Holcomb, Kansas
—  City  —
Location of Holcomb, Kansas
Coordinates: 37°59′2″N 100°59′10″W / 37.98389°N 100.98611°W / 37.98389; -100.98611Coordinates: 37°59′2″N 100°59′10″W / 37.98389°N 100.98611°W / 37.98389; -100.98611
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Finney
Area
• Total	1.2 sq mi (3.0 km2)
• Land	1.2 sq mi (3.0 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	2,884 ft (879 m)
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	2,094
• Density	1,700/sq mi (700/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	67851
Area code(s)	620
FIPS code	20-32575[2]
GNIS feature ID	0471611[3]
Website	City website

Holcomb is a city in Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,094.^[1]

Geography[link]

Holcomb is located at 37°59′2″N 100°59′10″W / 37.98389°N 100.98611°W / 37.98389; -100.98611 (37.983934, -100.985996)^[4]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all land.

Demographics[link]

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 2,026 people, 592 households, and 515 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,730.1 people per square mile (668.6/km²). There were 608 housing units at an average density of 519.2 per square mile (200.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.80% White, 1.09% African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 13.28% from other races, and 3.65% from mixed race.

There were 592 households out of which 65.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.9% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.0% were non-families. 10.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.42 and the average family size was 3.62.

In the city the population was spread out with 41.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 14.8% from 45 to 64, and 2.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,115, and the median income for a family was $48,587. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $22,652 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,264. About 7.6% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 26.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notoriety[link]

The town of Holcomb was thrust into national headlines on November 15, 1959, when four members of the prominent Clutter family—Herbert, 48; his wife Bonnie, 45; daughter Nancy, 16; and son Kenyon, 15—were found bound and shot to death in various rooms of their home, on the family's River Valley Farm on the outskirts of Holcomb.

Two ex-convicts, Richard ("Dick") Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, were soon arrested, tried, and convicted of the killings. It started when both Hickock and Smith were released from prison and, acting on jailhouse information by a fellow cellmate of Hickock's named Floyd Wells (who had worked for Mr. Clutter in 1948), made plans to rob the Clutter household under the mistaken belief that Mr. Clutter, according to Wells, kept thousands of dollars in cash in a safe at the residence. There was no Clutter safe, nor any substantial amount of cash in the home. Upon this discovery, and after killing the captive family to eliminate any witnesses, the pair fled with around $42, a portable radio, and one pair of binoculars. They were arrested on December 30, 1959, in Las Vegas. Following their convictions and several appeals, Hickock and Smith were hanged for their crimes on April 14, 1965.

The murders, arrests and convictions of Hickock and Smith were the basis for author Truman Capote's acclaimed book, In Cold Blood, which was serialized in The New Yorker magazine in 1965 and first published in book form in 1966. Capote actually began work on the book several days after he read a news article in a New York paper in 1959 about the murders.

The best-selling book, in turn, spawned several filmed versions of the story: director Richard Brooks' theatrical feature film In Cold Blood in 1967 starring Robert Blake, Scott Wilson and John Forsythe, and a two-part made-for-television movie of the same title starring Eric Roberts, Anthony Edwards and Sam Neill that aired on network TV in 1996. Portions of the 1967 theatrical film were shot on location in and around Holcomb and nearby Garden City, including the actual Clutter house where the crimes occurred.

The 2005 movie Capote, directed by Bennett Miller, is also about the author Truman Capote, and provides great insight into Mr. Capote, his writing of the novel, and the crimes in Holcomb. The 2006 film Infamous, starring Toby Jones as Capote, covers much of the same material.

Education[link]

The city is served by Holcomb Unified School District Number 363.

Residents are zoned to either Holcomb Elementary School (grades 4-5) or Wiley Elementary School (Preschool-3).

All residents are zoned to Holcomb Middle School and Holcomb High School.

