Salina, KS: how dark is the sky here?

Satellite radiance puts Salina in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 61.8% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

How far Salina is from a meaningfully darker sky

Junction City, KS, about 44 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Salina. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Junction City, KS is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Salina compares nationally

Salina, KS counts roughly 46,109 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Salina places 1,970 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.