without pulling and citing county-specific tables:
  • A single numeric “mobile penetration rate” for Montgomery County.
  • A precise county smartphone ownership share.
  • A quantified county “mobile-only household” rate, unless an ACS table extract provides a publishable estimate with acceptable reliability.

Primary public sources for county-specific verification

• FCC National Broadband Map (mobile 4G/5G availability and provider reports)
• U.S. Census Bureau data.census.gov (ACS internet subscription and household characteristics)
• Kansas broadband resources (Kansas Department of Commerce)
• Montgomery County, Kansas official website

Montgomery County is in southeastern Kansas along the Oklahoma border, with Independence as the county seat and Coffeyville as another major population center. The county’s economy and daily life reflect a mix of small-city services, energy and manufacturing history around Coffeyville, and a broad rural hinterland—conditions that typically concentrate social media activity around mobile use, local community groups, schools, and local news/public-safety updates rather than large metro-style influencer ecosystems.

User statistics (penetration and active use)

• County-specific social media penetration figures are not routinely published by major survey organizations at the county level. The most defensible approach is to use Kansas/US benchmarks from large surveys and treat county use as broadly similar, with rural areas often showing slightly lower adoption and platform intensity.
• Overall adult social media use (US benchmark): About 7 in 10 U.S. adults use at least one social media site, according to the Pew Research Center social media fact sheet.
• Internet access context (key constraint on usage): Social media participation is strongly tied to broadband/smartphone access. County-level connectivity indicators are typically tracked via federal sources (coverage/availability and adoption proxies). For methodological context, see the FCC National Broadband Map (availability) and the American Community Survey (ACS) (household internet and device measures).

Age group trends (who uses social media most)

National patterns are consistently age-skewed, and these patterns generally hold in rural counties:

• 18–29: Highest usage across platforms; social media use is near-universal in many surveys. Pew reports roughly mid‑80%+ usage for this group in recent waves (see the Pew social media fact sheet).
• 30–49: Very high adoption; typically around ~80% using social media.
• 50–64: Majority adoption; typically around ~60–70%.
• 65+: Lowest adoption but substantial; typically around ~40–50%. County implication: In Montgomery County, the highest concentration of frequent users is expected among working-age adults and younger adults centered around Independence/Coffeyville, schools, and local employers, with comparatively lighter use among older residents and more remote rural households.

Gender breakdown

• Overall social media use by gender (US): Pew routinely finds small differences in whether men vs. women use social media at all, with women often slightly higher on several platforms. Platform-specific gaps are more pronounced than overall adoption. Reference: Pew Research Center platform-by-platform demographics.
• Typical platform pattern: Women tend to over-index on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, while men often over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and some topic-driven communities (magnitudes vary by year and survey).

Most-used platforms (percentages where available)

Pew’s national estimates provide the most widely cited, comparable platform shares (adult users):

• YouTube: Used by roughly ~80%+ of U.S. adults.
• Facebook: Used by roughly ~60–70% of U.S. adults.
• Instagram: Used by roughly ~40–50% of U.S. adults.
• Pinterest: Used by roughly ~30–40% of U.S. adults.
• TikTok: Used by roughly ~30–40% of U.S. adults (higher among younger adults).
• LinkedIn: Used by roughly ~20–30% of U.S. adults.
• X (Twitter): Used by roughly ~20–25% of U.S. adults.
• Reddit / Snapchat / WhatsApp: Meaningful but more segmented by age and community. Source for comparable platform percentages and demographic cuts: Pew Research Center: Social media use (fact sheet).

County implication: In a county the size and profile of Montgomery County, the most broadly used platforms are typically Facebook and YouTube (reach and general-purpose utility), followed by Instagram. TikTok and Snapchat skew younger; LinkedIn tends to concentrate among degree-holding professionals and commuters; X and Reddit concentrate among news/topic-driven users.

Behavioral trends (engagement patterns and preferences)

• Community information and groups: Rural and small-city areas commonly use Facebook Pages and Groups for school updates, local events, buy/sell/trade, lost-and-found, public-safety alerts, and local politics. Engagement tends to be comment-driven and oriented around local visibility.
• Video-first consumption: YouTube functions as a primary entertainment and “how-to” channel. Engagement skews toward search and long-form viewing rather than public posting.
• Younger-audience short video: TikTok and Instagram Reels concentrate among teens/young adults and are used for short-form entertainment and trend content; posting frequency is typically higher among younger users, with heavier passive viewing among older age groups.
• Messaging and private sharing: A substantial share of “social” activity occurs via private messages and group chats rather than public feeds (Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, and SMS-based sharing), aligning with smaller social networks common in rural communities.
• News and civic content: Pew research has documented that social platforms play a role in news exposure and local information discovery. For broader national context on social media and news behavior, see Pew Research Center Journalism & Media.