See also[link]

• Holcomb High School
• Santa Fe Trail

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} "2010 City Population and Housing Occupancy Status". U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table. Retrieved September 5, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 

Further reading[link]

• The Story of the Marking of the Santa Fe Trail by the Daughters of the American Revolution in Kansas and the State of Kansas; Almira Cordry; Crane Co; 164 pages; 1915.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Holcomb, Kansas

Kansas portal

City

• City of Holcomb
• Holcomb - Directory of Public Officials

Schools

• USD 363, local school district

Maps

• Holcomb City Map, KDOT
• Finny County Map, KDOT

v t e Municipalities and communities of Finney County, Kansas, United States County seat: Garden City Cities Garden City Holcomb Townships Garden City Garfield Ivanhoe Pierceville Pleasant Valley Sherlock Terry Unincorporated communities Eminence Friend Gano Kalvesta Lowe Mansfield Peterson Pierceville Plymell Quinby Ravanna Ritchal Rodkey Tennis Wolf

v t e  State of Kansas Topeka (capital) Topics Index History Governors Delegations Landmarks People Places Geography Visitor Attractions Society Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Cherokee Strip Cross Timbers Dissected Till Plains East Central Four State Area Flint Hills High Plains North Central Osage Plains The Ozarks Red Hills Santa Fe Trail Region Smoky Hills Southeast Largest cities Derby Dodge City Emporia Garden City Hutchinson Junction City Kansas City Lawrence Leavenworth Leawood Lenexa Liberal Manhattan Olathe Overland Park Prairie Village Salina Shawnee Topeka Wichita Counties Allen Anderson Atchison Barber Barton Bourbon Brown Butler Chase Chautauqua Cherokee Cheyenne Clark Clay Cloud Coffey Comanche Cowley Crawford Decatur Dickinson Doniphan Douglas Edwards Elk Ellis Ellsworth Finney Ford Franklin Geary Gove Graham Grant Gray Greeley Greenwood Hamilton Harper Harvey Haskell Hodgeman Jackson Jefferson Jewell Johnson Kearny Kingman Kiowa Labette Lane Leavenworth Lincoln Linn Logan Lyon Marion Marshall McPherson Meade Miami Mitchell Montgomery Morris Morton Nemaha Neosho Ness Norton Osage Osborne Ottawa Pawnee Phillips Pottawatomie Pratt Rawlins Reno Republic Rice Riley Rooks Rush Russell Saline Scott Sedgwick Seward Shawnee Sheridan Sherman Smith Stafford Stanton Stevens Sumner Thomas Trego Wabaunsee Wallace Washington Wichita Wilson Woodson Wyandotte

State of Kansas
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Sunflower State (official); The Wheat State
Motto(s): Ad astra per aspera
Official language(s)	English[1]
Demonym	Kansan
Capital	Topeka
Largest city	Wichita
Largest metro area	Kansas portion of Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area
Area	Ranked 15th in the U.S.
- Total	82,277 sq mi (213,096 km2)
- Width	417 miles (645 km)
- Length	211 miles (340 km)
- % water	0.56
- Latitude	37° N to 40° N
- Longitude	94° 35′ W to 102° 3′ W
Population	Ranked 33rd in the U.S.
- Total	2,871,238 (2011 est)[2]
- Density	35.1/sq mi  (13.5/km2) Ranked 40th in the U.S.
- Median household income	$50,177 (25th)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mount Sunflower[3][4] 4,041 ft (1232 m)
- Mean	2,000 ft  (610 m)
- Lowest point	Verdigris River at Oklahoma border[3][4] 679 ft (207 m)
Before statehood	Kansas Territory
Admission to Union	January 29, 1861 (34th)
Governor	Sam Brownback (R)
Lieutenant Governor	Jeff Colyer (R)
Legislature	Kansas Legislature
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Pat Roberts (R) Jerry Moran (R)
U.S. House delegation	Tim Huelskamp (R) Lynn Jenkins (R) Kevin Yoder (R) Mike Pompeo (R) (list)
Time zones
- most of state	Central: UTC-6/-5
- 4 western counties	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Abbreviations	KS US-KS
Website	www.kansas.gov

Kansas (ⁱ/ˈkænzəs/) is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States.^[5] It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area.^[6] The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was probably not the term's original meaning.^[7][8] Residents of Kansas are called "Kansans."

For thousands of years what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the Eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the Western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. Kansas was first settled by European Americans in the 1830s, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue. When officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine if Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, and was known as Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists eventually prevailed and on January 29, 1861,^[9][10] Kansas entered the Union as a free state. After the Civil War, the population of Kansas grew rapidly, when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland. Today, Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, sorghum and sunflowers.^[11] Kansas is the 15th most extensive and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States.

