Yes, Wichita is a dangerous city. Wichita ranks as the #64 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Wichita might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are. For example, the Sherwood Glen neighborhood is the safest in Wichita, while the Murdock neighborhood is considered dangerous based on recent crime stats.
Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Wichita ranks 47th highest in America -- 68.16% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 72nd highest in the United States -- 29.13% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is "dangerous". Despite the uptick in murders, it's nothing like you'd see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.
Here is a breakdown of crime rates in Wichita per capita compared to the state and national average so you can compare.
Statistic | Wichita Count Raw | Wichita / 100k People | Kansas / 100k People | National / 100k People |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total Crimes | 17,563 | 4,454.4 | 2,624.1 | 2,346.0 |
Murder | 31 | 7.9 | 3.4 | 6.5 |
Robbery | 302 | 76.6 | 31.8 | 73.9 |
Aggravated Assault | 3,065 | 777.4 | 346.4 | 279.7 |
Violent Crime | 3,670 | 930.8 | 425.0 | 387.8 |
Burglary | 1,689 | 428.4 | 331.4 | 314.2 |
Larceny | 10,632 | 2,696.5 | 1,619.6 | 1,398.0 |
Car Theft | 1,572 | 398.7 | 248.1 | 246.0 |
Property Crime | 13,893 | 3,523.6 | 2,199.1 | 1,958.2 |
Wikipedia User Fetchcomms | CC BY-SA 2.0
Yes, Kansas is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #16 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Kansas ranks 19th most dangerous in the United States -- 14.94% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Sunflower State ranks 17th most dangerous in the United States -- 12.52% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.
The county in Kansas with the lowest cost of living is Woodson County. The average living wage in Woodson County is $80,268 according to MIT data. Woodson County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Kansas as a whole. Childcare costs $8,896 a year in Woodson County for two children compared to the Kansas average of $15,029. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $8,616 per year in Woodson County compared to $10,455 on average in Kansas.
The cost of living in Kansas is 0.4% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Kansas is $89,353 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Kansas household is $61,091.
The cheapest housing market in Kansas is Coffeyville. The average home value in Coffeyville is $53,100, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Kansas is $157,600, almost 3.0 times higher than Coffeyville.