Standard of Living and Business Factors in Wichita KS

There is a much lower than average poverty rate in Wichita, due to the higher paying jobs, availability of jobs and lower cost of living. The service industry is now 27% while manufacturing is 21-25% depending on who is floating the numbers and derivative trading on misdirection. Population has had steady increases with 13.% growth in the last decade, you can see the growth.

Sedgeway County has some 452,000 at last census meaning about 462K now. There are 19,600 apartments in Wichita. AYSO and Soccer are big in Wichita along with Baseball and other youth sports thus allowing for easy entry into community volunteer related services for our team to show our spirit. New Commercial Permits are down 50% over the past year. South Central Kansas Economic development had some of the best updated data we found, better than our tiger files and ERSI, census and overlay CD ROMs.

Enterprise Rent-A-Cars Wichita Chief Strategist with 2 satellite offices and 8 locations including a new airport office who met with us said they own that market which is good for us because they do need our services. We exchanged information about marketing to the various sectors and how we could assist each other. Finding a common thread in Jack, Enterprise Rent-A-Cars founder and purveyor of commitment and fervor and inspiration. We both agree he is a great leader and entrepreneur.

The market has other potential customers too, including four tour bus lines and 26 trucking companies. Rail Service is also there. Lowe's just finished and opened another store to help contractors with the east end growth. We visited with Margaret Davis at the Chamber. She explained the significance of Old Town Center and Old Town Market Place a smaller version of Brick City that is the hit of tourists and locals in OKC. The chamber has some 1900 members and mails its newsletter to over 2700 VIPs. She agreed that the Derby area was a good place to wash cars as it is growing middle income. We talked with one older sweet lady who moved from Minnesota into Derby and found a real good buy on an older refurbished home so she could live by her daughter a crack marketing wiz for the number on Hospital in the region in charge of the entire department. Derby is building a pool for the community and that is one of the larger projects of the area, able to do it from the property tax base and higher than normal property taxes of the Wichita area.

We also discussed cool hang-outs and cars with one student from Butler Community College also studying Computer science to get a good job admitting after school they were o move to where the best job might be. Also Butler had several students hanging out at the coolest little fifties diner studying such things as Business Administration and Psychology so they could charge $50.00 per hour and going to transfer to KSU in Fall. Loni also told us of the fact that most students do stay after graduation in Wichita. They party in Padre Island during Spring Break and go to Aspen skiing and Breckenridge CO. They also go to the old town brick building area. Graham Central Station is the local bar hangout and most popular this year they have an interesting policy on Friday nights, if you are 18 you can go in and get you hand “X'ed� but cannot buy alcohol and must give them you ID and also get a wrist band. The other nights Thurs, Sat the place is packed. Everyone goes to the all night Starbucks afterwards or to Krispy Kreme. Park City is getting a new 55 million dollar coliseum, which is a middle-income growth area.

Even with a City like this a Brick Town concept or River Walk or both as they are doing seems to be a good way to keep the downtown area from becoming a ghost town and crime ridden. And it pays it's own way too, in sales tax revenues, jobs and tourism in general. The River Walk and Brick City Type Concept Promotes Tourism, Local Money Flows, Employment, Increased Tax Base and Down Town Revitalization. The change to quality of life is significant indeed.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs