Wichita, Kansas
The county seat of Sedgwick County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the 49th largest American metropolis is Wichita. There were 400,560 people living in the city as of 2023. There were 647,919 people living in the Wichita metro area in 2023. It is situated on the Arkansas River in south-central Kansas.
In the 1860s, Wichita started as a trading stop along the Chisholm Trail, and it became a city in 1870. It acquired the moniker "Cowtown" as a result of becoming a stopping point for cattle drives that used the Kansas to Texas railroads to trek north. Before moving to Dodge City, Wyatt Earp worked as a police officer in Wichita for about a year.
Businessmen and aeronautical engineers founded aircraft manufacturing firms in Wichita during the 1920s and 1930s, including Beechcraft, Cessna, and Stearman Aircraft. The area of the city that produced aircraft came to be known as "The Air Capital of the World." The city of Wichita continues to be a significant hub of the American aviation industry and is home to design and manufacturing facilities including Textron Aviation, Learjet, Airbus, and Boeing/Spirit AeroSystems. The biggest airport in Kansas, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, as well as McConnell Air Force Base and Colonel James Jabara Airport are all within the city limits.
Wichita is a regional centre for trade, media, and culture in addition to being an industrial powerhouse. Numerous universities, sizable museums, theaters, parks, shopping malls, and entertainment facilities, including the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center and Intrust Bank Arena, are all located there. The city's Old Cowtown Museum preserves historical relics and displays the early history of the city. The third-largest post-secondary institution in the state is Wichita State University.
Geography
At the intersection of Interstate 35 and U.S. Route 54, Wichita is located in central-south Kansas. It is located 439 miles (707 km) east-southeast of Denver and 157 miles (253 km) north of Oklahoma City. Kansas City is 181 miles (291 km) to the southwest.
The city is located in the Wellington-McPherson Lowlands of the Great Plains, close to the western edge of the Flint Hills, on the Arkansas River. The large alluvial plain of the Arkansas River valley and the gently undulating slopes up to the higher elevations on each side define the geography of the region.
The Arkansas travels along a serpentine path through Wichita, roughly cutting the city in half. Several tributaries, all of which flow primarily south, join it along its path. The Little Arkansas River, which flows into the city from the north and merges with the Arkansas just west of downtown, is the largest. Chisholm Creek is located further east, and near the city's extreme south, it joins the Arkansas. Most of the eastern side of the city is drained by the Chisholm's own tributaries, which also include Gypsum Creek further south and the creek's West, Middle, and East Forks. Dry Creek, a tributary of the Gypsum, provides food for it. Big Slough Creek and Cowskin Creek, which run from east to west, are two more tributaries of the Arkansas that are located west of its path. Both traverse the city's western sector southward. The far eastern region of the city is traversed by Fourmile Creek, a tributary of the Walnut River.
The city has a total area of 163.59 sq mi (423.70 km2), of which 4.30 sq mi (11.14 km2) are covered by water, according to the United States Census Bureau.
The city is encircled by suburbs and serves as the center of the Wichita metropolitan area. Valley Center, Park City, Kechi, and Bel Aire are the communities that border Wichita to the north, going from west to east. Eastborough is contained inside east-central Wichita. Andover is located close to the east edge of the city. In the far southeast of the city is where McConnell Air Force Base is located. East to west, in the south, are Derby and Haysville. To the west and northwest of Wichita, respectively, are Goddard and Maize's borders.
Climate
With hot, muggy summers and chilly, dry winters as its norm, Wichita is located in the humid subtropical climatic zone (Köppen Cfa). Wichita typically suffers severe weather, with thunderstorms happening frequently in the spring and summer. The city is situated on the Great Plains, distant from any significant moderating factors like mountains or sizable bodies of water. These frequently produce lightning and occasionally produce huge hail. In the course of its history, the Wichita area has been affected by particularly severe ones on three separate occasions: in September 1965, in the Andover, Kansas tornado outbreak in April 1991, and in the May 1999 tornado outbreak in Oklahoma. Wichita experiences harsh, dry winters with periodic cold and warm periods due to its location nearly halfway between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. Midwinter temperatures can reach the 50s and even 60s (°F) thanks to warm air masses from the Gulf of Mexico, while cold air masses from the Arctic can occasionally bring the mercury down to 0 °F. 13 mph (21 km/h) is the typical wind speed in the city. The coldest (and driest) month on average is January, followed by the hottest (July), and the wettest (May).
