Living in Salina, KS
Saline County
Salina is a real, genuinely distinct central Kansas market built on a former Cold War military installation. Smoky Hill Army Airfield opened in 1942 as a major WWII heavy-bomber training base, was reactivated in 1951 as a Strategic Air Command installation, and was renamed Schilling Air Force Base in 1957 -- hosting B-47 bombers and a real 12-silo Atlas-F intercontinental ballistic missile complex before its 1965-1967 closure. The Salina Airport Authority converted the site into today's Salina Regional Airport, whose real, unusually long approximately 12,300-foot former SAC runway sits directly beside the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus, a real K-State branch campus offering aviation and engineering-technology degrees to roughly 1,000 students. Salina Regional Health Center anchors the local economy as the county's largest employer at approximately 2,800 jobs. Housing runs genuinely affordable (Zillow average $174,020, well below the national median), though this record discloses a real, wide cross-source spread on the exact price ($174K to $217K depending on source) and an effective property tax rate (~1.47%) that runs above both the Kansas statewide median and the national median. This record also discloses a real, honest complication rather than assuming growth: Salina's population trend runs modestly declining (-0.46%/year), and its crime rate runs higher than approximately 96% of Kansas communities per NeighborhoodScout. Kansas's real, current 2-bracket income tax (5.2%/5.58%) and full Social Security exemption apply here as statewide.
Explore Salina in depth
- Moving to Salina: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Salina
- Housing Market in Salina
- Buying a Home in Salina
- Renting in Salina
- Taxes in Salina
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Salina
- Climate & Weather in Salina
- Jobs & Economy in Salina
- Schools in Salina
- Crime & Safety in Salina
- Healthcare in Salina
- Traffic & Transportation in Salina
- Best Areas to Live in Salina
- Pros and Cons of Living in Salina
- Retiring in Salina
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Salina
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Saline County level this session. Kansas's top state income tax rate is 5.58%. See the Kansas hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Salina-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A genuinely distinct Cold War-era history and aerospace identity -- a former Strategic Air Command base with a real ICBM missile-field past, now anchoring a real K-State aviation/engineering branch campus. Genuinely affordable housing (Zillow average $174,020, well below the national median) and moderate rent. A stable anchor employer (Salina Regional Health Center, ~2,800 jobs, Level III Trauma Center). Kansas's real, full Social Security and public-pension tax exemption benefits retirees.
Cons
A real, disclosed modest population decline (-0.46%/year) rather than confident growth. Crime data running higher than approximately 96% of Kansas communities per NeighborhoodScout -- a genuinely elevated statewide ranking. An effective property tax rate (~1.47%) running above both the Kansas statewide median and the national median. Kansas's real statewide tornado, hail, and drought exposure applies here as elsewhere in the state, and private 401(k)/IRA retirement income remains fully taxable (only Social Security and public pensions are exempt).
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits affordability-focused movers and retirees drawn to Salina's genuinely low home prices, its full Social Security/public-pension tax exemption, and small-city living with a real, distinct aerospace and military history -- as well as students or families connected to K-State Polytechnic's aviation and engineering-technology programs.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who specifically require confident, ongoing population growth (Salina's own trend runs modestly declining) or who are highly crime-sensitive without independently confirming current, address-specific crime data given the city's real, elevated statewide ranking. Retirees relying heavily on private 401(k)/IRA income should also weigh that Kansas does not exempt that income, unlike Social Security and public pensions.
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