Why Kansas Has So Few Americans Compared To Missouri And Colorado

[@wilsonking1617]

Was driving thru western Kansas in 1980. Developed a leaky tire around 6 pm and pulled into a small town gas station. The owner was closing but stayed to fix my tire and only charged me $1.00. I have never forgotten his kindness. Good reflection on my time in Kansas.

[@DeanStephen]

Sounds about right.

[@RCJH2022]

My car was overheating and had to pull in around the KS/CO border. I thought it was my radiator or something expensive for sure. They looked at it and it turned out to be the rubber on the cap had dried out, they charged me for 10.00 for the cap and sent me on my way. I know NOTHING about cars and they could have totally *effed* me. I make it a point to stop at that gas station and fill up when I drive to/from Colorado.

[@bighomiemac3472]

Yeah it was Kansas so he (the mechanic) was probably sizing you up hoping to eff👉👈 you. When you didn’t show interest he went home and went into a deep depression seeing as though he would have to wait 3 years for another car to pass through.

[@RCJH2022]

@@bighomiemac3472 Speaking from experience, I see. Hopefully your depression gets better.

[@bighomiemac3472]

@RCHJ2022 I'm not depressed. I've been able to avoid all of the butt pirates in Kans@$$.

[@TWoodard]

I’ve lived here my entire life. Both sides of my family have been here since the 1800’s. I’ve traveled everywhere.. There’s still no place like home!

[@Jasmine215100]

One thing that this native Missourian doesn't like (in my hometown of St. Louis) is: WHERE'S THE BEACH? NO OCEANS!

[@jasonkraatz9574]

I moved to Kansas from Texas originally back in 2013 and I tell ya what, I enjoy the lack of population here. It’s peaceful! There’s hardly traffic in Wichita. Everyone else can go to Colorado and Missouri, go populate those states. I like my peace and quiet in Kansas 😂

[@KansasFarmer620]

Facts

[@jonathanandrews7493]

True, but I hate the way people drive in Wichita. People are constantly speeding excessively. At least in Texas everyone goes fast. I worried more about people hitting me in Wichita than when I have traveled in Texas.

[@brookss2141]

I moved to Kansas from California in 2000. I feel the same exact way.

[@aaronisacomedian]

​@@jonathanandrews7493no nobody speeds in Wichita people hop on Kellogg doing 40 mph like it's not a highway. I've literally never had a speeding ticket I'm just begging the city to go the goddamn speed limit

[@quietprofit5817]

@@jonathanandrews7493 we go 10 over

[@philmanson2991]

BTW: "Osage" is pron "O-sage" like the spice. "Ute" is one syllable: "yout."

[@rhino67]

There we go....ya he triggered me when he mispronounced EVERYTHING

[@elliebellie7816]

Obviously never lived in this part of the world and obviously didn't do any real research. Ugh, mispronounced every single word. BTW, stay out of Kansas. Those of us living here DO NOT want anything to change.

[@devinsimpson1496]

My brain exploded when he said "O-sah-geh."

[@harrymills2770]

@@rhino67 By "he," you mean "the AI voice."

[@Wyomingchief]

OMG about broke my brain when he couldn't pronounce Osage😂😂

[@coppercoatedcandies4u869]

Kansas is full! Stay were you are!

[@kenglover2690]

My family (both sides) is from Kansas, I went to college and grad school in Kansas, I lived in central Kansas for a few years. I never heard anyone say that before! In my 40 years in Colorado people said that all the time... LOL.😄

[@gld5129]

😊

[@sortasapien]

This is true. Someone was on my road yesterday. It's getting crowded tbh.

[@tomiday66]

Big, mechanized agriculture doesn't require a lot of workers. I rode my bicycle east to west across Kansas in 2018 on the route of the National Old Trails Highway. I was surprised to find that so many of the fine old farm houses were left vacant, bought up by big agriculture companies. Small towns had a forlorn feeling about them with big empty churches and long forgotten businesses. Never the less, I greatly enjoyed the Kansas part of my journey as it was all new to me. What a country! Never boring.