History[link]

For millennia, the land that is currently Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. The first European to set foot in present-day Kansas was Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, who explored the area in 1541.

In 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Southwest Kansas, however, was still a part of Spain, Mexico, and the Republic of Texas until the conclusion of the Mexican-American War in 1848. From 1812 to 1821, Kansas was part of the Missouri Territory. The Santa Fe Trail traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880, transporting manufactured goods from Missouri and silver and furs from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Wagon ruts from the trail are still visible in the prairie today.

In 1827, Fort Leavenworth became the first permanent settlement of white Americans in the future state. The Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 30, 1854, establishing the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas, and opening the area to broader settlement by whites. Kansas Territory stretched all the way to the Continental Divide and included the sites of present-day Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo.

Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence, Kansas

Missouri and Arkansas sent settlers into Kansas all along its eastern border. These settlers attempted to sway votes in favor of slavery. The secondary settlement of Americans in Kansas Territory were abolitionists from Massachusetts and other Free-Staters, who attempted to stop the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri. Directly presaging the American Civil War, these forces collided, entering into skirmishes that earned the territory the name of Bleeding Kansas.

Kansas was admitted to the United States as a slave-free state on January 29, 1861, making it the 34th state to enter the Union. By that time the violence in Kansas had largely subsided. But, during the Civil War, on August 21, 1863, William Quantrill led several hundred men on a raid into Lawrence, destroying much of the city and killing nearly 200 people. He was roundly condemned by both the conventional Confederate military and the partisan rangers commissioned by the Missouri legislature. His application to that body for a commission was flatly rejected due to his pre-war criminal record.^[12]

After the Civil War, many veterans constructed homesteads in Kansas. Many African Americans also looked to Kansas as the land of "John Brown" and, led by freedmen like Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, began establishing black colonies in the state. Leaving southern states in the late 1870s because of increasing discrimination, they became known as Exodusters.

At the same time, the Chisholm Trail was opened and the Wild West-era commenced in Kansas. Wild Bill Hickok was a deputy marshal at Fort Riley and a marshal at Hays and Abilene. Dodge City was another wild cowboy town, and both Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp worked as lawmen in the town. In one year alone, 8 million head of cattle from Texas boarded trains in Dodge City bound for the East, earning Dodge the nickname "Queen of the Cowtowns."

In part as a response to the violence perpetrated by cowboys, on February 19, 1881 Kansas became the first U.S. state to adopt a Constitutional amendment prohibiting all alcoholic beverages.

Geography[link]

Kanopolis State Park.

Flint Hills in Wabaunsee County

Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. The state is divided into 105 counties with 628 cities, and is located equidistant from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located in Smith County near Lebanon. The geodetic center of North America was located in Meades Ranch, Kansas, Osborne County until 1983. This spot was used until that date as the central reference point for all maps of North America produced by the U.S. government. The geographic center of Kansas is located in Barton County.

Geology[link]

Kansas is underlain by a sequence of horizontal to gently westward dipping sedimentary rocks. A sequence of Mississippian, Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks underlie the eastern and southern part of the state. The western half of the state consists of Cretaceous through Tertiary sediments derived from the erosion of the uplifted Rocky Mountains to the west. The northeastern corner of the state was subjected to glaciation in the Pleistocene and is covered by glacial drift and loess.

Topography[link]

The western two-thirds of the state, lying in the great central plain of the United States, has a generally flat or undulating surface, while the eastern third has many hills and forests. The land gradually rises from east to west; its altitude ranges from 684 ft (208 m) along the Verdigris River at Coffeyville in Montgomery County, to 4,039 ft (1,231 m) at Mount Sunflower, one half mile from the Colorado border, in Wallace County. It is a popular belief that Kansas is the flattest state in the nation, reinforced by a well-known 2003 study^[13] stating that Kansas was indeed "flatter than a pancake".^[14] This has since been called into question, with most scientists ranking Kansas somewhere between 20th and 30th flattest state, depending on measurement method. Its average elevation is 2,000 feet, higher than 36 states.^[15]

Rivers[link]

