- State:KansasCounty:Sedgwick CountyCity:WichitaCounty FIPS:20173Coordinates:37°41′20″N 97°20′10″WArea total:166.52 sq miArea land:161.99 sq mi (419.55 km²)Area water:4.53 sq mi (11.73 km²)Elevation:1,303 ft (397 m)Established:1868; Incorporated 1870
- Latitude:37,6654Longitude:-97,4244Dman name cbsa:Wichita, KSTimezone:Eastern Standard Time (EST) UTC-5:00; Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) UTC-4:00ZIP codes:67201,67202,67203,67204,67205,67206,67207,67208,67209,67210,67211,67212,67213,67214,67215,67216,67217,67218,67219,67220,67223,67226,67227,67228,67230,67232,67235,67260,67276,67277,67278GMAP:
Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
- Population:397,532Population density:2,454.05 residents per square mile of area (947.52/km²)Household income:$45,321Households:144,369Unemployment rate:8.80%
- Sales taxes:6.30%Income taxes:6.45%
Wichita began as a trading post on the Chisholm Trail in the 1860s and was incorporated as a city in 1870. It became a destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to Kansas railroads, earning it the nickname "Cowtown" Wyatt Earp served as a police officer in Wichita for around one year before going to Dodge City. In the 1920s and 1930s, businessmen and aeronautical engineers established aircraft manufacturing companies in Wichita, including Beechcraft, Cessna, and Stearman Aircraft. The city became an aircraft production hub known as "The Air Capital of the World". Textron Aviation, Learjet, Airbus, and Boeing/Spirit AeroSystems continue to operate design and manufacturing facilities in Wichita. Wichita State University is the third-largest post-secondary institution in the state. It hosts several universities, large museums, theaters, parks, shopping centers, and entertainment venues, most notably Intrust Bank Arena and Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River and is the county seat of Sedgwick County. It has the third largest economy in the U.S. after Kansas City, Kansas and Topeka, with a total population of nearly 24,000. It also has the fourth-largest economy in Kansas.
History
Wichita is the primary city name, but also Bel Aire are acceptable city names or spellings. Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, the site of present-day Wichita, as early as 3000 BC. In 1541, a Spanish expedition led by explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado found the area populated by the Quivira, or Wichita, people. The Wichita people returned in 1863, driven from their land in Indian Territory by Confederate forces in the American Civil War, and established a settlement on the banks of the Little Arkansas. The city became a destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to access railroads, which led to markets in eastern U.S. cities. In 1914 and 1915, deposits of oil and natural gas were discovered in nearby Butler County. This triggered another economic boom in Wichita as producers established refineries, fueling stations, and headquarters in the city. By 1890, Wichita had become the third-largest city in the state after Kansas City, Kansas, and Topeka, with a population of nearly 24,000. During World War II, the city experienced a population explosion when it became a major manufacturing center for the Boeing Airplane Plant. Initial construction of Wichita Municipal Airport finished southeast of the city in 1935. In 1934, Stearman Aircraft Company, which would become the city's largest employer of Boeing, was founded in Wichita. In 1936, Wichita became such a center of the industry that the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce dubbed it the "Air Capital of the World".
Geography
Wichita is in south-central Kansas at the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. Route 54. It is 157 mi (253 km) north of Oklahoma City, 181 mi (291 km) southwest of Kansas City, and 439 mi (707 km) east-southeast of Denver. The city lies on the Arkansas River near the western edge of the Flint Hills in the Wellington-McPherson Lowlands region of the Great Plains. On average, January is the coldest month (and the driest), July the hottest, and May the wettest. The average temperature in the city is 57.7 °F (14.3 °C) over the course of a year. The hottest temperature recorded in Wichita was 114 °F46 °C in 1936. The coldest temperature recorded on February 12, 1899 was as low as 17 °C (30 °F) and as high as 111°F (44°C) as recently as July 29, 2021. Wichita has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), typically experiencing hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. It often experiences severe weather with thunderstorms occurring frequently during the spring and summer. These occasionally bring large hail and frequent lightning. Particularly destructive ones have struck the Wichita area several times - in September 1965, during the Andover, Kansas tornado outbreak of April 1991, and during the Oklahoma Tornado outbreak of May 1999. Since Wichita is roughly midway between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, cold spells and warm spells are equally frequent. Warm air masses from the gulf can raise midwinter temperatures into the 50s and even 60s.