[@nilesanders5110]

When you get to the western half of Kansas, it has always been big mechanized agriculture. As steam locomotives were developed so were the steam tractor.

[@allenhill1223]

Wow road a bike cross Kansas is wild. My family lived in Eureka kansas and people like you would stay at the park by the river. Take guts.

[@cameronlewis1218]

Boy, you hit the nail on the head. And the number of workers it takes to produce agricultural crops continues to go down. The exponential increase in the efficiency of agricultural over the last 100 years is the main reason towns in rural Kansas are still shrinking. The amount of back-breaking work it took to produce wheat or corn in the early 20th century was staggering…

[@chucke756]

Good observation. The KC Star had a series of articles about the small farming towns dying due to large scale mechanized farming. I hope to move to one of those towns to start my own small farm. 😊

[@lyndamedley543]

Kansas Red state. Big Farmers tax breaks, let the rest of humans pay taxes. Not surprised they don't need labor because of machinery. But consider that Kansas made sales tax replace other taxation . So real people pay states sales tax on everything to live. Farmers who have everything dont spend much on sales tax .. people hurt by sales tax as state revenue so they leave. Can't blame them . Trumph subsidized farmers. GOP don't like to subsidize common people, who wants to live in Kansas. It's just not beautiful enough to live there and be over taxed. So let those farmers have it. Let the farm competition go on.

[@johnanderson6614]

Nobody seems to show how beautiful the Flint Hills are in central Kansas.

[@napalm_lipbalm86]

Yes, they are!❤

[@christopherstruble8856]

Most people don't realize South Central and some of Western Kansas are the only "flat" parts. The rest is pretty hilly. Lots of beautiful valleys in the Flints Hills

[@dr.shlomosands1096]

Didn't know Kansas had ANY hills!!

[@Ghostofachance-iw8pr]

Used to live in Emporia. The Flint Hills in the fall had a wonderful fragrance.

[@viridiantheforest1037]

We also have the Smokey Hills and the Red Hills

[@Noobfantasy]

Missouri is full of small towns. You will not feel isolated when you drive through Missouri because of the frequency of towns.

[@azanocegrog748]

I live in Missouri and youre right! Missouri is an underrated state in terms of natural beauty and fun things to do. If you’ve never been, it might be a good place for a cheap vacation.

[@JTA1961]

Regardless...You're in the state of Misery

[@twostop6895]

@@JTA1961 you are full of it

[@gabemissouri]

@@JTA1961 Oh the Missouri, everybody wants to be my enemy.

[@gabemissouri]

​@@azanocegrog748Agreed, I have lived here my entire life. It is a beautiful state.

[@williamparis500]

I'm unsure why you left out Kansas City in favour of St. Louis and even Ft. Leavenworth. KC was a major setting off point and outfitting for the westward wagon trains and settlers. Later, it was also the hub in the US for cattle hence the nickname 'Cowtown'. When I was a boy the cattle-yards in the West Bottoms were immense.

[@astrogatorjones]

Ya. He completely blew KC.

[@Wyomingchief]

I mean seriously the only thing St Louis is good for at this point is crime and sjw topics. Literally everybody stays away from that place. Then the completely blow it on KCMO is Unforgivable

[@Wyomingchief]

Yeah he absolutely blew it when it came to Kansas city. As far as St Louis goes, it's kind of like Detroit it is a ghost of its former self and that's because of crime and poverty. And as far as the effects of the Dust bowl, Kansas City Missouri saw a lot of growth because of that. Because as that was winding down was the start of WW2 and Kansas City grew exponentially because of War Industries

[@williamparis500]

It almost feels purposeful - it's pretty difficult to miss out a city sitting on the KS border w/ a (greater metro) population of almost 2 million.