Data note: Public, reputable datasets rarely publish Montgomery County–specific social media penetration and platform share as standalone statistics. The figures above use the most commonly cited national benchmark series (Pew), paired with county-appropriate contextual interpretation grounded in rural/small-city usage patterns and connectivity constraints.

Montgomery County, Kansas maintains family and associate-related public records primarily through county offices and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Local offices commonly hold marriage licenses, divorce case filings, probate/guardianship matters, and other civil court records. Birth and death certificates are Kansas vital records administered by KDHE rather than the county; certified copies are typically issued through KDHE or authorized local issuers. Adoption records are handled through the courts/state and are generally not public.

Public access to many county records is available through the Montgomery County, Kansas official website and the Montgomery County Clerk of the District Court for case-related records. Some Kansas court case information is also accessible via the Kansas judicial branch’s online systems (availability varies by case type), and deeds and mortgages are recorded by the Montgomery County Register of Deeds. For statewide vital records ordering and rules, see KDHE Vital Records.

Access is provided online where portals exist, or in person at the relevant office during business hours. Privacy restrictions commonly limit access to birth/death certificates to eligible requestors, and adoption files are typically sealed. Court records may be redacted or restricted for juveniles, protective orders, and other confidential matters.

Types of records available

• Marriage license and marriage certificate/record
  • In Kansas, a marriage begins with a marriage license issued by the District Court Clerk. After the ceremony, the executed license is returned for filing, creating the official marriage record (often referred to as a marriage certificate when issued as a certified copy).
• Divorce records (divorce decrees and case files)
  • Divorces are handled as civil cases in Kansas district courts. The final judgment is typically a Decree of Divorce (or Journal Entry/Decree), which becomes part of the court record.
• Annulments
  • Annulments are also handled through the Kansas district court system as civil actions. The final outcome is commonly an order/judgment of annulment (terminology varies by case), maintained in the court file.

Where records are filed and how they can be accessed

• Montgomery County marriage records
  • Filed/maintained locally: Executed marriage licenses are filed with the Clerk of the District Court, Montgomery County, Kansas as part of the district court’s records.
  • State-level copies/indexes: Kansas maintains marriage event data through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), Office of Vital Statistics, which issues certified copies under state rules.
    Link: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/1185/Vital-Records
• Montgomery County divorce and annulment records
  • Filed/maintained locally: Divorce and annulment case files are maintained by the Clerk of the District Court, Montgomery County. The official decree/order is part of that court case record.
  • State-level verification: Kansas Vital Statistics maintains divorce event data for certain purposes, but court records remain the authoritative source for decrees and case filings.
    Link: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/1185/Vital-Records
• Access methods (general practice)
  • Certified copies of vital records (marriage-related certificates; some divorce event certifications): requested through KDHE Vital Statistics (by mail/online where available, with identity requirements).
  • Court copies (licenses filed with the court, divorce decrees, annulment orders, full case files): requested from the Montgomery County District Court Clerk. Access commonly includes in-person requests and written requests; availability of remote access depends on Kansas Judicial Branch systems and local practice.
  • Kansas appellate opinions (not the same as trial court records): Some appealed divorce-related decisions may be published as appellate opinions, available through the Kansas Judicial Branch.
    Link: https://www.kscourts.org

Typical information included in these records

• Marriage license / marriage record
  • Full names of the parties
  • Date and place the license was issued
  • Age/date of birth information (varies by era and form)
  • Residence information (often city/county/state)
  • Officiant name and title, and date/place of ceremony (on the executed/returned license)
  • Court file number or license number, signatures/attestations
• Divorce decree (final judgment)
  • Case caption (names of parties), court, case number, and filing/judgment dates
  • Findings and orders dissolving the marriage
  • Provisions addressing issues such as division of property and debts, restoration of a former name, and (when applicable) child custody, parenting time, child support, and spousal maintenance
• Annulment order/judgment
  • Case caption, court, case number, and relevant dates
  • Judicial determination regarding validity of the marriage and any related orders (which may include property, support, and child-related provisions where applicable)

