Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-07
36 of Kansas's 105 counties — 34% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 10th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Bourbon County (68/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 1042 counties nationwide → Kansas: no building codes → Kansas: no codes, no zoning → Kansas: owner-builder → Kansas: tiny homes → Kansas: no minimum home size → Full Kansas profile →
From the Kansas guide
Kansas has 36 counties without countywide zoning and 61 counties with zoning.29 Bourbon County, Neosho County, Atchison County and Chautauqua County are among the highest-scoring counties without countywide zoning.2 Kansas has 29 counties with neither residential building-permit requirements nor countywide zoning; compare the no-zoning list and combined list.11 Where zoning exists, ask the county clerk or city clerk for the official district map; Kansas zoning maps are public records.16 Agricultural-use exemptions retain floodplain restrictions, and agricultural buildings can still face public-road setbacks.17
From the Kansas guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
36 of 105 Kansas counties · sorted by Index score
No county planning/zoning department is listed; zoning is administered by cities (e.g. Fort Scott), with no county zoning shown for unincorporated areas.
Bourbon County Kansas - Official Site (Departments) ↗No zoning or planning office appears among the county's departments; land-use is not zoned at the county level for unincorporated Neosho County.
Neosho County, KS – Departments ↗County zoning in unincorporated Atchison County, excluding incorporated City of Atchison property. The official county plan states that the City of Atchison is an exception.
Atchison County Neighborhood Revitalization Plan ↗No county planning or zoning department or ordinance is referenced on the official county site; county zoning could not be confirmed.
Marshall County, Kansas — official county website ↗The county has no county-wide zoning code; land use in the unincorporated area is largely unregulated.
Tiny Home Regulations in Kansas (Chautauqua County section) ↗No planning or zoning department appears among Elk County's listed departments, consistent with this rural county having no county zoning.
Elk County Kansas :: Departments ↗The official Cloud County site lists no planning or zoning department, indicating the county does not administer county zoning for unincorporated areas.
Cloud County, KS - official county government site ↗Countywide zoning in Cowley County, including unincorporated areas. The source states that each city has its own requirements; incorporated municipalities may impose their own z…
cowleycountyks.gov ↗County-administered zoning in Cherokee County; the cited county plan identifies zoning only within the city limits of Baxter Springs and Galena. Municipal zoning may apply withi…
2023 Neighborhood Revitalization Plan ↗The county directory lists no planning and zoning department, indicating no countywide zoning.
Jewell County, Kansas - County Directory ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed; land-use zoning applies only within incorporated cities, not the unincorporated county.
Mitchell County, KS - Official Website ↗The county's official page states no defined regulations exist for rural areas; zoning applies only within incorporated municipalities such as Phillipsburg and Logan.
Phillips County, KS - Building Regulations & Permitting ↗The county lists no planning or zoning department; zoning in the area exists only at the city level (e.g., City of Osborne), not county-wide.
Osborne County - Departments ↗Graham County's own FAQ ('Do we have county zoning?') indicates the county does not have county-level zoning; verbatim body could not be retrieved but the official page title an…
Graham County - FAQ: Do we have county zoning? ↗Cheyenne County's government lists no planning & zoning or code enforcement department; zoning is administered by cities such as St. Francis, not by the county.
Cheyenne County, KS - Government ↗County zoning in the unincorporated portion of Norton County, Kansas. The county FAQ directs requests for zoning inside Norton city limits to the city office, so this absence fi…
County Clerk FAQ ↗No county planning or zoning department appears among the county's listed offices; county-wide zoning is not indicated for unincorporated Smith County.
Smith County, Kansas (official county website) ↗County zoning requirements in the unincorporated areas of Chase County, Kansas, outside city limits. The statement applies outside city limits; it does not address zoning inside…
Commissioners :: Chase County Kansas ↗Ellsworth County lists no county planning & zoning department; zoning/land use is administered by cities such as Ellsworth rather than at the county level.
Ellsworth County, KS - Official Website ↗Edwards County lists no county planning/zoning department and no county zoning ordinance; zoning regulation is found only at the municipal level (City of Kinsley).
Edwards County, KS Official Website ↗Zoning is administered only by the Colby-Thomas County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission within a three-mile belt around Colby under Kansas extraterritorial zoning law, whic…
Kansas Reflector - three-mile extraterritorial zoning ↗County-administered zoning in Comanche County, including the county's countywide zoning status. The county statement does not address zoning administered independently by incorp…
comanchecoks.org ↗Countywide zoning in Barber County, including the county's general land-use environment. The source is a county housing assessment and does not eliminate zoning adopted by incor…
Barber County Housing Assessment Tool Summary ↗The official Gove County departments page lists no planning or zoning department, indicating the rural county does not administer county zoning.
Gove County - Departments (official county site) ↗No planning or zoning department appears anywhere in the county's department directory, indicating the county has not adopted zoning for its unincorporated area.
Sheridan County KS Department Directory ↗Logan County has no planning and zoning department among its listed departments; zoning is a City of Oakley function, consistent with the county having no countywide zoning.
City of Oakley - Logan County Departments ↗Ness County's official department directory lists no planning and zoning department or zoning administrator, indicating no county zoning.
Ness County, KS — Departments ↗No county planning/zoning department is listed; zoning regulation exists only within Scott City, not the unincorporated county.
Scott County, Kansas (county government) ↗No county planning or zoning department appears among the county's listed departments, indicating no county-administered zoning for unincorporated land.
Rawlins County Departments ↗The county's official departments listing shows no planning/zoning office, indicating no countywide zoning in unincorporated areas (zoning handled only by the cities of Jetmore …
Hodgeman County (official county website) ↗No county planning or zoning office appears among Wichita County's listed departments, indicating no countywide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Wichita County, Kansas official website ↗No county zoning or planning department appears among the county's official departments; unincorporated Wallace County appears unzoned.
Wallace County, KS - County Departments ↗No county zoning or planning department is listed among Grant County departments; land-use zoning applies only within the City of Ulysses.
Grant County, KS - Departments ↗No county planning or zoning office is listed for this least-populous, single-township rural county, consistent with no county-wide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Unified Greeley County, KS - Official Website ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed; zoning exists only within incorporated cities (Meade, Plains, Fowler), not the unincorporated county.
Meade County, KS - Departments ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed among Stanton County offices; only the Appraiser and Clerk handle land records.
Stanton County, KS official website ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Kansas state page for all 105 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Kansas counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
