About Wichita

Wichita is located in South Central Kansas on the Arkansas River, and is the county seat of Sedgwick County.  Also known as the “Air Capital of the World”, it is the largest city in Kansas, as well as a major aircraft manufacturing hub and cultural center. In July of 2006, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Wichita ninth on its list of the 10 big cities to live in the United States. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Wichita-based aircraft companies produced seven out of every 10 planes delivered in the first six months of 1998, representing 59 percent of total billings! These numbers do not include commercial jetliners.  The city is home to five major aircraft manufacturing companies; Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna and Raytheon  and McConnell Air Force Base.

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History

Incorporated in 1870, it is the chief commercial and industrial center of S Kansas and the largest city in the state. It has railroad shops, flour mills, meatpacking plants, grain elevators, oil refineries, and a huge aircraft industry. Other manufactures include machinery, electrical products, and computer equipment. Wichita is located on the site of a village (1863-65) inhabited by Wichita Native Americans who had been driven out of Oklahoma and Texas for their Union sympathies during the Civil War. A trading post was established there in 1864 and the city was founded in 1868 by settlers serving the Chisholm Trail. In 1872 the railroad was extended to Wichita and the city boomed as a cow town. After 1880 it became the trade center of an agricultural and livestock region. Oil was discovered just E of Wichita in 1915.

Fast Facts

City Population: 354,865

Metro Population:  584,671

Average Number of Family Members: 3.13

Housing Units: 227,687

Median resident age: 33.4 years

Median household income: $39,939

Median house value: $78,900

Ethnic Makeup

African American 11.4%

Vietnamese: 2.0%

Hispanic: 9.6%

Native American: 2.3%

White/Caucasian: 71.7%

Other Race: 5.1%

Air Quality Index: 17.0 44.69

Total Crime Index: 6.6 3.47

Personal Crime Index: 7.0 3.40

Culture Index: 103.0 93.57

Neighborhoods

Wichita has recently been rated the No. 1 place in the country to live the good life cheaply by Forbes magazine; that is thanks in part to the housing market in this area. There is an abundance of available land both in and around Wichita, land reasonably priced and available for immediate growth. The size and quality of house you can purchase in Wichita is very substantial compared to the price of homes of equal size on the east or west coasts or other major cities in the nation.

Apartment rentals in Wichita are quite affordable, priced well below the national average. At $595 for the typical two-bedroom apartment, there are plenty of rental options to suit your lifestyle – from condos on the lake to brand new lofts located downtown.

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Climate

By Car

Most residents of Wichita travel around the region by car. The Kansas Turnpike (Interstate 35), Interstates 135 and 235, U.S. Route 54/400, and K-96 run through and near the city. Currently the idea of a Northwest Corridor is under discussion, to run from K-96 south from Maize to U.S. 54/400.

Voter Registration

Sedgwick County
Election Office
510 N. Main, #101
Wichita, KS 67203
(316) 660-7100
www.sedgwickcounty.org

How to register to vote:
•Obtain application from the above web site.
•Return your completed application to your county.  Your county election officer will mail you a notice when your application has been processed.
•Postmark this application by the 15th day before an election in order to be eligible to vote in that election.
•If you decline to register to vote, that fact will remain confidential and will be used for voter registration purposes only. If you do register to vote, the office where you apply will be kept confidential and will be used for voter registration purposes only.

If the form is incomplete, it may be rejected.  Print in blue or black ink.

Public Transportation

Wichita Transit Authority
777 E. Waterman
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 265-7221
www.wichitagov.org

The Wichita Transit Authority operates 51 buses on 18 fixed bus routes within the city.  Wichita’s Transit (WT) buses operate on what is called a fixed route system. This means that a bus is scheduled to arrive at a certain destination point along its route, at a fixed time of day. Route maps and fare information may be obtained from the web site listed above.

Amtrak
(316) 284-7533
(800) 872-7245
www.amtrak.com

The nearest Amtrak station is in Newton (20 miles to the north), offering service on the Southwest Chief route between Los Angeles and Chicago.

