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| History |
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In 1871, C.C. Hutchinson founded the Hutchinson town site. Mr. Hutchinson had worked with the Santa Fe Railroad to establish a community where the tracks were to cross the Arkansas River. The town was originally laid out using buffalo bones as markers. In 1872, Hutchinson formed its own city government.
The Santa Fe Railroad, in addition to the Missouri Pacific and a few smaller railroads, helped to drive the development of Hutchinson and Reno County. Hutchinson soon became a center of trade for farmers and other merchants.
Ben Blanchard was hoping to find oil while drilling south of Hutchinson in 1887. What he found instead, was a very large deposit of salt. Over the next few years, know as the "salt boom", 20 companies began extracting the salt and selling it for a profit. By 1900, most of these smaller salt companies had consolidated in a handful of large companies in order to become more efficient. To this day, salt extraction continues to be a stable industry in Reno County.
Hutchinson continued to grow, as well as the farming industry surrounding it. Hutchinson was soon home to many grain elevators (for storing grain before it was sold) and milling companies (for grinding wheat into flour). Since the beginning, Reno County held annual agriculture fairs often at different locations each year. However, the local event grew to such an extent that in the early 1900's it was moved to its present day location. At this time, it was recognized by the state legislature as the "Kansas State Fair".
If you would like to learn more about the History of Hutchinson, you may want to visit one of its many museums.
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| Demographics |
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As of the census of 2000, there were 40,787 people, 16,335 households, and 10,340 families residing in the city. The population density was 746.0/km˛ (1,932.6/mi˛). There were 17,693 housing units at an average density of 323.6/km˛ (838.3/mi˛).
The racial makeup of the city was:
- 88.57% White
- 4.28% African American
- 0.65% Native American
- 0.59% Asian
- 0.04% Pacific Islander
- 3.65% other races
- 2.21% two or more races
- 7.67% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 16,335 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,645, and the median income for a family was $40,094. Males had a median income of $30,994 versus $21,190 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,964. 12.7% of the population and 9.8% of families were below the poverty line. 16.5% of those under the age of 18 and 9.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
For more information, view these demographic charts. |
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| Geography & Climate |
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Hutchinson is located at 38°3'56" North, 97°55'25" West (38.065503, -97.923519)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.9 km˛ (21.2 mi˛). 54.7 km˛ (21.1 mi˛) of it is land and 0.2 km˛ (0.1 mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 0.33% water.
| Average Daily Temperature |
High |
Low |
| Annual |
66.7° F |
52.3°F |
| January |
40.0° F |
17.0°F |
| July |
93.0° F |
67.0°F |
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| Annual Averages |
Amount |
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| Rainfall |
29.4 inches |
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| Snowfall |
15.7 inches |
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| Wind Speed |
12.2 mph |
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| Taxation |
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| Sales Tax |
Percentage |
| State |
5.30 % |
| County |
1.00 % |
| Hutchinson |
0.75 % |
| Total |
7.05 % |
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| Mill Distribution |
Mills |
| State |
1.500 |
| County |
34.359 |
| City |
40.970 |
| Public Library (HPL) |
5.554 |
| School District (USD 308) |
50.664 |
| College (HCC) |
23.790 |
| Total |
156.823 |
For more information on taxes, view taxation & Incentives. |
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| Hutchinson Education |
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