[@micahjae3594]

He also left out a lot of stuff about kc like union station no mention of the Missouri River

[@kansashoneybadger7899]

Hint for the city dwellers. Land is put to its most valuable use. The Kansas prairie is ideal for growing wheat. Wheat farming is most efficient when done on large plots of land. Kansas produces 25 times the amount of wheat needed to feed the entire human population of the U.S. Even beyond that, it produces massive amounts of other grains. These products are sold on an international market, so, by definition, increasing the supply of food, lowers the price of food internationally. Besides that, this productivity helps make the U.S. food independent. Food independence is actually a national security asset. Can we please give Kansas farmers some appreciation for how darn good they are at what they do? I just finished eating a lovely grilled sourdough chicken sandwich. The bread was deeee-li-cious! Beyond all the practical matters, there are few sights more beautiful than looking out over acres of golden wheat stalks waving in the wind. It looks like a "wheat ocean" makes a beautiful swishing sound which is as soothing as listening to ocean waves. In the summer, the sky is the most intense blue I have ever seen. In some places, you can see a 360-degree horizon: intense blue sky above, waving gold wheat below. Also, the ripe wheat produces a lovely soft aroma. O.K. you can go back to the city now.

[@thedripdrop9826]

@@kansashoneybadger7899 we also have 3 times as many cows as people!

[@alexlangford2952]

Uh 25x the US population would be 8 billion people. There's only 8.1 billion people in the world...

[@kansashoneybadger7899]

@@alexlangford2952 From the Kansas Wheat Growers Website: Kansas produces an average of 334 million bushels of wheat annually, which is about 20% of the country's total wheat production. This is enough to bake 36 billion loaves of bread, or to feed the world's population of over 6 billion people for about two weeks. Kansas's wheat production is spread across approximately 7 million acres, with more than 15,000 farmers participating. The state's temperate climate, with 10-30 inches of annual rainfall, is ideal for growing wheat 36 billion loaves of bread is enough to produce 107 loaves of bread; that would be 2 loanes of bread

[@kansashoneybadger7899]

@@alexlangford2952 Here are some statistics from the Wheat Growers website Kansas produces an average of 334 million bushels of wheat annually, which is about 20% of the country's total wheat production. This is enough to bake 36 billion loaves of bread, or to feed the world's population of over 6 billion people for about two weeks. Kansas's wheat production is spread across approximately 7 million acres, with more than 15,000 farmers participating. The state's temperate climate, with 10-30 inches of annual rainfall, is ideal for growing wheat. By those metrics 334 million bushels of wheat annually is enough to produce 107 loaves of bread per year for all 350 million Americans. Yes, I was off, but, the central idea remains.

[@jimstanga6390]

I agree. You sing America the Beautiful as a kid, but you have to take a trip through Kansas to see a field of Wheat rippling in a stiff breeze in September to really understand what ‘Amber Waves of Grain’ means. I finally did, and I ended up living there for over a dozen years. God Bless America.

[@sunkist1309]

As a Kansas resident for my entire life I love the Great Plains. There’s nothing more beautiful than the sun setting on a beautiful day as you can see for miles all around you

[@captainvicky7171]

Amen to that. I love it here in Kansas.

[@rotorfix]

😂

[@merryhunt9153]

Take eastern Kansas. Woods, rivers, birds, parks, and Johnson County, Kansas, one of the wealthiest counties in the nation. (How could you miss Johnson County?) The farther west you go, the drier and flatter the land becomes. Water becomes harder to find. In some places, the wind blows so much it gets right under your skin. People complain that western Kansas is flat and boring, but that's because they are riding in I-70. Naturally the engineers picked the flattest land to build the freeway on. Duh! If you like nature, there is lots to see off the freeway in Kansas.

[@avernvrey7422]

Not many jobs out in Western KS though, except industrial meat processing which is largely staffed by undocumented workers, and jobs, or opportunity, is what brings and keeps people in any region.

[@holddamayo7474]

But you’re still in Kansas?

[@RabidDisposition]

Dont blow up our spot. The more people that like the state, the more the demand for housing will rise. Let's keep our housing cheap. They can keep their coastal states.

[@5secondsMrmarsh]

I do a lot of work in the south western part of Kansas and into the pan handle of Texas. I’m glad my time there is only 2-3 weeks out of a year. It’s not a place I would wanna live my entire life. Eastern Kansas is a lot better.