Privacy or legal restrictions

• Marriage records
  • Kansas treats vital records, including marriage records held by KDHE, as subject to statutory controls on certified copies. Certified copies are generally limited to eligible requesters and require identity verification.
  • Marriage license filings maintained by the district court are court records; practical access may be limited by court rules, identification requirements for certified copies, record condition, and redaction policies for sensitive identifiers.
• Divorce and annulment court records
  • Court case records are generally public, but sealed or restricted records can occur by court order.
  • Documents containing sensitive personal information may be subject to redaction rules (commonly including Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and information about minors), and some exhibits or reports (such as certain child-related evaluations) may be treated as confidential under court practice or statute.
• Certified copies vs. informational copies
  • Certified copies (used for legal purposes) are issued by the legal custodian (KDHE for vital records; the District Court Clerk for court-filed documents) and may have stricter access and identification requirements than non-certified informational copies.

Montgomery County is in southeastern Kansas along the Oklahoma border, anchored by Independence and Coffeyville and including smaller communities such as Caney and Cherryvale. The county has a predominantly small-city/rural settlement pattern, with a large share of residents living in or near the three main population centers and the remainder dispersed across rural townships. Population and core demographic totals are reported by the U.S. Census Bureau through QuickFacts for Montgomery County, Kansas (latest ACS-based profiles).

Education Indicators

Public school districts, counts, and school names

Montgomery County is served primarily by three unified public school districts:

• Coffeyville USD 445
• Independence USD 446
• Caney Valley USD 436

A consolidated list of district boundaries and district identifiers is available through the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE). Public-school counts and official school rosters change periodically due to grade reconfigurations and building consolidations; the most current school-by-school roster is maintained in KSDE’s district/school directories rather than a single static county table. (School names are therefore best treated as “available via KSDE directory” rather than a fixed list in a county narrative.)

Student–teacher ratios and graduation rates

• Student–teacher ratio (proxy): The most consistently published countywide proxy is the Census/ACS “students per teacher”/classroom staffing context, but Kansas reports staffing at the district and building level. For Montgomery County’s major districts, student–teacher ratios typically align with Kansas small-city/rural district norms (often mid-teens to high-teens students per teacher); this varies by district and grade band and is reported in KSDE staffing reports.
• Graduation rates: Kansas publishes official 4-year cohort graduation rates by district and high school through KSDE’s accountability reporting. Countywide graduation rates are not a standard KSDE aggregation; district rates for USD 445/446/436 are the appropriate proxy for the county’s public-school outcomes. The most recent official rates are available through KSDE’s accountability/report card resources within KSDE.

Adult educational attainment

Adult educational attainment for Montgomery County is reported by the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS) in QuickFacts, including:

• High school diploma or higher (age 25+): reported as a county percentage (ACS 5-year estimate series in QuickFacts).
• Bachelor’s degree or higher (age 25+): reported as a county percentage (ACS 5-year estimate series in QuickFacts).

These measures provide the most comparable, annually updated attainment profile for the county.

Notable programs (STEM, CTE, AP/dual credit)

• Career and Technical Education (CTE): Kansas districts commonly offer CTE pathways aligned with state career clusters (industry credentials, work-based learning, and technical coursework). County districts generally participate in state-recognized CTE frameworks and regional partnerships; current program-of-study offerings are typically published by each district and through KSDE CTE materials.
• Advanced coursework: Advanced Placement (AP), concurrent/dual credit, and career pathways are commonly offered at the high school level in Kansas. Specific AP course availability varies by high school and is published in local course catalogs rather than countywide summaries.
• Postsecondary access: Montgomery County hosts higher-education capacity via community college presence in the region (notably Coffeyville Community College), supporting dual-credit and workforce training linkages (program lists are maintained by the institution).

(Program availability is best verified through district course catalogs and KSDE program reporting; there is no single countywide program inventory that remains stable year to year.)

School safety measures and counseling resources

Kansas public schools generally implement multi-layered safety practices, typically including controlled building access, visitor management, emergency drills, and coordination with local law enforcement; detailed practices are set by districts and building administrators. Counseling resources are ordinarily provided through school counselors and student support staff, with services structured around academic planning, social-emotional support, and crisis response; staffing ratios and program descriptions are typically published in district student handbooks and KSDE staffing categories rather than in county aggregates.

Employment and Economic Conditions

Unemployment rate (most recent available)

• The most current official county unemployment statistics are published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) through the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program and distributed via state labor market systems. For Montgomery County, the latest annual and monthly rates are accessible through BLS LAUS and Kansas labor market reporting via the Kansas Department of Commerce.
• A single “most recent year” figure varies depending on whether annual averages or the latest month are used; LAUS is the authoritative source.

