In addition to being an ideal destination for vacations and events - from reunions to conventions - Wichita, KS, is a great place to live. The five-county metro area is home to nearly 650,000 people, with about 390,000 residing in Wichita city limits.

What is the attraction of Kansas’ largest city? We talked to human resources directors in the community to develop this list of top reasons folks relocate to Wichita:

Affordability

• Ranked in the Top 10 multiple times recently as a best value destination for travelers as well an affordable place to raise a family
• Low cost of living, well below the national urban area average with some of the lowest rents
• No. 1-ranking in housing affordability which propelled the city to a spot among Wallet Hub’s 2018 list of best cities to live

Short and easy commuting

• Despite being the largest city in Kansas, Wichita is one of the least congested cities in America.
• Wichita metro area average one-way travel time to work is about 19 minutes – that’s a quarter of the time the rest of the country averages.

Excellent educational opportunities

• Fantastic schools and unlimited educational opportunities, including public, private and vocational or trade options.
• Three universities with a variety of study choices (Wichita State University, Friends University and Newman University)

A safe community

• In August 2018, Wichita earned one of Insurify’s 2018 Safest Cities Awards for the lowest prevalence of driving incidents
• Public safety was a factor in our city making the 2018 list of America’s best small cities, as compiled by bestcities.org

Health care

• Wichita is a hub for high-quality health care in south-central Kansas.
• Home of Wesley Medical Center, the only hospital in Kansas to earn “Top Hospital” Award in 2017
• Via Christi Hospital St. Francis named a Comprehensive Stroke Center in 2016
• Access to several specialty clinics and hospitals like Galichia Heart Hospital and Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital

Plenty of sunny days

• Kansas ranks among the top 10 sunniest states and offers a four-season climate
• Kansas sees about 225 sunny days each year
• The hottest month of July with average daily temperatures of 92 degrees while winters are mild with annual snowfall of just 16 inches.

Things to do

• The arts, sports, cultural experiences, museums and historic sites, shopping, outdoor recreation and green space, a lively food scene and buzzing night life options
• Recruiters at local companies report that potential hires considering relocating from outside the region are surprised when they visit Wichita for the first time at how much there is to do outside of work

Check out all the things to do in Wichita, as well as our calendar of events.