[@williamparis500]

As far as wealth, it's not even in the top 50 (See Forbes by CoL and Medium Income)

[@sapinva]

Kansas was already subdivided into large farms, leaving relatively little space for urban/suburban expansion. A farm would have to be more valuable as housing to be sold, thus a chicken and egg problem. Also urban areas generally build around geographical features. But Kansas is largely geographically featureless.

[@danielzhang1916]

yes no one seems to mention this, seems to be a correlation between farming and low rural population, Kansas never got the chance to fully develop like CO and MO or other states, because people left and never came back

[@Alan-tjj]

And major city's never had farms around them ..? Just empty land setting around with signs saying waiting .. poor understanding of how land is developed

[@rogersmith7396]

Farm land is cheap. Urban developers buy as much as they want. Johnson County was farm land but not any more. Olathe has a farm museum just so people can see what a farm looks like.

[@sapinva]

@@rogersmith7396 Please tell me where to find cheap farm land. Browsing listings for NE, maybe slightly lower than national averages, but not exactly cheap.

[@rogersmith7396]

@@sapinva In Iberia, MO. its around $2000 an acre. Many lease as its cheaper.

[@texasson7950]

I have lived in Kansas a couple of different times in my lifetime. I first moved there as a 9-year-old child when my dad was stationed there in the military. My dad was reassigned to Kansas when I was about 16. Now, I do a lot of over-the-road traveling throughout the entire country. (No, I'm not a trucker.) I currently live on the heavily populated East Coast, where I experience congestion and bumper-to-bumper traffic nearly every day. When I'm traveling across country, I find it a great pleasure to drive through Kansas without having to deal with any traffic jams!! The people I've encountered from Kansas have always been polite and friendly. Furthermore, I also love the wide-open spaces of Kansas, where one can see for miles all around. I miss that openness living on the East Coast. This Texan gives Kansas a 👍!

[@avernvrey7422]

But you just drive through... and that's probably because there's no opportunities there. People go where the jobs are and KS doesn't have high paying jobs. So, they go to the East Coast, TX, etc.

[@cjude0444]

@@avernvrey7422 there you go resting on the "specs" while driving to your over crowded flesh festivals. This is the place you wait for the bigger fish to eat ya. 😋

[@avernvrey7422]

@@cjude0444 No big fish around KS looking to eat anything. Koch is in Wichita (the bros live(ed) in CT and NY despite all their political claims against high tax locations like those). You first need to be highly qualified to work for them, and then they prefer to recruit from Ivy League unis anyway. Same with BH in Nebraska.

[@robertfencl4401]

Key words: drive THROUGH!

[@cjude0444]

@@robertfencl4401 "This is the place.. " is not Kansas. It's we're you belong. Not in Kansas.

[@gamewizardks]

There was massive growth in South Central Kansas during World War II. It was centered in and around Wichita where B-29's were manufactured by Boeing at what was at that time the largest factory in the world. Most of Kansas' growth has been in the metro areas in Eastern half of the state with population densities similar to that of Missouri and Colorado as a whole. The Western half of Kansas is relatively very empty by comparison. Just a couple of things you might have overlooked. t.Kansas born and raised

[@christiandauz3742]

Didn't you have a Republican governor five years ago who destroyed your state with Reaganomics?

[@DeanStephen]

The last I knew Wichita was actually the largest city in Kansas, NOT Kansas City.

[@gamewizardks]

@@DeanStephen Absolutely.

[@gamewizardks]

@@DeanStephen Kansas City isn't even the 2nd largest city in Kansas now, that would be Overland Park.

[@robertfencl4401]

Are there any hills older than you?

[@wdubduece8913]

People drive through i70 and think that's all KS is. Get off the highway, there is more to see.

[@JJFN-zm3ky]

I am born and raised in new jersey, 3 years ago i was a otr trucker. When i tell your people in missouri,kansas and colorado are way to nice man. Those people over there seem so happy and relaxed.

