[3] Settlers from southeastern Pennsylvania founded Osborne City in May 1871.

[5][6] Osborne City became the permanent county seat in November 1872.

[4] A district judge officially proclaimed it a city in May 1873, but the townspeople failed to legally organize a government.

[9][10] Osborne lies on the north side of the South Fork Solomon River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.

[9] The Osborne Canal, part of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Webster Unit Project, runs east along the northern edge of the city.

[11][12] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.56 square miles (4.04 km2), all land.

[14] The 2020 United States census counted 1,335 people, 602 households, and 349 families in Osborne.

36.7% of households consisted of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: educational services, health care, and social assistance (18.2%); wholesale trade (11.3%); and retail trade (10.5%).

[29] The city council consists of six members and meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month.

[11] Osborne Municipal Airport is located immediately southeast of the city.

[34] Osborne is the western terminus of a line of the Kyle Railroad.

[35] The city is also the northwestern terminus of a line of the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad.

[38] The Osborne County Historical Museum exhibits artifacts from local history, including antique farm equipment, period clothing and housewares, and American Indian artifacts, and maintains on site a one-room school house built in 1912.

[39] A roadside park at the north end of the city displays information about the geodetic center of North America, which is located roughly 18 miles (29 km) south-southeast of the city, and hosts a replica of the geodetic marker at the site.