🌾 How big is Wichita, really?

July 26, 2023 | Sign Up | Support Us

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Wichita!

Well, the Aftershocks run didn't end the way we hoped, but we did set a new record of 7202 for the largest crowd in the history of the TBT. It goes without saying that Wichita is the official home of the TBT.

In today's Wichita Life Update

How big is Wichita?
Greater Wichita Region or Area
How do we stack up?

Let's get to it!

- Landon Huslig

TOGETHER WITH THE CITY OF WICHITA

Wichita Q-Line | Free Downtown Transportation Services

It's hot out this week.

So hot that the City of Wichita is stepping in to provide relief.

Starting today (Wednesday 7/26) through Saturday 7/29, Wichita residents can ride the Wichita Transit for FREE.

The free, air-conditioned Q-LINE runs Monday through Saturday 6:15am - 11pm with stops at the Advanced Learning Library and City museums.

Other great resources around town include:

Wichita Public Libraries
Neighborhood Resource Centers with water and AC
and more

Learn More Here

How big is Wichita?

Wichita is the largest city in Kansas, but how big is it really? Or what about the “Greater Wichita Area”?

There a few ways to slice it, but here is how we will break it down:

City of Wichita
Sedgwick County
Greater Wichita Region or Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
Suburbs

City of Wichita

Wichita is among the top 50 largest cities in the US (sometimes higher, sometimes lower) with ~400,000 people (2019 estimated stat) made up of 191,162 households (2020 estimated stat).

Wichita, Kansas Population History | 1920 - 2022 — Wichita Population Growth via Biggest US Cities

It is projected to grow to 429,380 by 2035.

For a frame of reference, the cities closest in size to Wichita include Bakersfield, California; Arlington Texas; Aurora Colorado; Tampa, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Sedgwick County

Wichita lies within the Sedgwick County boundaries along with 19 smaller cities.

The total population of the county is 516,042, by far the biggest of the counties in the area.

2010: 499,128

2019: 516,042 (+3.4%)

2040 (Projected): 605,262 (+17.3%)

Greater Wichita Area

You’ve probably heard of the “Greater Wichita Area” or Greater Wichita Region, but what does that actually mean?

It’s a bit confusing, but I’ll do my best to simplify.

The Greater Wichita Region consists of 10 counties:

Butler, Cowley, Harper, Kingman, Marion, Mcpherson, Reno, Sedgwick, and Sumner

Greater Wichita Region (10 counties): Population (in 2019) was 790,138 and projected to grow to 871,522 by 2035.

The Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is defined differently depending on where you look.

If you look on the Wichita.gov website, it appears they define the MSA the same as the above Greater Wichita Region (i.e. 10 counties)
If you look on the GreaterWichitaPartnership.com, the MSA is defined by the Center for Economic Development and Business includes the following 5 counties:
- Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, Kingman, Sumner

MSA (5 counties): Population (in 2019) was 640,218 and increased by ~10.2% / 59,307 people from 2000 to 2019.

Note: The Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area is defined differently yet again by the United States Office of Management and Budget. In that case it includes Butler, Harvey, Sedgwick, and Sumner Counties (excluding Kingman from the above list - see Red counties below).

Wichita metropolitan area, Kansas - Wikipedia — Yellow County is Cowley County

To make it more confusing, they also bunch it up with the Winfield Micropolitan Statistical Area to create a “Wichita-Winfield CSA”.

Suburbs

Wichita is the largest city in Kansas, but it is surrounded by many suburbs. Let’s take a look at the size of these surrounding towns. These numbers are based on the 2020 census.