[@coryzacarello4699]

Good to hear. Most people are nice

[@Th3Chuzzl3r]

Kansas born and raised here, glad you enjoyed your time here

[@scottperine9820]

Because their chasing the bright lights and big cities. The easy laid back life as a Kansan is what I desire. It fits me perfectly. Proud Kansan here !!!

[@wisecoconut5]

My husband and I bought a house in eastern Kansas last year. We chose Kansas for it's affordable housing and lower cost of living over all. But before we settled on a particular area we had travel through Kansas several times sast to west and north to south. Frankly western Kansas is so windy that I couldn't take it. But I love eastern Kansas, the flint hills, lush landscape and rich history. Our small town is wonderful too. Neighbors talk to one another, kids still play in their front yards and it feels safe! My only complaint is that the restaurants are not very good. But the local donut shop is awesome. 😂

[@bunnyben5607]

I'm assuming since you talked about the donut shop you live in Burlington?

[@leftydrizel1842]

​@@bunnyben5607I'd say Joe's Bakery.

[@KansasFarmer620]

What's wind ???

[@MrGameMasterSir]

@bunnyben5607 this was my immediate thought too

[@ChronicAndIronic]

the name “Kansa” means people of the South Wind. Because it’s so WINDY

[@dvan7117]

I lived in Colorado most of my life(65 years). I now live in Kansas just SW of KC. Yes, It's boring. It hasn't much to offer except for on thing. It's one hell of a lot less stressful. Being retired, living in Colorado was a continuous rat race no matter where you went or what you did. Each year it got worse. Horrendous traffic, hoards of people everywhere, and each year more and more people moving in. In short, Colorado is being loved to death. I miss Colorado, but I was saying that several years before I moved away.

[@Earth1218]

Yup. Same thing that happened to California. Beautiful scenery and a perfect climate (in CA) led to a massive population boom that wasn’t sustainable. Overpopulation, overdevelopment, and relentless competition for space eventually made the state unaffordable for anyone who isn’t rich. A lot of those who were driven out ended up In Colorado where they pushed up the population, bought up real estate, and started the cycle over again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

sounds like you should of lived in the san luis valley where its null and void.

[@keithwiebe1787]

I have family that lived in the Great Bend area (small farmers). They either migrated to Denver or Wichita area in the late 50s. Had a relative in Denver that wanted to retire to Florida to fish. Lasted about 2 years and moved back to Denver. Nobody moved back to Great Bend.

[@sunkist1309]

Shhhhh don’t give away our secret

[@ZiggyZou]

Overland Park is very boring yes

[@jackmanning6169]

I’m from Kansas and I don’t mind the geography at all, when I went to the east coast it felt weird constantly being surrounded by huge trees and not being able to see around you

[@dinkaboutit4228]

Right? I'm from the desert, not the prairie, but... I love to go visit a forest, but after 2 days I start feeling claustrophobic from not being able to see 50 yards in any direction.

[@Jabberwockybird]

Same, but from Illinois with small groves to break up the monotony. I miss the open sky.

[@jackmanning6169]

@@dinkaboutit4228 yeah fr

[@timothykaczanowski2603]

Interesting perspective. I’ve lived in 5 state’s currently Denver, CO and I’m the opposite. I feel exposed in the high plains where as a forest usually not claustrophobic, the trees seem so far above and the wind through them is one of my favorite sounds

[@lg8828]

@@Jabberwockybird same, especially kind of having like an intuitive understanding of "i see this town on the horizon thats about X miles away", my friends and i went on a road trip and it took us thru Montana and we saw a town come up on the horizon so my brain goes like "alright 10 minutes or so and we are there". that shit was 30-40 minutes away, tbf it was night and we were on mountains but couldnt tell how high up we were because it was night time and my brain had never had to account for elevation before being from central Illinois

[@nivek5031]

Kansas, which covers an area of 81,823 square miles, has a population, almost that of Mongolia, (3.3 Million). Mongolia, a totally land-locked Country, which covers 603,909 square miles, is the world's most sparsely populated Sovereign State. BTW, I lived there, my wife, Master's Degree in Linguistics, Mongolian/English & my daughter were born in Ulaanbaatar. 🙂

[@goda7137]

Wow nice man

[@UncleMichaelable]

We have nowhere near that baby people here.

