Wichita, Kansas
| Wichita, Kansas | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Wichita Lily Wu | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2023 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2027 |
| Last city council election: | 2025 |
| Next city council election: | 2027 |
| City council seats: | 7[1] |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 397,532 |
| Race: | White 63.4% African American 11% Asian 5.1% Native American 1.3% Pacific Islander 0.1% Multiple 11.7% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 18.3% |
| Median household income: | $63,072 |
| High school graduation rate: | 88% |
| College graduation rate: | 30.9% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau,2020 census and2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Wichita offices | |
| Kansas Congressional Delegation Kansas State Legislature Kansas state executive offices | |
Wichita is a city inSedgwick County, Kansas. The city's population was 397,532 as of 2020, according to theUnited States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also:Council-manager government
The city of Wichita utilizes a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[2]
Mayor
The mayor presides over city council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[3] The current Mayor of Wichita isLily Wu (nonpartisan). Wu assumed office in 2024.
City manager
The city manager is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, planning and implementing the city's operating budget, and appointing departmental directors and other senior-level positions.[2]
City council
The Wichita City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, appointing board and commission members, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[4]
The Wichita City Council is made up of seven members. Six are elected by the city's six districts, while the mayor is elected at large.[4]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords thatVoterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Wichita, Kansas.
Mayoral partisanship
Wichita has a mayor who identifies as a Libertarian. As of February 2026, 67 mayors in thelargest 100 cities by population are affiliated with theDemocratic Party, 22 are affiliated with theRepublican Party, one is affiliated with theLibertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown.Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2025
The city ofWichita, Kansas, held general elections for city council on November 4, 2025. A primary was scheduled for August 5, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was June 2, 2025.
2023
The city ofWichita, Kansas, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 7, 2023. A primary was scheduled for August 1, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was June 1, 2023.
2021
The city ofWichita, Kansas, held general elections for city council on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for August 3, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was June 1, 2021.
2019
2017
The city ofWichita, Kansas, held elections forcity council on November 7, 2017. A primary took place on August 1, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was June 1, 2017. Three of seven council seats were up for election.
2015
The city ofWichita, Kansas, held elections formayor and city council onApril 7, 2015. A primary took place on March 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 27, 2015. Three of the six city council seats were up for election.[5]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Wichita | |
|---|---|
| Wichita | |
| Population | 397,532 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 162 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 66.6% |
| Black/African American | 9.7% |
| Asian | 4.9% |
| Native American | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | 5.5% |
| Multiple | 12.4% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 18.4% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 88% |
| College graduation rate | 30.9% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $63,072 |
| Persons below poverty level | 15.9% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau,"American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the censushere. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal calendar years running from January 1 to December 31. The city manager presents a budget proposal to the city council, who is responsible for adopting the budget after holding public hearings.[6][7]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by theLincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[8]
| “ | FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[9] | ” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[10] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[8]
Wichita, Kansas, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
455 N Main, 1st Floor
Wichita, KS 67202
Phone: 316-268-4331
City Clerk's office
455 N Main, 13th Floor
Wichita, KS 67202
Phone: 316-268-4529
Clickhere for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Wichita is inSedgwick County. A list of ballot measures in Sedgwick County is availablehere.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Wichita, following the death of George Floyd. Events inWichita, Kansas, began on Saturday, May 30, 2020, at the 21st Street police department station.[11] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, theMovement Advancement Project described Wichita, Kansas, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of71 ofAmerica's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[12]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
- ↑2.02.1City of Wichita, "City Manager's Office - What We Do," accessed August 25, 2021
- ↑City of Wichita, "Dr. Brandon Whipple, Mayor," accessed August 25, 2021
- ↑4.04.1City of Wichita, "City Council," accessed August 25, 2021
- ↑Email correspondence with Sandra L. Gritz, Chief Deputy Election Commissioner of Sedgwick County, Kansas, on September 12, 2014.
- ↑City of Wichita, "2024-2025 Budget Process," accessed August 28, 2023
- ↑City of Wichita, "2024-2025 Proposed Budget," accessed August 28, 2023
- ↑8.08.1Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 28, 2023
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 28, 2023
- ↑The Sunflower, "‘Justice for Floyd:’ Protesters rally at Wichita police station near WSU," May 30, 2020
- ↑Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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