Fast Facts About Wichita
When you spend time in the Heart of the Country, you’ll notice the locals might seem to have their own language and dialect. Use our guide to learn what ICT, Doo-Dah and a variety of other local phrases mean. Famous Wichitans include Hattie McDaniel, Kirstie Alley and Barry Sanders.
Wichita's Numbers
- 5-million longhorns driven up the Chisholm Trail to the Wichita railhead
- Population of Wichita - 389,877 (as of 2019); 640,218 (MSA as of 2019)
- 220+ days of sunshine
- Average annual rainfall is 28.61 inches; average annual snowfall is 15 inches
- Coldest month: January; hottest month: July
- 140+ parks and 100+ miles of bicycle and walking paths
- 35% of all U.S. manufactured general aviation aircraft
- 30+ annual festivals and major events
- Hundreds of performances during Riverfest
- There are 8,100+ hotel rooms, 1,200+ restaurants, 21 live theaters, 3 Universities, 19 museums, 30+ art galleries, 11 shopping districts, 12 golf courses, 9 disc golf courses, 10 local breweries and 20-plus food trucks in the Wichita Food Truck Coalition
- 7th largest zoo in the United States with third-largest elephant exhibit
- One of 7 wildlife parks with Humane Certified Award
- Largest dinosaur theme park in the country
- Wichita is the birthplace of Pizza Hut and White Castle fast-food chains.
- A.A. Hyde discovered Mentholatum in 1894 in the current The Spice Merchant & Company building.
- In 2008, the NAACP recognized Wichita as the site of the first sit-in by African Americans at an all-white lunch counter in July 1958.
- The first electric guitar was played at the Shadowland Ballroom in Wichita by Wichitan Gage Brewer in 1932.