Spring River, Kansas

The Missouri River forms nearly 75 mi (121 km) of the state's northeastern boundary. The Kansas River (locally known as the Kaw), formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers at appropriately-named Junction City, joins the Missouri at Kansas City, after a course of 170 mi (270 km) across the northeastern part of the state. The Arkansas River (pronunciation varies), rising in Colorado, flows with a bending course for nearly 500 mi (800 km) across the western and southern parts of the state. It forms, with its tributaries (the Little Arkansas, Ninnescah, Walnut, Cow Creek, Cimarron, Verdigris, and the Neosho), the southern drainage system of the state. Other important rivers are the Saline and Solomon Rivers, tributaries of the Smoky Hill River; the Big Blue, Delaware, and Wakarusa, which flow into the Kansas River; and the Marais des Cygnes, a tributary of the Missouri River. Spring River is located between Riverton (Fuglies), Kansas and Baxter Springs, Kansas.

National parks and historic sites[link]

Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include:^[16]

• Brown v. Board Of Education National Historic Site in Topeka
• California National Historic Trail
• Fort Larned National Historic Site in Larned
• Fort Scott National Historic Site
• Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
• Nicodemus National Historic Site at Nicodemus
• Oregon National Historic Trail
• Pony Express National Historic Trail
• Santa Fe National Historic Trail
• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City

Climate[link]

Kansas contains three climatic types, according to the Köppen climate classification: it has humid continental, semi-arid steppe, and humid subtropical. The eastern two-thirds of the state (especially the northeastern portion) has a humid continental climate, with cool to cold winters and hot, often humid summers. Most of the precipitation falls in the summer and spring. The western third of the state – from about the U.S. Route 281 corridor westward – has a semiarid steppe climate. Summers are hot, often very hot, and generally less humid. Winters are highly changeable between warm and very cold. The western region receives an average of about 16 inches (410 mm) of precipitation per year. Chinook winds in the winter can warm western Kansas all the way into the 80 °F (27 °C) range. The far south-central and southeastern reaches of the state have a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers, milder winters and more precipitation than the rest of the state. Although not strictly falling in all of the zones, some features of all three climates can be found in most of the state, with droughts and changeable weather between dry and humid not uncommon, and both warm and cold spells in the winter.

Precipitation ranges from about 47 inches (1200 mm) annually in the southeast of the state, to about 16 inches (400 mm) in the southwest. Snowfall ranges from around 5 inches (130 mm) in the fringes of the south, to 35 inches (900 mm) in the far northwest. Frost-free days range from more than 200 days in the south, to 130 days in the northwest. Thus, Kansas is the 9th or 10th sunniest state in the country, depending on the source. Western Kansas is as sunny as California and Arizona.

Kansas is prone to severe weather, especially in the spring and early summer. In spite of the frequent sunshine throughout much of the state, due to its location at a climatic boundary prone to multiple air masses the state is vulnerable to strong and severe thunderstorms . Many of these storms become Supercell thunderstorms. These can spawn tornadoes, often of EF3 strength or higher. According to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center, Kansas has reported more tornadoes (for the period January 1, 1950 through October 31, 2006) than any state except for Texas – marginally even more than Oklahoma. It has also – along with Alabama – reported more F5 or EF5 tornadoes than any other state. These are the most powerful of all tornadoes. Kansas averages over 50 tornadoes annually.^[17] Severe thunderstorms sometimes drop very large Hail over Kansas as well as bringing flash flooding and damaging straight line winds.

According to NOAA, the all-time highest temperature recorded in Kansas is 121 °F (49.4 °C) on July 24, 1936, near Alton, and the all-time low is −40 °F (−40 °C) on February 13, 1905, near Lebanon.

Kansas's record high of 121 °F (49.4 °C) ties with North Dakota for the fifth-highest record high in an American state, behind California (134 °F/56.7 °C), Arizona (128 °F/53.3 °C), Nevada (125 °F/51.7 °C), and New Mexico (122 °F/50 °C).

