Wichita, Kansas

General information

Mayor of Wichita Lily Wu
Nonpartisan
Assumed office: January 8, 2024

Last mayoral election:| 2023
Next mayoral election:| 2027
Last city council election:| 2023
Next city council election:| 2025
City council seats:| 7[1]
City website
Composition data
Population:| 397,532
Race:| White 63.4%
African American 11.0%
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:| 88.0%
College graduation rate:| 30.9%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 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 in Sedgwick County, Kansas. The city's population was 397,532 as of 2020, according to the United 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

## Contents

* 1 City government
* 1.1 Mayor
* 1.2 City manager
* 1.3 City council
* 1.4 Other elected officials
* 2 Mayoral partisanship
* 3 Elections
* 3.1 2025
* 3.2 2023
* 3.3 2021
* 3.4 2019
* 3.5 2017
* 3.6 2015
* 4 Census information
* 5 Budget
* 5.1 Fiscally standardized cities data
* 5.1.1 Historical total revenue and expenditure
* 5.2 Wichita, Kansas, salaries and pensions over $95,000
* 6 Contact information
* 7 Ballot measures
* 8 Noteworthy events
* 8.1 2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
* 8.2 2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
* 9 See also
* 10 External links
* 11 Footnotes

## City government[edit]

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[edit]

See also: List of current mayors of the top 100 cities in the United States

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 is Lily Wu (nonpartisan). Wu assumed office in 2024.

### City manager[edit]

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[edit]

See also: List of current city council officials of the top 100 cities in the United States

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]

* Click here for a current list of council members

Office | Name | Party | Date assumed office | Date term ends

|
|
|
|

Wichita City Council District 1 | Brandon Johnson | Nonpartisan | 2018 | January 12, 2026
Wichita City Council District 2 | Becky Tuttle | Nonpartisan | 2019 | January 10, 2028
Wichita City Council District 3 | Mike Hoheisel | Nonpartisan | January 10, 2022 | January 12, 2026
Wichita City Council District 4 | Dalton Glasscock | Nonpartisan | January 8, 2024 | January 10, 2028
Wichita City Council District 5 | J.V. Johnston | Nonpartisan | January 8, 2024 | January 10, 2028
Wichita City Council District 6 | Maggie Ballard | Nonpartisan | January 10, 2022 | January 12, 2026

The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, 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[edit]

Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Wichita, Kansas.

## Mayoral partisanship[edit]

See also: Party affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest cities

Wichita has a mayor who identifies as a Libertarian. As of May 2025, 65 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, two are independents, four identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and three 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[edit]

### 2025[edit]

See also: City elections in Wichita, Kansas (2025)

The city of Wichita, Kansas, is holding general elections for city council on November 4, 2025. A primary is scheduled for August 5, 2025. The filing deadline for this election is June 2, 2025.

### 2023[edit]

See also: Mayoral election in Wichita, Kansas (2023) and City elections in Wichita, Kansas (2023)

The city of Wichita, 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[edit]

See also: City elections in Wichita, Kansas (2021)

The city of Wichita, 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[edit]

See also: City elections in Wichita, Kansas (2019)

The city of Wichita, Kansas, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 5, 2019. The primary was on August 6, 2019. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was June 3, 2019. Click here for more information about the mayoral election.

### 2017[edit]

See also: Municipal elections in Wichita, Kansas (2017)

The city of Wichita, Kansas, held elections for city 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[edit]

See also: Municipal elections in Wichita, Kansas (2015)

The city of Wichita, Kansas, held elections for mayor and city council on April 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[edit]

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%
Two or more | 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 census here.

## Budget[edit]

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[edit]

The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln 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.

| Revenue in 2021

Revenue type | Amount
Total Revenue | $1,747,778,368
General Revenue | $1,642,669,106
Federal Aid | $107,498,821
State Aid | $721,964,150
Tax Revenue | $578,586,687
Charges & Misc. General Revenue | $234,619,448
Utility Revenue | $105,109,262
Liquor Store Revenue | $0

| Expenditures in 2021

Expenditure type | Amount
Total Expenditures | $1,521,299,091
General Expenditures | $1,454,187,736
Education Services Expenditure | $787,618,266
Health and Welfare Expenditure | $55,465,192
Transportation Expenditure | $101,160,613
Public Safety Expenditure | $213,195,679
Environment and Housing Expenditure | $92,123,379
Governmental Administration Expenditure | $115,070,981
Interest on General Debt | $46,161,581
Miscellaneous Expenditure | $43,388,126
Utility Expenditure | $67,025,174
Liquor Store Expenditure | $0
Intergovernmental Expenditures | $86,181

#### Historical total revenue and expenditure[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Click here for city council contact information.

## Ballot measures[edit]

See also: Sedgwick County, Kansas ballot measures

The city of Wichita is in Sedgwick County. A list of ballot measures in Sedgwick County is available here.

## Noteworthy events[edit]

### 2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd[edit]

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

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 in Wichita, 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[edit]

See also: Employment nondiscrimination laws in Kansas

In July 2015, the Movement 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 of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 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[edit]

| Suggest a link

|

* Cities in Kansas
* Sedgwick County, Kansas
* Largest cities in the United States by population

## External links[edit]

* City of Wichita
* Mayor's Office
* City Council
* Wichita City Charter and Code

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 City of Wichita, "City Manager's Office - What We Do," accessed August 25, 2021
3. ↑ City of Wichita, "Dr. Brandon Whipple, Mayor," accessed August 25, 2021
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 City of Wichita, "City Council," accessed August 25, 2021
5. ↑ Email correspondence with Sandra L. Gritz, Chief Deputy Election Commissioner of Sedgwick County, Kansas, on September 12, 2014.
6. ↑ City of Wichita, "2024-2025 Budget Process," accessed August 28, 2023
7. ↑ City of Wichita, "2024-2025 Proposed Budget," accessed August 28, 2023
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 28, 2023
9. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
10. ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 28, 2023
11. ↑ The Sunflower, "‘Justice for Floyd:’ Protesters rally at Wichita police station near WSU," May 30, 2020
12. ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015

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