City of Palco

See our Business Directory here

See the USD #269 website here

Community profile

Location (County)

Distance in miles(mi.) from:
Chicago 784 mi.
Dallas 578 mi.
Denver 374 mi.  (4.5 hr. drive time)
Kansas City 318 mi.  (4.0 hr. drive time)
Los Angeles 1,432 mi.
Minneapolis 701 mi.
New York 1,507 mi.
St. Louis 544 mi.
Omaha 310 mi.

 

 

Population

Year City County

2020 Census

208

4,919

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Climate

Average Daily Temperature:

January 38 F July 93 F
April 66 F October 69 F

Average Annual Precipitation

23 in.

Average Annual Snowfall

24 in.

Average Days of Sunshine/Year

325 days  (clear or partly clear)

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Work Force (County)

Labor Data (2006) for Rooks County:
Civilian Work Force 2,496
Employed 2,440
Manufacturing 296
Services 212
Government 773
Whls/Retail 585
Agriculture 498
Unemployed 56
Unemployment Rate 2.2%  Jan. 2024 (County)
Hourly Wage Rates in Selected Occupation:
Occupation Average Wage Rates
Assemblers & Fabricators $ 10.02
Customer Service Representatives $ 9.50
Industrial Machinery Mechanics $ 14.40
Industrial Truck/Tractor Operator $ 10.03
Receptionists & Info. Clerk $ 7.86
Word Processors & Typists $ 8.75
Percent of labor force unionized 1 %
Work Stoppages in last 2 years 0

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Municipal Services

Type of local government: Mayor/Council
Comprehensive city plan Yes
City zoning adopted Yes
Full-time fire department personnel 0
Volunteer fire department personnel 10
Fire insurance class in the city 7
Fire insurance class outside city 9
Full-time police  
Part-time police  
Full-time sheriff patrol 5

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Transportation (County)

Motor Carriers  
Number of carriers 3
Number of terminals in the community: 0

Highways serving the community
Interstate (E-W) I-70 /25 mi.
Interstate (N-S) I-135 /120 mi.
U.S./Kansas (E-W) K-18 /0 mi.
U.S./Kansas (N-S) US 183 /15 mi.
Interstate/Nebraska (E-W) I-80 /110 mi.

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Time in transit for carload or truckload lots
City Days by truck Days by railroad
Atlanta

2

 
Chicago

1.5

 
Dallas

1

 
Denver

0.5

 
Kansas City

0.5

 
Los Angeles

2.25

 
Minneapolis

1.5

 
New York

2.5

 
Seattle

2.5

 
St. Louis

1

 

Rail
Railroads serving community:  
Reciprocal switching available: No
Distance to nearest service: 38

Package Delivery Service
Ground firms: Federal Express, Pony Express, UPS
Air firms:  
Air:  
Distance to nearest public airport: 15 mi.
Runway surface: Concrete
Runway length: 5000 ft.
Lighted: Yes
Tower: No
Private aircraft storage available: Overnight and short term available
Nearest commercial air service: 38 mi.
Names of airlines serving: United Express
City adjoins navigable river: No

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Telecommunications

Local service provider: Nex-Tech, AT&T
Primary long distance provider (s): Nex-Tech, AT&T
Distance to Point of Presence: 0 mi.
Services available: Fiber to the premises available throughout the community. T1: Yes ISDN: Yes
T3: DSL: Yes

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Utilities

Electric Service Supplier: Western Cooperative Electric
Interconnected: Yes
Telephone Service Supplier: Nex-Tech, AT&T
Fiber Optics: Yes
Point of Presence: 0 mi.
Natural Gas Supplier: Midwest Energy
Water Supplier: City of Palco
Water Source: Wells
Capacity of Water Plant: gal./day
Average Consumption: gal./day
Peak Demand: gal./day
Storage Capacity: gal.
Sanitation
Type of Sewage Treatment Plant: Lagoon
Capacity in Gallons/Day:  
Present Load in Gallons/Day:  
Capacity/Population Equivalent:  
Present Load/Population Equivalent:  