Demographics[link]

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Kansas was 2,871,238 on July 1, 2011, a 0.6% increase since the 2010 United States Census.^[2]

According to the 2010 Census, 83.8% of the population was White (78.2% non-Hispanic white), 5.9% was Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 3.0% from two or more races. 10.5% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (they may be of any race).^[19]

As of 2007, Kansas had an estimated population of 2,775,997, an increase of 20,180, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 87,579, or 3.3%, since the year 2000.^[20] This includes a natural increase since the last census of 93,899 people (that is 246,484 births minus 152,585 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 20,742 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 44,847 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 65,589 people.^[21] The population density of the state is 52.9 people per square mile.^[22] The center of population of Kansas is located in Chase County, at 38°27′N 96°32′W / 38.45°N 96.533°W / 38.45; -96.533, approximately three miles north of the community of Strong City.^[23]

Population pyramid

As of 2004, the population included 149,800 foreign-born (5.5% of the state population). The ten largest reported ancestry groups, which account for over 85% of the population, in the state are: German (33.75%), Irish (14.4%), English (14.1%), American (7.5%), French (4.4%), Scottish (4.2%), Dutch (2.5%), Swedish (2.4%), Italian (1.8%), and Polish (1.5%).^[24] People of German ancestry are especially strong in the northwest, while those of English ancestry and descendants of white Americans from other states are especially strong in the southeast. Mexicans are present in the southwest and make up nearly half the population in certain counties. Many African Americans in Kansas are descended from the Exodusters, newly freed blacks who fled the South for land in Kansas following the Civil War.

Religion[link]

The 2008 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed the religious makeup of Kansas was as follows:

• Christian 86%
  • Protestant 53.7%
    • United Methodist 13.3%
    • Baptist 12.8%
    • Non-denominational Protestant 6.4%
    • Lutheran 5.9%
    • Restorationist 5.5%
    • Presbyterian 4.3%
    • Episcopalian/Anglican 2.4%
  • Roman Catholic 29%
  • Latter Day Saints/Mormons 2%
  • Jehovah's Witness 2%
  • Non denominational 1%
  • Other Christian 3%
• Non-religious 9%
• Jewish 2%
• Other 2%

As of the year 2000, the RCMS^[25] reported that the three largest denominational groups in Kansas are Mainline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, and Catholic. The Catholic Church has the highest number of adherents in Kansas (at 405,844), followed by the United Methodist Church with 206,187 members reported and the Southern Baptist Convention, reporting 101,696 adherents.

Though small, the Kansas Baha'i community has the distinction of being the second in the western hemisphere, founded in 1897 in Enterprise, Kansas.^[26]

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 bar:1860rural  text:1860
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 bar:space10
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 bar:1960rural  text:1960
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 bar:1980rural  text:1980
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 bar:space14
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 bar:2000rural  text:2000
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 width:5  mark:none

 bar:1860urban  color:urban  from:0  till:10.045
   at:end  align:right  shift:(0,7)  text:Pop.
   at:end  align:left  shift:(2,7)  text:(thousands)
 bar:1860rural  color:rural  from:0  till:97.161
 bar:1870urban  color:urban  from:0  till:51.870
 bar:1870rural  color:rural  from:0  till:312.529
 bar:1880urban  color:urban  from:0  till:104.956
 bar:1880rural  color:rural  from:0  till:891.140
 bar:1890urban  color:urban  from:0  till:269.539
 bar:1890rural  color:rural  from:0  till:1158.569
 bar:1900urban  color:urban  from:0  till:329.696
 bar:1900rural  color:rural  from:0  till:1140.799
 bar:1910urban  color:urban  from:0  till:492.312
 bar:1910rural  color:rural  from:0  till:1198.637
 bar:1920urban  color:urban  from:0  till:616.485
 bar:1920rural  color:rural  from:0  till:1152.772
 bar:1930urban  color:urban  from:0  till:729.834
 bar:1930rural  color:rural  from:0  till:1151.165
 bar:1940urban  color:urban  from:0  till:753.941
 bar:1940rural  color:rural  from:0  till:1047.087
 bar:1950urban  color:urban  from:0  till:993.220
 bar:1950rural  color:rural  from:0  till:912.079
 bar:1960urban  color:urban  from:0  till:1328.741
 bar:1960rural  color:rural  from:0  till:849.870
 bar:1970urban  color:urban  from:0  till:1484.870
 bar:1970rural  color:rural  from:0  till:761.708
 bar:1980urban  color:urban  from:0  till:1575.899
 bar:1980rural  color:rural  from:0  till:787.780
 bar:1990urban  color:urban  from:0  till:1712.564
 bar:1990rural  color:rural  from:0  till:765.010
 bar:2000urban  color:urban  from:0  till:1920.669
 bar:2000rural  color:rural  from:0  till:767.749

