AreaProfile

Wichita, Kansas

Area Profile

397,945 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Wichita, in Sedgwick County.

68
Area Score
Top 20% of 133 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity91st of 139 published cities50
GrowthTop 26% of 134 published cities63
Housing affordabilityTop 1% of 150 published cities100
Climate110th of 149 published cities63
Physical resilienceTop 34% of 150 published cities67
Access58th of 149 published cities97
Economic stability98th of 150 published cities50
The quick read

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 18% of median household income.

A major airport is 6 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 68 places Wichita in the top 20% of published city profiles.

At a glance

Population
397,945
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$64,620
Bottom 47% nationally
Density
2,411/sq mi
165.1 sq mi of land
Median age
35.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Sedgwick County
Kansas
Metro area
Wichita, KS
Nearest major airport
ICT
6 mi · Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower Ntl
Median home value
$190,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.5% is lower than 53% of the 140 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.6% over the past year, to 197,585 employed residents.

31% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 71% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,440$64,620Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,088$36,960Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.9%Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute19.8 minBottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher31.1%Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment197,585Top 35%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.3%Top 48%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.6%Bottom 30%June 2026
Labor force206,828Top 35%June 2026
Labor force participation65.8%Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,830Bottom 9%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,630Bottom 24%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.2%Top 45%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.5%Bottom 47%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/065.72.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.5% in June 2026.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202465k56k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $64,620 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Wichita, KS
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers11,580$27,420
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers9,460$59,850
Retail Salespersons7,530$30,760
Registered Nurses7,460$76,540
Cashiers7,070$28,430
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive6,290$41,480

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $975 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.0 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
18.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$975
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$190,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.95Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate58.9%Bottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±817176,411Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$16$975Top 50%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,295$190,800Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.1%Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.1%Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
63/ 100
Top 26% of 134 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 2 consecutive years, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 400,991 in 2024.

At 5.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
2,090
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.3
Top 38% nationally
Year over year
+51%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024401k396k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420252k836
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+83%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 34.3 inches, including 12.7 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WICHITA, 5.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation34.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall12.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing48°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

67 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and heat wave.

Ice stormModerate
TornadoModerate
HailElevated
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate
Inland floodingModerate
WildfireModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, strong wind, earthquake, drought, landslide, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 6 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower NtlICT6 mi10,302 ft
Beech FactoryBEC7 mi8,001 ft
Enid Woodring RgnlWDG94 mi8,613 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
68
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Wichita

6 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
6721242,902$68,14569
6721732,603$55,56565
6720330,710$52,02865
6720727,414$67,88969
6721823,383$49,05965
6721623,254$48,902