In the city, the average temperature is 57.7 °F (14.3 °C). The average daily temperature varies each month throughout the year, from 33.2 °F (0.7 °C) in January to 81.5 °F (27.5 °C) in July. The high temperature averages 90 °F (32 °C) or higher on 65 days each year and 100 °F (38 °C) on 12 days per year. On an average of 7.7 days per year, the minimum temperature drops to or below 10 °F (12 °C). The highest recorded temperature in Wichita was 114 °F (46 °C) in 1936, and the lowest recorded temperature was 22 °F (30 °C) on February 12, 1899. Readings as recently as February 16, 2021 and July 29–30, 2012, respectively, reached as low as 17 °F (27 °C) and as high as 111 °F (44 °C). Wichita experiences 87 days of measurable precipitation year, or around 34.31 inches (871 mm), with the majority of this precipitation occurring in the summer. In the morning and the evening, the relative humidity is, respectively, 80% and 49%. Snowfall averages 12.7 inches per year (32 cm). There are nine days with measurable snowfall on average per year, with four of those days seeing at least an inch of snowfall. There are usually 12 days a year when there is at least an inch of snow. From October 25 to April 9, on average, cold temperatures are expected.
Economy
Famous eateries like White Castle and Pizza Hut got their start there. Many of the top-25 Kansas-based companies, including Koch, Coleman, Cessna, Pizza Hut, Beechcraft, Freddy's, and more, have their headquarters in Wichita, according to research on well-known Kansas-based brands conducted by RSM Marketing Services and the Wichita Consumer Research Center.
Manufacturing, which accounted for 21.6% of employment in the region in 2003, is Wichita's main industrial sector. The state provides tax rebates and other benefits to aircraft manufacturers because the industry has long dominated the local economy and is so crucial to the region's overall economic health.
With around 28,000 local employees, healthcare is the second-largest industry in Wichita. Healthcare wasn't subject to the same challenges that other businesses were in the early 2000s since healthcare demands are largely constant regardless of the economy. Both the critical-care tower at Wesley Medical Center and the Kansas Spine Hospital debuted in 2004. A hospital that will serve Wichita's northwest neighborhood was opened in July 2010 by Via Christi Health, the biggest supplier of medical services in Kansas. The system's fifth hospital to serve the Wichita area is Via Christi Hospital on St. Teresa. The first and only children's hospital in the Wichita region opened its doors in 2016 under the auspices of Wesley Healthcare.
With hundreds of oil-exploration companies and support businesses, Wichita developed into a significant oil town as a result of the early 20th century oil boom in Butler County, Kansas, a neighboring county. Of these, Koch Industries, a modern-day multinational conglomerate of natural resources, is the most well-known. Additionally, the former Derby Oil Company, which the Coastal Corporation acquired in 1988, once had its headquarters in the city. The Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association and Kansas Strong are both oil and natural gas organizations with headquarters in Wichita.
The two biggest privately held businesses in the country, Cargill and Koch Industries, both have their headquarters in Wichita. Located in a sizable office-tower complex in northeast Wichita is Koch Industries' main global corporate headquarters. The headquarters of the third-largest beef producer in the country at one point, Cargill Meat Solutions Div., are located in the city. Aside from Alternative Energy Solutions, Chance Morgan, Dean & Deluca, and Coleman Company, which makes camping gear and outdoor recreation supplies, other companies with headquarters in Wichita include Dean & Deluca, a gourmet food retailer, and Chance Morgan, a manufacturer of roller coasters. Prior to being dissolved in 2008, Air Midwest, the first officially certified "commuter" airline in the US, was created and had its headquarters in Wichita.
A total of 68.2% of people over the age of 16 were employed as of 2013; 0.6% were in the military, and 67.6% were in the civilian labor market, with 61.2% of workers being employed and 6.4% being jobless. The employed civilian work force was made up of 33.3% of management, business, science, and arts occupations, 25.1% of sales and office jobs, 17.2% of service jobs, 14.0% of production, transportation, and material moving jobs, and 10.4% of natural resources, construction, and maintenance jobs. Manufacturing (19.2%), educational, health, and social support services (22.3%), and retail commerce (11.0%) were the three sectors that employed the highest percentages of the working civilian labor force.