Demographics
Wichita is racially more similar to the rest of the United States than any other major city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 382,368. The city is the largest city in Kansas and the 49th largest in the U.S. It is the principal city of both the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Wichita-Winfield Combined Statistical Area. The Wichita MSA encompasses Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, and Sumner counties and, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 623,061. The larger Wichita- Winfield CSA also includes Cowley County and, as of 2013, had a estimated population. of 673,598. Nearby Reno County is not a part of the Wichita M SA or Wichita-winfield C SA, but, were it included, it would add an additional population of 64,511 as of2010. The median income for a household in the city was $44,477, and for a family was $57,088. About 12.1% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 9.9% ofThose age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.14. The gender makeup of the city is 49.3% male and 50.7% female. It has a population density of 2,304.8 per square mile (889.9/km²).
Economy
Many of the top-25 Kansas-based brands such as Koch, Coleman, Cessna, Pizza Hut, Beechcraft, Freddy's, and more are based in Wichita. Wichita's principal industrial sector is manufacturing, which accounted for 21.6% of area employment in 2003. Healthcare is Wichita's second-largest industry, employing about 28,000 people in the local area. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were educational services, health care, and social assistance. The cost of living in Wichita is below average; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost-of-living index for the city is 84.0. However, the state has a significantly higher rate of child incarceration than the nation, generally, and a higher rates of the state taking children from their homes from their parents, as well as violent crime in the last few years. In the 2019 KIDS Book Rankings, Kansas was ranked number 15 out of the 50 states, with Wichita ranked No. 1 out of 125 cities. The city was also at one time the headquarters of the former Derby Oil Company, which was purchased by Coastal Corporation in 1988. In 2013, 68.2% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. As of 2013, the median home value in the city was $117,500. The median selected monthly owner cost was $1,194 for housing units with a mortgage and $419 for those without, and the median gross rent was $690.
Arts and culture
Wichita has a complex cultural mix, dominated by Euro-American, blue-collar industrial and rural tastes. The city is home to several art museums and performing arts groups. The Tallgrass Film Festival has been held in downtown Wichita since 2003. The annual Wichita Black Arts Festival celebrates the arts, crafts, and creativity of Wichita's large African-American community. The Wichita River Festival has featured events, musical entertainment, sporting events, traveling exhibits, cultural and historical activities, plays, interactive children's events, a flea market, river events, block parties, a food court, fireworks, and souvenirs for the roughly 370,000+ patrons who attend each year. The International Student Association at Wichita State University presents an annual international cultural exhibition and food festival, on the campus at WSU, providing an inexpensive sampling of global culture and cuisine to the general public. In 2011, the festival was moved from May to June because of rain during previous festivals. The festival has seen immense growth, with record numbers in 2016 and again in 2018. Not people from the Wichita entertainment industry have attended the festival, but some of the filmmakers have attended and visited with the audiences. In addition, numerous local, regional, and national aviation events, including air races, fly-ins, exhibitions and trade shows, are held in the city's two main shows, the Wichita Flight Festival and the military-sponsored Wichita Air Force Open House and Airshow. There are also numerous local and national organizatations, numerous regional, regional and national music groups, and numerous local dance groups.
Sports
Wichita is home to several professional, semi-professional, non- professional, and collegiate sports teams. Professional teams include the Wichita Thunder ice hockey team and the Wichita Force indoor football team. In 2020, the Wichita Wind Surge, a Minor League Baseball team of the Double-A Central play at Riverfront Stadium on the site of the former LawrenceDumont Stadium. The city hosts the Air Capital Classic, a professional golf tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour first played in 1990. The Wichita State University Shockers are NCAA Division I teams that compete in men's and women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and field, tennis, and bowling. The Newman Jets compete in NCAA Division II teams in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, Tennis, wrestling, and cheer/dance. The Friends Falcons compete in Region IV of the NAIA in football, volleyball, soccer,Cross country, Basketball, and Tennis. The WSU campus includes two major venues: Eck Stadium, a medium-sized stadium with a full-sized baseball field, and Charles Koch Arena, a dome-roofed circular arena with a collegiate basketball court that hosts the WSU Shocker basketball team. Just north of the city is 81 Motor Speedway, an oval motor-vehicle racetrack used extensively for a wide range of car, truck, and motorcycle races, and other motorsports events. Neighboring Park City isHome to Hartman Arena and the Sam Fulco Pavilions, a moderate-capacity low-ro ofed arena developed for small rodeos, horse shows, livestock competitions, and exhibitions.