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Tax Structure

Total Sales Tax Rate (city, county and state): 7%
Property Tax Rate 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011  
City 110.411 131.609 132.115 132.112 131.485 126.794 131.248 135.597 142.977 136.817 114.031 105.256 101.669  
County 61.886 63.432 62.958 62.998 62.957 69.464 78.853 64.211 61.432 59.400 60.817 60.729 62.927  
School 44.528 45.719 50.943 46.345 46.107 48.890 42.652 43.585 39.491 36.538 37.338 38.591 40.624  
Other 11.305 5.834 9.489 9.485 9.589 9.781 11.106 9.909 6.763 6.906 6.893 7.109 7.131  
Total 228.130 246.594 255.505 250.940 250.138 254.929 263.859 253.302 250.663 239.661 219.079 211.685 212.351  
2023 Tax Assessed Value: $1,326,873

(2022 Assessed Value: $1,131,705

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Community Services

Support Services
Machine shops in the city: Yes 1
Tool and die shops in the city: No

Financial Institutions
Number of banks in the city: 0
Assets $
Number of savings and loan firms: 0
Assets $
Health Care (County)
Hospital in the community: No
Number of beds: 20
Nearest hospital:  Rooks Co. Health Center, 15 mi.
Clinic in the community: Yes
MD 4 Optometrist 2
Dentist 2 Osteopath 0
Chiropractor 2 Podiatrist 0

Housing (County)
No. of housing units built in last two years (county) 12
Average monthly rental: House 300
Average monthly rental: Apartment 200
Average cost – new construction $120 sq. ft.
Average cost – lots 1200-1500
Vacancy rate: houses  
Vacancy rate: apartments  

Recreation Facilities (County)
Recreation facilities in city or within 25 miles:
Public golf course Yes Public tennis courts Yes
Public parks Yes Public swim pools Yes
    Wellness Center Yes
Library Yes No. of theaters 2
Nearest public access lake, reservoir, or river: Webster Reservoir, State Park
Distance: 20 miles
Activities allowed:
Fishing Yes Camping Yes
Boating Yes Swimming Yes
Water Skiing Yes

Convention/Lodging Facilities (County)
Number of hotels: 0 Rooms 0
Number of motels: 3 Rooms 40
Bed & Breakfasts 2 Rooms 6
Largest banquet room: 430

Media
Community newspaper Weekly
No. of Radio Stations 7 Cable TV Yes
No of TV Stations   TV Channels 100 (app)

Religious Institutions (County)
Protestant 15 Catholic 2
Synagogues 0 Other 0

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Education Facilities

Public Schools

Type Number Enrollment Teacher/Pupil Ratio
Elementary 1 53 1/8
Jr High/Middle School 1 22 1/7
Senior High 1 27 1/5

Private Schools
Type Number Enrollment Teacher/Pupil Ratio
Elementary      
Jr High/Middle School      
Senior High      

Vo-Tech/Junior Colleges
Name Location Enrollment Distance
Barton County Community College Great Bend 6,000 90 mi.
Cloud County Community College Concordia 3,461 85 mi.
Colby County Community College Colby 2,142 95 mi.
North Central Kansas Technical College Hays 120 31 mi.
North Central Kansas Technical College – Beloit Beloit 350 72 mi.

Universities or Colleges
Name Location Enrollment Distance
Fort Hays State University Hays 8,000 23 mi.
Kansas State University Manhattan 16,800 140 mi.
Kansas Wesleyan University Salina 583 100 mi.
University of Kansas Lawrence 18,807 261 mi.
Washburn University Topeka 5,477 240 mi.
 

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Major Manufacturers and Employers

Major Employers

Firm Male Female Total Products Union
Rooks Co. Health Center     150 Health Care None
Wilkens Manufacturing     70 Semi Trailer Walking Floor Manufacturer None
Midland Marketing     32 Agriculture None

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Available properties for retail and light industry: Click here

Available Properties

Available properties for industrial prospect: Click here

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Economic Development Organizations

Industrial Development Organization
Full-time director: Yes
Name of organization: Rooks County Economic Development
Contact: Roger Hrabe
Street address: 115 N. Walnut
  Stockton, Ks 67669
Phone: 785-425-6881
Fax: 785-425-6881
Email: rooksed@ruraltel.net
Web Site: www.rookscounty.net
Chamber of Commerce
Full-time director: No
Name of organization:  
Contact:  
Street address:  
   
Phone:  
Fax:  
Email:  
Web Site: