Overview

Frederick is an incorporated city in Rice County in the central part of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is part of a largely agricultural region and is identified administratively as a municipality within Rice County. Official population counts show that Frederick is one of the smallest incorporated places in the state.

Population and demographic notes

The United States 2010 Census recorded 18 residents in Frederick, and the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 estimate also listed 18 residents. Local reporting has at times given smaller figures, with a newspaper estimating about nine people living there. Small communities like Frederick often experience fluctuations in resident counts because of limited housing, seasonal occupancy, and the way different sources collect or estimate data.

Character and setting

Frederick's setting is rural: surrounding land is primarily used for farming and related activities. As with many small Kansas towns, it functions as a residential and local-service point for the surrounding countryside rather than as a commercial or industrial center. Municipal services and public amenities in places of this size tend to be minimal; residents commonly rely on nearby towns for schools, medical care, shopping, and other services.

History and development

While detailed historical records for very small towns vary, settlements of this kind in central Kansas typically emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often linked to agriculture and regional transportation routes. Frederick's origins and development reflect broader settlement patterns of rural Kansas: small population centers that served local farms and adapted as transportation and agriculture evolved.

Significance and distinctions

  • Frederick illustrates the existence of legally incorporated municipalities with very low populations in the United States.
  • Variations between census counts, government estimates, and local reporting are common in small communities and can reflect timing, methodology, and short-term population changes.
  • For readers seeking more information about the county or state context, see the pages for Rice County and Kansas.

Because of its small size, Frederick is primarily of local and regional interest: it offers a snapshot of rural municipal life and the demographic challenges faced by many tiny communities in the American Midwest.