Maize 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 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 5,735. The name Maize, derived from a Native American word for "

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

", was so named because it is located within the

Corn Belt The Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States and part of the Southern United States that, since the 1850s, has dominated corn production in the United States. In North America, ''corn'' is the common word for maize. More genera ...

History

The Maize Town Company, led by N. F. Neiderlander, founded Maize in 1886 at the first stop outside of Wichita on the Wichita and Colorado Railway. The post office opened that same year as did the town's first church, having relocated from nearby. Maize's first school opened in 1887; its first newspaper opened in 1895. Maize State Bank, the town's first financial institution, opened in 1901, and, by 1908, a business community had emerged. In 1915, the Maize Town Company dissolved, and Maize was incorporated as a city. Several natural disasters struck Maize in the 1930s and 1940s, including the

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...

in 1934–35, a plague of

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

s in 1936, and a flood in 1944. Maize began to grow rapidly in 1950, more than doubling in size by 1956. This growth has continued, accelerating in recent years as Wichita has expanded to the northwest, and transformed Maize into a suburb.

Geography

Maize is located at (37.779178, -97.467267) at an elevation of 1,348 feet (411 m). It lies on the west side of Big Slough Creek, roughly southwest of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

in the Wellington-McPherson Lowlands region of the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

. Located in south-central Kansas, Maize is on

K-96 K96 or K-96 may refer to: *K-96 (Kansas highway) K-96 is a state highway in central and southern Kansas. Its western terminus is at the Colorado state line east of Towner, Colorado, where it continues as Colorado State Highway 96; its easte ...

, immediately northwest of Wichita. 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 , all land.

Demographics

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

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 5,735 people, 2,111 households, and 1,498 families in Maize. The population density was 588.9 per square mile (227.4/km). There were 2,289 housing units at an average density of 235.1 per square mile (90.8/km). The racial makeup was 81.81% (4,692)

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 ...

(78.01%

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 ...

), 2.91% (167)

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. ...

, 1.15% (66) 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 ...

, 1.62% (93) Asian, 0.07% (4)

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 ...

, 2.58% (148) from other races, and 9.85% (565) 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 10.27% (589) of the population. Of the 2,111 households, 40.5% had children under the age of 18; 53.4% were married couples living together; 25.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 23.0% 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 2.5 and the average family size was 3.1. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 20.5% of the population. 30.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 107.3 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 $59,856 (with a margin of error of +/- $18,462) and the median family income was $75,993 (+/- $24,517). Males had a median income of $48,077 (+/- $8,030) versus $31,755 (+/- $11,804) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $39,703 (+/- $15,974). Approximately, 1.8% of families and 4.8% 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 0.5% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% 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 3,420 people, 1,172 households, and 942 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 1,284 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.3%

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 ...

, 1.5%

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 ...

, 1.1% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1%

, 1.3% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 7.4% of the population. There were 1,172 households, of which 49.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% 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, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 19.6% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.28. The median age in the city was 30.7 years. 34.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 21.8% were from 45 to 64; and 8.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,868 people, 632 households, and 523 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 668 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.47%

, 0.96%

, 1.23% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.91% from other races, and 3.10% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.62% of the population. There were 632 households, out of which 49.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were

living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.2% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.28. In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $51,845, and the median income for a family was $53,365. Males had a median income of $41,653 versus $25,817 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $18,803. About 1.9% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the

, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Maize has a mayor-council-administrator form of government. The

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

consists of the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and five members who serve part-time. The mayor is elected to a four-year term while terms for council members are staggered such that two members are up for election every two years.

Education

Maize USD 266 public school district operates eighteen schools in and around the city.

Infrastructure

Transportation

runs northwest-southeast through the middle of the city, but remains outside of the official city limits. Questions of jurisdictional responsibility relating to highways and infrastructure as well as law enforcement authority have long been an issue of misunderstanding amongst city leaders. City police have no police authority on K-96 unless operating under a deputy sheriff commission granted under the authority of the Sedgwick County Sheriff. Currently, sheriff’s deputies and members of the Kansas Highway Patrol are tasked with all law enforcement and investigative responsibility. The Hutchinson line of the

Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad The Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in the Midwestern United States. It is entirely located in Kansas and, despite its name, owns no trackage in Oklahoma. Overview The KO is a subsidiary of Watco, which took over ...

runs southeast–northwest through Maize. Maize Airport is a privately owned, public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

located two

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...

s (2.3 mi, 3.7 km) southeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Maize.

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Maize include: *

Nancy Kassebaum Nancy Josephine Kassebaum Baker (; born July 29, 1932) is an American retired politician from Kansas who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933 t ...

(1932- ),

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Kansas * Richard Kassebaum (1960-2008), documentary filmmaker * Miles Ukaoma (1992-), Olympian

References

External links

City of Maize

Maize - Directory of Public Officials
{{Authority control Cities in Kansas Cities in Sedgwick County, Kansas Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area Populated places established in 1886 1886 establishments in Kansas