 bar:pctaxis  width:0.5  color:black  from:start  till:end
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 at:1000  text:50
 at:1500  text:75
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 points:(51,28)(68,35) # 9.4 to 14.2
 points:(68,35)(86,30) # 14.2 to 10.5
 points:(86,30)(103,42) # 10.5 to 18.9
 points:(103,42)(121,48) # 18.9 to 22.4
 points:(121,48)(138,58) # 22.4 to 29.1
 points:(138,58)(156,66) # 29.1 to 34.8
 points:(156,66)(173,72) # 34.8 to 38.8
 points:(173,72)(191,77) # 38.8 to 41.9
 points:(191,77)(208,92) # 41.9 to 52.1
 points:(208,92)(226,106) # 52.1 to 61.0
 points:(226,106)(243,113) # 61.0 to 66.1
 points:(243,113)(261,114) # 66.1 to 66.7
 points:(261,114)(278,118) # 66.7 to 69.1
 points:(278,118)(296,121) # 69.1 to 71.4

In 2012 it was reported there has been a growth in Mormons and Catholics.^[27]

Rural flight[link]

Kansas is one of the slowest-growing states in the nation. Known as a rural flight, the last few decades have been marked by a migratory pattern out of the countryside into cities.

Out of all the cities in these Midwestern states, 89% have fewer than 3,000 people, and hundreds of those have fewer than 1,000. In Kansas alone, there are more than 6,000 ghost towns and dwindling communities,^[28] according to one Kansas historian, Daniel C. Fitzgerald.

At the same time, some of the communities in Johnson County (metropolitan Kansas City) are among the fastest-growing in the country.

Economy[link]

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the total GDP in 2008 was $122.7 billion, making it the United States's 32nd highest state by GDP.^[29] Per capita personal income in 2008 was $35,013. As of January 2010, the states unemployment rate is 6.4%.^[30]

The agricultural outputs of the state are cattle, sheep, wheat, sorghum, soybeans, cotton, hogs, corn, and salt. Eastern Kansas is part of the Grain Belt, an area of major grain production in the central United States. The industrial outputs are transportation equipment, commercial and private aircraft, food processing, publishing, chemical products, machinery, apparel, petroleum and mining.

Kansas ranks 8th in U.S. oil production. Production has experienced a steady, natural decline as it becomes increasingly difficult to extract oil over time. Since oil prices bottomed in 1999, oil production in Kansas has remained fairly constant, with an average monthly rate of about 2.8 million barrels (450,000 m³) in 2004. The recent higher prices have made carbon dioxide sequestration and other oil recovery techniques more economical.

Kansas ranks 8th in U.S. natural gas production. Production has steadily declined since the mid-1990s with the gradual depletion of the Hugoton Natural Gas Field—the state's largest field which extends into Oklahoma and Texas. In 2004, slower declines in the Hugoton gas fields and increased coalbed methane production contributed to a smaller overall decline. Average monthly production was over 32 billion cubic feet (0.9 km³).

The Kansas economy is also heavily influenced by the aerospace industry. Several large aircraft corporations have manufacturing facilities in Wichita and Kansas City, including Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing, Cessna, Learjet, and Hawker Beechcraft (formerly Raytheon).

Major company headquarters in Kansas include the Sprint Nextel Corporation (with world headquarters in Overland Park), Embarq (with national headquarters in Overland Park), YRC Worldwide (Overland Park), Garmin (Olathe), Payless Shoes (national headquarters and major distribution facilities in Topeka), and Koch Industries (with national headquarters in Wichita).

Taxes[link]

Kansas has three income brackets for income tax calculation, ranging from 3.5% to 6.45%. The state sales tax in Kansas is 6.3%. Various cities and counties in Kansas have an additional local sales tax. Except during the 2001 recession (March–November 2001) when monthly sales tax collections were flat, collections have trended higher as the economy has grown and two rate increases have been enacted. Total sales tax collections for 2003 amounted to $1.63 billion, compared to $805.3 million in 1990.

