Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 156,607, making it one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is situated at Kaw Point, the junction of the Missouri and Kansas rivers. It is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified Government". It is the location of the University of Kansas Medical Center and Kansas City Kansas Community College.
History
Kansas City can trace its origins back to the earlier city of Wyandotte, which was incorporated by an act of the Kansas Territorial legislature on January 29, 1859. In October 1872, "old" Kansas City, Kansas, was incorporated under its current name. The first city election was held on October 22 of that year by order of Judge Hiram Stevens of the Tenth Judicial District and resulted in the election of Mayor James Boyle. The mayors of the city after its organization were James Boyle, C. A. Eidemiller, A. S. Orbison, Eli Teed, and Samuel McConnell. In June 1880, the Governor of Kansas, John St. John, proclaimed the city of Kansas City a city of the second class with Mayor McConnell present.In March 1886, "new" Kansas City, Kansas, was formed through the consolidation of five municipalities: "old" Kansas City, Armstrong, Armourdale, Riverview, and Wyandotte. The oldest city of the group was Wyandotte, which was formed in 1857 by Wyandot Native Americans and Methodist missionaries.
In the 1890s, the city saw an explosive growth in population as a streetcar suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. This growth continued until the 1930s. It was one of the nation's 100 largest cities for many U.S. Census counts, from 1890 to 1960, including 1920, when it had a population of over 100,000 residents for the first time.
As with adjacent Kansas City, Missouri, the percentage of the city's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic White, has declined from 76.3% in 1970 to 40.2% in 2010. In 1997, voters approved a proposition to unify the city and county governments, creating the Unified Government of Wyandotte County.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, is land and is water.Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods of Kansas City, Kansas, include the following:- Downtown
- Argentine – former home to the silver smelter for which it was named; it was consolidated with Kansas City in 1910
- Armourdale – formerly a city, it was consolidated with the city of Kansas City in 1886
- Armstrong – a small town sitting on the northern bluff of the Kansas River, absorbed in the merger of Wyandotte, Kansas City, and Armourdale
- Arrickary Subdivision
- Bethel – a neighborhood located generally along Leavenworth Rd., between 72nd and 77th Streets. It was never incorporated as a municipality
- Fairfax District – an industrial area along the Missouri River
- Hanover Heights
- Historic Westheight
- Muncie
- Maywood – until the late 1990s, Maywood was a quiet, isolated residential area; it is now part of the "Village West" project that includes the Legends shopping and entertainment district, the Sporting Park soccer stadium, Monarchs' Community America baseball park, the Kansas Speedway racetrack and Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway
- McGrew Grove
- Nearman
- Northeast Neighborhoods
- Parkwood
- Piper
- Polish Hill
- Pomeroy – a late-19thearly-20th-century Train Depot, Trading Post, Saw Mill, and river landing for barges to load and unload
- Quindaro Bluffs
- Riverview – like Armstrong, a small town on the northern river bluff, absorbed in the merger of Wyandotte, Kansas City, and Armourdale
- Rosedale – consolidated with Kansas City in 1922
- Stony Point
- Strawberry Hill
- Turner – community around the Wyandotte-Johnson County border to the Kansas River north-south, and from I-635 to I-435 east-west
- Vinewood
- Wolcott
- Welborn
Parks and parkways
- City Park
- Wyandotte County Lake Park
- Big Eleven Park
- Boston Daniels' Park
- Kaw Point Park
Climate
Kansas City is situated on the edge of the "Tornado Alley", a broad region where cold air from the Rocky Mountains in Canada collides with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the formation of powerful storms, especially during the spring. A few areas of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area have had some severe outbreaks of tornadoes at different points in the past, including the Ruskin Heights tornado in 1957, the May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence, and the Tornado Outbreak Sequence of May 2019. The region can also fall victim to sporadic ice storms during the winter months, such as the 2002 ice storm during which hundreds of thousands lost power for days and weeks. Kansas City and its outlying areas are also subject to flooding, including the Great Flood of 1951 and the Great Flood of 1993.
Demographics
| Historical racial profile | 2020 | 2010 | 1990 | 1970 | 1950 |
| White | 41.0% | 52.2% | 65.0% | 78.9% | 79.4% |
| —Non-Hispanic | 34.5% | 40.2% | 61.9% | 76.3% | N/A |
| Black or African American | 21.5% | 26.8% | 15.8% | 10.7% | 9.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 34.6% | 27.8% | 7.1% | 3.2% | N/A |
| Asian | 4.85% | 2.7% | 1.2% | 0.1% | − |
2020 census
The 2020 United States census counted 156,607 people, 57,079 households, and 36,392 families in Kansas City. The population density was 1,255.5 per square mile. There were 63,446 housing units at an average density of 508.6 per square mile.The U.S. Census accounts for race by two methodologies. "Race alone" and "Race alone less Hispanics" where Hispanics are delineated separately as if a separate race.
The racial makeup was 40.98% white or European American, 21.53% black or African-American, 1.14% Native American or Alaska Native, 4.85% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 16.07% from other races, and 15.2% from two or more races.
The racial and ethnic makeup was 34.46% White alone, 21.14% Black alone, 0.40% Native American alone, 4.80% Asian alone, 0.22% Pacific Islander alone, 0.34% Other Race alone, 4.07% Multiracial or Mixed Race, and 34.57% Hispanic or Latino.
Of the 57,079 households, 34.9% had children under the age of 18; 38.2% were married couples living together; 30.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 29.2% of households consisted of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.7, and the average family size was 3.5. The percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was estimated to be 12.0% of the population.
27.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 101.8 males.
The 2016–2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $46,424 and the median family income was $54,955. Males had a median income of $32,908 versus $26,001 for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $29,809. Approximately, 15.5% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.6% of those ages 65 or over.
2010 census
According to the 2010 census, there were 145,786 people, 53,925 households, and 35,112 families residing in the city.The population density was. There were 61,969 housing units at an average density of. The median age in the city was 32.5 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.7% were from 45 to 64; and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.
There were 53,925 households, of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.1% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.9% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.32.
The racial composition of Kansas City, Kansas, as of 2010, was as follows:
- White: 52.2%
- Black or African American: 26.8%
- Native American: 0.8%
- Asian: 2.7%
- Pacific Islander: 0.1%
- Other races: 13.6%
- Two or more races: 3.8%
- Hispanic or Latino : 27.8%
- Non-Hispanic Whites: 40.2%