Air Transportation

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport
2173 Air Cargo Rd.
Wichita, KS 67209
(316) 946-4700
www.flywichita.com

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport is the largest airport in Kansas.  The airport is about 7 miles southwest of downtown Wichita.  It has a good selection of reasonably priced flights, but if you can’t get what you want here, both Kansas City and Oklahoma City’s airports are a connection or a 3 hour drive away.

Car Rentals
Airport rental car information is located in the terminal, adjacent to baggage claim. Free phones for cab, van shuttle service and off-airport car rental companies are available in the terminal building baggage-claim area at the Courtesy Phone Board.

Advantage
(800)777-5500
www.arac.com

Alamo
(800) 462-5266
www.alamo.com

Avis
(800) 331-1212
www.avis.com

Budget
(800) 527-0700
www.budget.com

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Area Code(s)

The area code for Memphis is 901.

Television

Radio

Newspapers

Wichita Eagle
825 E Douglas
Wichita, Kansas 67201-0820
(316) 268-6000
www.kansas.com

The Eagle is the main paper in the area, with a circulation of about 100,000 daily, 150,000 on Sundays.

Wichita Business Journal
121 N. Mead
Suite 100
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 267-6406
http://wichita.bizjournals.com

Outdoors

At the award winning Sedgwick County Zoo, animals are presented in their natural environment.   Botanica-The Wichita Gardens is a beautiful place to walk and enjoy the plants.

Botanica, The Wichita Gardens      
701 North Amidon Ave
Wichita, KS 67203
(316) 264-0448         
www.botanica.org

Sedgwick County Zoo          
5555 Zoo Blvd.
Wichita, KS 67212
(316) 660-9453
www.scz.org

Great Plains Nature Center            
6232 East 29th Street North
Wichita, KS 67220
(316) 683-5499
www.gpnc.org

Wichita River Festival
www.wichitafestivals.com

Museums

Exploration Place     
300 North McLean Blvd.
Wichita, KS 67203-5901
(316) 263-3373
www.exploration.org

Kansas African American Museum            
601 North Water St
Wichita, KS 67203
(316) 262-7651

Old Cowtown Museum        
1865 Museum Blvd
Wichita, KS 67203
(316) 660-1864
www.oldcowtown.org

Performing Arts

Douglas Avenue has been transformed into an open-air gallery with the addition of 12 bronze sculptures.  The works range from a lone guitar player, to a child playing hopscotch, to a cow, and a pony.

Music Theatre of Wichita   
225 West Douglas Ave, Suite 202
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 265-3253
www.musictheatreofwichita.org

Wichita Grand Opera            
Century II Concert Hall
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 683-3444
www.wichitagrandopera.org

Wichita Symphony Orchestra         
225 West Douglas Ave, Suite 207
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 267-5259
www.wso.org

Sports

81 Speedway

7700 North Broadway

Park City, Ks.

(316) 755-1781

www.81speedway.org

Kansas Coliseum

1229 East 85th St. North

Valley Center, KS  67147-8701

(316) 755-1243

www.kansascoliseum.com

Lawrence Dumont Stadium

300 S. Sycamore

Wichita, KS 67213.

Wichita Ice Center

505 W. Maple

Wichita, KS 67213

(316) 337-9199

www.icesports.com

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Shopping

Two of the region’s largest shopping malls are the flagships of retail commerce in the Wichita area.  Antique shops are clustered in the city and in communities nearby.  There is also an abundance of specialty stores where you’ll find everything from imported coffee, to Western wear, to designer clothes.  Old Town Marketplace, a booming eight-block area of restored warehouses near downtown, offers a wide variety of shops, clubs and restaurants.  Nearby the Coleman Company operates an outlet store and museum in a former factory building of the internationally known outdoor products company.  New Market Square, one of Wichita’s newest shopping centers, has many national stores as well as restaurants nestled in the northwest area of Wichita at the corner of 21st Street North and Maize Road. New Market Square is growing to provide even more opportunities for shoppers, so make sure to keep visiting for the most recent additions to its already abundant stores and restaurants. Bradley Fair, Rock Road at 21st, features nearly 50 stores and restaurants. Bradley Fair invites visitors with fashion, flair, and fun. More than a unique shopping, dining, and entertainment experience, Bradley Fair is a regional destination with something for everyone.

