Kechi is a city in Sedgwick County,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, United States, and a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,217.

History

19th century

Kechi was named for the Kichai people. In 1887, the

Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway (CK&N) was formed in 1885 and Marcus Low, a former attorney for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, was its president. The CRI&P advanced the CK&N about twenty-five million dollars to begin cons ...

built a branch line north-south from Herington through Kechi to Caldwell. It foreclosed in 1891 and was taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as

Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad The Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad (OKT) was a railroad operating in its namesake states in the 1980s. OKT I The Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad was originally created on May 29, 1980, after the demise of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pa ...

, merged in 1988 with

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

, merged in 1997 with

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island". The first post office in Kechi was established in 1888.

Geography

Kechi is located at (37.795228, -97.278660). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

Kechi is part of the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 2,217 people, 840 households, and 661 families in Kechi. The population density was 367.9 per square mile (142.0/km). There were 871 housing units at an average density of 144.5 per square mile (55.8/km). The racial makeup was 82.95% (1,839)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(80.97%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

), 4.56% (101)

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 0.99% (22) Native American or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 2.03% (45) Asian, 0.05% (1)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, 2.48% (55) from other races, and 6.95% (154) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 5.91% (131) of the population. Of the 840 households, 33.2% had children under the age of 18; 67.3% were married couples living together; 16.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 15.7% of households consisted of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.1 and the average family size was 3.4. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 35.0% of the population. 22.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 103.5 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $100,069 (with a margin of error of +/- $6,154) and the median family income was $103,854 (+/- $5,773). Males had a median income of $59,268 (+/- $8,204) versus $28,571 (+/- $3,892) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $42,955 (+/- $7,572). Approximately, 2.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 1.1% of those under the age of 18 and 7.5% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,909 people, 701 households, and 566 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 732 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5.5%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.9% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population. There were 701 households, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 19.3% were non-families. 15.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age in the city was 42.6 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 36% were from 45 to 64; and 10.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.

Education

The city is served by Wichita USD 259 and Valley Center USD 262 public school districts.

References

External links

City of Kechi

Kechi - Directory of Public Officials
{{Authority control Cities in Kansas Cities in Sedgwick County, Kansas Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area