Government
Under state statute, Wichita is a city of the first class. Since 1917, it has had a councilmanager form of government. The city council consists of seven members popularly elected every four years with staggered terms in office. With over 800 employees, including more than 600 commissioned officers, the Wichita Police Department is the largest law enforcement agency in Kansas. The Wichita Fire Department, organized in 1886, operates 22 stations throughout the city. The U.S. Air Force operates McConnell Air Force Base immediately southeast of the city, and the campus of the Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center is in east Wichita. Other agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Food and Drug Administration, and Internal Revenue Service among others, have offices in Wichita. Wichita is the administrative center of Sedgwick County. The county courthouse is downtown, and most departments of the county government base their operations in the city; it is also home to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is in the 16th and 25th through 32nd districts of the Kansas Senate and the 81st, 83rd through 101st, 103rd, and 105th districts ofThe Kansas House of Representatives. As of 2020, the City Council consists of Mayor Brandon Whipple, Brandon Johnson (District 1), Becky Tuttle (District 2), James Clendenin (District 3), Jeff Blubaugh (District 4), Bryan Frye (District 5), and Cindy Claycomb (District 6).
Education
With over 50,000 students, Wichita USD 259 is the largest school district in Kansas. There are more than 35 private and parochial schools in Wichita. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita oversees 16 Catholic schools in the city including 14 elementary schools and two high schools, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School. The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod operates two Lutheran schools. Friends University, a private, non-denominational Christian university, has its main campus in west Wichita. Newman University is a private Catholic university. Several colleges and universities based outside Wichita operate satellite locations in and around the city. Wichita Area Technical College, founded in 1995, was merged into Wichita State University's College of Applied Sciences and Technology in 2018, and is now known as WSU Tech. There is an Islamic school, Annoor School (PK-8), operated by the Islamic Society of Wichita. WSU's main campus is in northeast Wichita with multiple satellite campuses around the metro area. The University of Kansas School of Medicine has one of its three campuses in Wichita, along with Baker University, Butler Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Southwestern College, Tabor College, Vatterott College, and Webster University. For-profit institutions including Heritage College and University of Phoenix have Wichita facilities as do for-profit colleges such as Heritage College, University of Arizona, and the University of Missouri-Wichita. The city has several colleges, universities, technical schools and branch campuses of other universities.
Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index
The Air Quality index is in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas = 92.6. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 36. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 30. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Wichita = 4.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.
Employed
The most recent city population of 397,532 individuals with a median age of 34.9 age the population grows by 3.31% in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,454.05 residents per square mile of area (947.52/km²). There are average 2.43 people per household in the 144,369 households with an average household income of $45,321 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.80% of the available work force and has dropped -1.64% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 27.92%. The number of physicians in Wichita per 100,000 population = 224.6.
Weather
The annual rainfall in Wichita = 29.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 14.6 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 84. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 221. 93 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 20.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 31, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.
Median Home Cost
The percentage of housing units in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas which are owned by the occupant = 56.20%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 39 years with median home cost = $107,220 and home appreciation of -2.19%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $10.90 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.
Study
The local school district spends $4,647 per student. There are 14.7 students for each teacher in the school, 775 students for each Librarian and 737 students for each Counselor. 5.07% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 18.02% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.52% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).
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Wichita's population in Sedgwick County, Kansas of 24,671 residents in 1900 has increased 16,11-fold to 397,532 residents after 120 years, according to the official 2020 census.
Approximately 50.62% female residents and 49.38% male residents live in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas.
As of 2020 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas are married and the remaining 43.46% are single population.
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20 minutes is the average time that residents in Wichita require for a one-way commute to work. A long commute can have different effects on health. A Gallup poll in the US found that in terms of mental health, long haul commuters are up to 12 percent more likely to experience worry, and ten percent less likely to feel well rested. The Gallup poll also found that of people who commute 61–90 minutes each day, a whopping one third complained of neck and back pain, compared to less than a quarter of people who only spend ten minutes getting to work.
85.18% of the working population which commute to work alone in their car, 9.83% of the working population which commutes to work in a carpool, 0.75% of the population that commutes using mass transit, including bus, light rail, subway, and ferry. 2.38% of the population that has their home as their principal place of work.
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Of the total residential buildings in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, 56.20% are owner-occupied homes, another 33.66% are rented apartments, and the remaining 10.15% are vacant.
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The 45.43% of the population in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas who identify themselves as belonging to a religion are distributed among the following most diverse religions.