Major industries and employment sectors

County employment and payroll activity are typically concentrated in:

• Manufacturing
• Health care and social assistance
• Retail trade
• Educational services (public schools and postsecondary)
• Public administration
• Accommodation and food services
• Transportation/warehousing and local logistics

Sector shares and employer size distributions are reported in Census/ACS industry tables and in employer datasets such as County Business Patterns; county-level industry composition is also summarized in Kansas labor market profiles.

Common occupations and workforce breakdown

In small-city/rural Kansas counties like Montgomery, occupational distributions commonly show large shares in:

• Production and maintenance
• Office and administrative support
• Sales and related
• Transportation and material moving
• Healthcare support and practitioner roles
• Education, training, and library
• Construction and extraction
• Management and business operations

The most comparable county occupational breakdown is published through ACS occupation tables (accessible via Census data tools and summarized in some state/county profile products).

Commuting patterns and mean commute time

• Commuting mode: Most workers commute by personal vehicle, consistent with rural/small-city Kansas commuting patterns; public transit use is typically limited outside of localized services.
• Mean travel time to work: The ACS provides the official county mean commute time and commuting mode shares (drive alone, carpool, work from home, etc.). The latest estimates for Montgomery County are available through data.census.gov (ACS commuting tables).

Local employment versus out-of-county work

County-to-county commuting flows (in-county employment vs outbound commuting) are best measured through the Census Bureau’s commuting flow products. The most used source is LEHD/OnTheMap, which provides origin-destination flows showing the share of residents working inside Montgomery County versus commuting to neighboring counties and across the Kansas–Oklahoma line. A stable single “local vs out-of-county” percentage is not a standard ACS QuickFacts metric and is typically derived from LEHD flow tables.

Housing and Real Estate

Homeownership rate and rental share

• Owner-occupied vs renter-occupied: The ACS reports county housing tenure (homeownership rate and rental share). The latest countywide tenure values are summarized in QuickFacts and detailed in ACS housing tables on data.census.gov.

Median property values and recent trends

• Median value of owner-occupied housing units: Reported in QuickFacts (ACS 5-year).
• Trend context (proxy): Over the past several years, many Kansas counties experienced moderate appreciation following 2020–2022 price acceleration and subsequent slowing; local trends in Montgomery County are influenced by housing age, employment stability, and demand in Independence/Coffeyville/Caney. For transaction-based trend confirmation, market reports from state Realtor associations and appraisal datasets are typically used; ACS median value provides the most consistent cross-county benchmark but is not a direct measure of recent sale prices.

Typical rent prices

• Median gross rent: Reported in QuickFacts (ACS 5-year) and in ACS tables via data.census.gov. This is the standard countywide benchmark for “typical” rent.

Types of housing

Montgomery County’s housing stock is generally characterized by:

• Single-family detached homes dominating owner-occupied units in Independence, Coffeyville, Caney, and surrounding smaller towns.
• Small multifamily properties and apartment buildings concentrated in the main cities, with limited high-density development.
• Manufactured housing and rural properties on larger lots/acreage, common outside city limits. Housing type shares (single-family, multifamily by unit count, mobile homes) are available in ACS structure-type tables on data.census.gov.

Neighborhood characteristics and proximity to schools/amenities

• The most school- and amenity-proximate neighborhoods are typically within the developed street grids of Independence and Coffeyville, where schools, parks, clinics, and retail corridors are more accessible by short drive.
• Outside city centers, residential areas transition quickly to lower-density subdivisions and rural roads with longer travel distances to schools and services. Neighborhood-level proximity metrics are not published as a single county statistic; local planning documents and GIS layers are the usual sources.

Property tax overview (rate and typical homeowner cost)

• Property tax rates in Kansas are set through a combination of local mill levies (county, city, school district, and special districts) applied to assessed value. Mill levy totals vary by jurisdiction within Montgomery County.
• Typical homeowner property tax cost (proxy): The ACS reports median real estate taxes paid for owner-occupied housing units, which serves as the most comparable countywide measure and is available through data.census.gov (housing cost tables).
• For jurisdiction-specific mill levies and appraisal practices, the authoritative local references are county appraisal/treasurer resources and Kansas statutes administered through state and local offices; a single countywide “average rate” is not a stable figure due to overlapping taxing districts and differing assessed values.