Revenue shortfalls resulting from lower than expected tax collections and slower growth in personal income following a 1998 permanent tax reduction has contributed to the substantial growth in the state's debt level as bonded debt increased from $1.16 billion in 1998 to $3.83 billion in 2006. Some increase in debt was expected as the state continues with its 10-year Comprehensive Transportation Program enacted in 1999. As of June 2004, Moody's Investors Service ranked the state 14th for net tax-supported debt per capita. As a percentage of personal income, it was at 3.8%—above the median value of 2.5% for all rated states and having risen from a value of less than 1% in 1992. The state has a statutory requirement to maintain cash reserves of at least 7.5% of expenses at the end of each fiscal year, however, lawmakers can vote to override the rule, and did so during the most recent budget agreement.

Transportation[link]

Interstate 35 as it enters Kansas in Rosedale.

Kansas is served by two Interstate highways with one beltway, two spur routes, and three bypasses, with over a total of 874 miles (1,407 km) in all. The first section of Interstate in the nation was opened on I-70 just west of Topeka on November 14, 1956. I-70 is a major east/west route connecting to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, in the east and Denver, Colorado, in the west. Cities along this route (from east to west) include Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, Junction City, Salina, Hays, and Colby. I-35 is a major north/south route connecting to Des Moines, Iowa, in the north and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the south. Cities along this route (from north to south) include Kansas City (and suburbs), Ottawa, Emporia, El Dorado, and Wichita.

Spur routes serve as connections between the two major routes. I-135, a north/south route, connects I-70 at Salina to I-35 at Wichita. I-335, a northeast/southwest route, connects I-70 at Topeka to I-35 at Emporia. I-335 and portions of I-35 and I-70 make up the Kansas Turnpike. Bypasses include I-470 around Topeka and I-235 around Wichita. I-435 is a beltway around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area while I-635 bypasses through Kansas City, Kansas.

US Route 69 runs north and south, from Minnesota to Texas. The highway passes through the eastern section of Kansas, from the Kansas City area, through Louisburg, Fort Scott, Frontenac, Pittsburg, and Baxter Springs before entering Oklahoma.

Map of the Kansas road system.

Kansas also has the second largest state highway system in the country after California. This is because of the high number of counties and county seats (105) and the intertwining of them all.

In January 2004, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced the new Kansas 511 traveler information service.^[32] By dialing 511, callers will get access to information about road conditions, construction, closures, detours and weather conditions for the state highway system. Weather and road condition information is updated every 15 minutes.

The state's only major commercial (Class C) airport is Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, located along US-54 on the western edge of the city. Manhattan Regional Airport in Manhattan offers daily flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, making it the second-largest commercial airport in the state.^[33] Most air travelers in northeastern Kansas fly out of Kansas City International Airport, located in Platte County, Missouri. For those in the far western part of the state, Denver International Airport is a popular option. Connecting flights are also available from smaller Kansas airports in Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays, Hutchinson, and Salina. Forbes Field in Topeka sustained commercial flights on Allegiant Air for short period of time until that service was terminated in 2007.

Law and government[link]

State and local politics[link]

Kathleen Sebelius accepting her nomination by President Barack Obama as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Executive branch: The executive branch consists of six elected officers. The Governor and Lt Governor are elected on the same slate, the Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and State Insurance Commissioner are elected separately. The six top executive offices of Kansas are all Republican. Governor Sam Brownback and Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer were elected in 2010 on the same ticket to a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms. Also elected in 2010 were the Attorney General Derek Schmidt of Independence; the Secretary of State Kris Kobach, of Piper; the State Treasurer Ron Estes, of Wichita; and the Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, of Topeka.

Legislative branch: The bicameral Kansas Legislature consists of the Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 members serving two-year terms, and the Kansas Senate, with 40 members serving four-year terms. Currently, 32 of the 40 Senators are Republican and 92 of the 125 Representatives are Republican.

Judicial branch: The Judicial branch of the state government is headed by the Kansas Supreme Court. The court has seven judges. A vacancy is filled by the Governor picking one of three nominees selected by a 9-member judicial selection board. The board consists of five Kansas lawyers elected by other Kansas lawyers and four members selected by the Governor.