In Wichita, the cost of living is below average; the city's cost of living index is 84.0 as opposed to the national average of 100. As of 2013, the median home value in the city was $117,500, the median selected monthly owner cost for homes with a mortgage was $1,194 and for homes without a mortgage was $419. The median gross rent in the city was $690.
Affordably and pleasantly populated, Wichita enjoys a national reputation in American media. Wichita was named ninth out of the top 10 American major cities to live in by CNN/Money and Money in July 2006. Wichita was ranked first on MSN Real Estate's list of the most cost-effective cities in 2008. Wichita was ranked 79th out of 125 U.S. cities in U. S. News & World Report's 2019 "Best Places to Live" study. The publication also stated that violent crime in Wichita has increased over the previous several years. In the annual "State Rankings on Overall Child Well-Being" section of the 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book, Kansas was placed 15th out of the 50 states. While the nation as a whole has a lower percentage of child incarceration, the state has a greater rate of the state removing children from their homes.
Sports
Numerous collegiate, professional, semi-professional, and professional sports teams are based in Wichita. The Wichita Force indoor football team and the Wichita Thunder ice hockey team are professional organizations. On the grounds of the former Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, the Wichita Wind Surge, a Double-A Central Minor League Baseball franchise, will play in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to postpone their 2020 debut. The team was sent to the Double-A Central in 2021 as a result of Major League Baseball's realignment of the minor levels, without ever having played a Triple-A game. The city serves as the host location for the Air Capital Classic, a professional golf competition that debuted in 1990 on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The Wichita Aeros and Wranglers baseball teams, the Wichita Wings indoor soccer team, the Wichita Wind (a farm team to the Edmonton Oilers National Hockey League team in the early 1980s), and the Wichita Wild indoor football team are some of the city's former professional sports teams that no longer exist. The football teams of the Kansas Cougars and Kansas Diamondbacks were semi-pro. The Wichita World 11 cricket squad and the Wichita Barbarians rugby union team were non-professional organizations.
The Wichita State University Shockers, Newman University Jets, and Friends University Falcons are a few of the local universities' collegiate teams. The WSU Shockers compete in men's and women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, track & field, tennis, and bowling as NCAA Division I teams. The Newman Jets play in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, and cheer/dance as NCAA Division II teams. The Friends Falcons participate in football, volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, tennis, track & field, and golf competitions in Region IV of the NAIA.
There are many sporting facilities in and around the city. The Wichita Thunder play at the 15,000-seat multipurpose Intrust Bank Arena in the city's center. Over the years, Wichita's many minor-league baseball teams have called Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, a medium-sized baseball stadium west of downtown, home. The National Baseball Congress for Minor League Baseball called it home and held its annual National Tournament there.
In addition to being west of the city center, Wichita Ice Arena is a public ice skating rink where competitions are held. Additionally, Century II has hosted exhibitions of sporting products, horticultural displays, professional wrestling matches, and other leisurely pursuits. The WSU campus has two main athletic facilities: Charles Koch Arena, a medium-sized circular building with a dome ceiling, which is home to the WSU Shocker basketball team, and Eck Stadium, a medium-sized stadium with a full-sized baseball field. Additionally, Koch Arena is frequently utilized for local and regional high school sporting competitions, concerts, and other forms of entertainment. 81 Motor Speedway is an oval motor vehicle racetrack located just north of the city that hosts numerous automobile, truck, motorbike, and other motorsports competitions. Hartman Arena and the Sam Fulco Pavilions, located in neighboring Park City, are a moderately sized low-roofed arena designed for local rodeos, horse shows, livestock competitions, and exhibits.
The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame and Museum are two additional sports museums located in Wichita.
Population
Sedgwick County, Kansas, is where Wichita, a city, is situated. It serves as Sedgwick County's County seat as well. It is the largest city in Kansas and the 50th largest city in the United States with a projected population of 402,080 in 2023. Wichita's population has grown by 1.14% from the most recent census, which showed a population of 397,532 in 2020, and is now rising at a pace of 0.38% yearly. Wichita, which spans more than 166 miles, has 2,487 people per square mile.