Bradley Fair
Rock Road at 21st Street
Wichita, KS 67206
(316) 630-9990
www.bradleyfair.com

NewMarket Square 
PO Box 2907
Wichita, KS 67201
(316) 263-3201
www.newmarketsquare.com

Higher Education

Community Colleges
Community colleges exist for two major purposes. The first is to serve as a bridge from high school to college by providing courses for transfer toward a bachelor’s degree. Four out of 10 collegebound high-school graduates start their college education this way.

The second function of community colleges is to prepare students for the job market by offering entry-level career training as well as courses for adult students who want to upgrade their skills for the workplace. They often offer programs that are not available at four-year schools, like fashion design.

Liberal Arts Colleges
Liberal arts colleges offer a broad base of courses in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Most are private and focus mainly on undergraduate students. Classes tend to be small and personal attention is available.

Online Learning
Recent years have witnessed the rise of online degree programs, to allow the busy professional a chance to work at their own pace from the comfort of their home on the path to getting a degree. The costs to students are typically the same as for traditional classes— and financial aid is equally available—while the cost to the institution can be much less.

There are online universities ranging from legitimate distance learning systems to fly-by-night degree-mills. It’s important to research a particular institution before deciding to enroll in their system. Generally, brick-and-mortar schools that also offer online classes are the safest, though there are plenty of fully accredited online universities out there.

Nearly 3 million students are believed to be taking online classes at institutions of higher education in the United States this year. That number has been growing about 25% a year recently. Now, virtually all public higher education institutions, as well as a vast majority of private, for-profit institutions, now offer online classes. By contrast, only about half of private, nonprofit schools offer them. Online schools offer everything from Associate’s degrees to Doctoral programs with available emphases in everything from Business Administration to Criminal Justice to Nursing. Some programs require students to attend some campus classes or orientations, but many are delivered completely online. Online courses generally require a computer with a broadband connection, but are now a serious option for the busy professional.

Public vs. Private
Public colleges are usually less expensive, particularly for in-state residents. They get most of their money from the state or local government. Private colleges rely on tuition, fees, endowments, and other private sources. Private colleges are usually smaller and can offer more personalized attention and often more prestige.

Universities
Generally, a university is bigger than a college and offers more majors and research facilities. Class size often reflects institutional size and some classes may taught by graduate students.

Upper Division
Upper-division schools offer the last two years of undergraduate study, usually in specialized programs leading to a bachelor’s degree. Students then generally transfer to an upper-division college after completing an associate degree or after finishing a second year of study at a four-year college.

Higher Education
Cowley College
4501 E 47th St S
Wichita, KS 67210
(316) 978-6647

Friends University
2100 W. University St.
Wichita, Kansas 67213
(316) 295-5000

Newman University
3100 Mccormick Ave
Wichita, Kansas 67213-2097
(316) 942-4291
www.newmanu.edu

Wichita Area Technical College
301 South Grove
Wichita, Kansas 67211-2099
(316) 677-9282
www.wichitatech.com

Wichita State University
1845 Fairmount
Wichita, Kansas 67260-0113
(316) 978-3456
www.wichita.edu

Wichita Technical Institute
942 S West St
Wichita, Kansas 67213-1681
(316) 943-2241
www.wtielectronics.com

Public Schools

Wichita Public School District 
201 N Water St.
Wichita, KS
(316) 973-4000         
www.usd259.com

48,770 students are served by Kansas’s largest school district.  Other school districts serving the metropolitan area are:

Andover, USD 385
www.usd385.org

Augusta, USD 402
www.usd402.com

Cheney, USD 268
www.cheney268.com

Clearwater, USD 264
www.usd264.org

Derby, USD 260
www.derby.k12.ks.us

Goddard, USD 265
www.goddardusd.com

Haysville, USD 261
www.usd261.com

Maize, USD 266
www.usd266.com

Mulvane, USD 263
www.usd263.com

Renwick, USD 267
www.usd267.com

Rose Hill, USD 394
www.usd394.com

Valley Center, USD 262
www.usd262.net