With a poverty rate of 19.35%, Wichita's average household income is $71,335 per year. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. In Wichita, the median age is 35.3 years, with 34.3 years for men and 36.5 years for women.
Sedgwick County's administrative center is located in Wichita. In addition to being a center of trade, media, and culture, Wichita is a major industrial hub. Wichita's cost of living is significantly lower than the national average.
Top 2 News Websites
The Wichita Eagle
Since 1872, we have provided service to Wichita, Kansas's largest city, and the surrounding region. The Wichita Eagle is the top and most important source of news, information, commentary, and advertising in south-central Kansas, both in print and online as Kansas.com. Discover daily breaking news, editorials, videos, and community events in your area.
KSN News Wichita
KSN News Wichita is the anchor station of the Kansas State Network (KSN), a network of four local stations that broadcasts NBC network content as well as other KSNW-produced programs throughout central and western Kansas as well as adjacent counties in Nebraska and Oklahoma. On September 1, 1955, the station went on the air for the first time as KARD-TV.
Government
According to state law, Wichita is a first-class city. It has had a council-manager system of administration since 1917. The seven members of the city council are chosen by the people to serve staggered four-year periods in office. The city is divided into six districts for representational purposes, and one council member is chosen from each. The seventh council member, chosen at large, is the mayor. In addition to establishing policy for the city, the council also appoints members to citizen commissions and advisory boards, enacts laws and ordinances, levies taxes, and adopts the city budget. It convenes every Tuesday.
The city manager serves as the chief executive of the municipality and is in charge of managing staff and operations, submitting the yearly budget, advising the city council, creating the agenda for the council meetings, and supervising extra-departmental activities. 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 make up the city council as of 2020. (District 6). Robert Layton serves as the city manager.
The city's law enforcement organization is the Wichita Police Department, which was founded in 1871. It is the largest law enforcement organization in Kansas with over 800 workers, including more than 600 commissioned officers. The 1886-founded Wichita Fire Department runs 22 stations throughout the city. More than 400 full-time firemen are employed there, divided among four battalions.
Sedgwick County's administrative headquarters is located in Wichita, the county seat. The county courthouse is located in the city's center, and the majority of its agencies have offices there.
Wichita is home to numerous U.S. government departments and agencies. One of the three courthouses for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas is located in downtown Wichita. Directly southeast of the city, the U.S. Air Force runs McConnell Air Force Base. On U.S. 54 in east Wichita, there is the Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center campus. There are offices for other organizations all across the city, such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The 4th U.S. Congressional District in Kansas includes Wichita, and Republican Ron Estes has been serving in that position since 2017. The city is located in the 81st, 83rd through 101st, 103rd, and 105th districts of the Kansas House of Representatives and the 16th and 25th through 32nd districts of the Kansas Senate for purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature.
Current City Mayor
Dr. Brandon Whipple was sworn into office on January 13, 2020 after winning the mayor's race in Wichita on November 5, 2019. Dr. Whipple worked as a professor at Wichita State University and represented District 96 in the Kansas House of Representatives for seven years before being elected mayor.
The Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics invited Mayor Whipple to attend its yearly Seminar on Transition for Newly Elected Mayors in December 2019. Mayor Whipple took part in courses on a range of subjects, including crisis management, encouraging civic engagement among young people, and efficient police. The U.S. Conference of Mayors helped to create the seminar, which was taught by famous academics, policy professionals, and current and former mayors.
Mayor Whipple received his high school diploma from Dover High School in Dover, New Hampshire, and his associate's degree in liberal arts from Hesser College. He relocated to Wichita in 2003 when he was 21 years old as part of an AmeriCorps yearlong education-service mission. He participated in that program at Wichita South High School, working with at-risk adolescents, and ultimately decided to settle here.
Adrian, Tristan, and Julian Whipple are the couple's three young children. Mayor Whipple is married to Chelsea.
While not at work, Mayor Whipple enjoys teaching martial arts, learning about history, and spending time with his family touring Wichita's attractions. Additionally, he participates in the vestry at St. James Episcopal Church.