[@EmeraldEyesBibleSecrets]

It's because half of the people who live in Kansas, wind up going to the Land of OZ!

[@effexon]

roughly half of mongolian citizens live in capital ulanbatoor.... looks cold in winter but otherwise like any other big city.

[@BOG0690]

And they love horses. Which shouldn't surprise anyone

[@darkstarry8879]

Small correction. Spanish settlers did not name the region of Colorado. Spain just named the river (which flows through a lot of other former Spanish territories), and Americans later named the territory/state in 1861. Spanish Colorado was part of the New Mexico region of New Spain. (Southern California had earlier in 1859 considered separating into a new state called Colorado.) EDIT: See @b.y.2460's reply for a comment to my earlier post that said that the state was named after the river (now removed that part).

[@b.y.2460]

When Colorado became a state, it did not include the Colorado River. So the state is definitely not named after the river. It wasn't until 1921 that the part of the river in Colorado was renamed to the Colorado River. Before then, it was the Grand River (not to be confused with the Rio Grande, which is also in Colorado, but flows the other direction), and merged with the Green River in Utah to form the Colorado River. Colorado has several meanings in Spanish, but in this context is translated as ruddy/reddened/reddish. That is the color of the earth (and therefore the silt in the rivers) in most of the southwestern US, so colorado is used in a lot of geographic names.

[@darkstarry8879]

@@b.y.2460 Thank you for the correction to my correction! I'll stick a note in the original. I'm looking more into it, and it seems the state name Colorado was named after Colorado City (today's Colorado Springs) for the red rocks there. Colorado City was named in 1859 by Americans while it was still part of the Kansas Territory, but I can't find why they chose the Spanish name.

[@henrydaubresse9652]

@@darkstarry8879 Missouri traders to Santa Fe picked up the name from the Spanish/Mexican p;eople living south of there.

[@richavic4520]

​@@darkstarry8879the evangelical settlers of the Kansas territory which organized here to fight slavery felt that the gold miners and the support centers which are generally associated with gold mining were unsavory and populated by sinners. I can't tell you why Kansas' western boundary was moved so far east, but I will say that those stuffy ass puritans' decision cost the state a great deal.

[@kjwade6606]

I thought it was because Kansas doesn’t have legal weed while both Missouri and Colorado do. I’m not serious and yes I live in Kansas. And yes we will be the last damn state to do so.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

oh freaking hell no....u cant be that naive...its always been this way

[@gamewizardks]

Dude.Weed.LMAO🤣

[@firefly9838]

I Live in Kansas and smoke weed literately no one cares

[@gamewizardks]

@@firefly9838 I just find it hilarious that it's all potheads care about.

[@sunkist1309]

⁠@@gamewizardks I don't think it's all they care about. Stoners love mentioning Kansan weed legalization because it's honestly embarrassing that we haven't legalized already and shows just how out of touch our state officials and people like the Original commenter Kelly Wade really are. Police officers barely enforce the law; most officers will ask you to politely throw away the THC and not charge you for it. Lawrence KS gives offenders a $5 ticket if we're giving out small fines and barely enforcing the law -- then why does it still exist? According to 2022 statistics by the Kansas State Department of Revenue, Kansas loses approximately $127 million annually from tax revenue from marijuana sales in neighboring states of Missouri and Colorado, where marijuana is legal. That's $127 MILLION dollars that we could have used for public projects, programs, and infrastructure. Why are we allowing Colorado and Missouri to zap away OUR money that they'll use to build up industry, tourism etc. while our state grows even more out of touch and behind

[@christopherburleigh9171]

Kansas has 2.9 million people. If it tried to have even 5 or 6 million the aquifer would be pumped dry in an attempt to obtain enough water for household use alone.

[@alanwalters8006]

Nearly all of the water that's pumped out of the Ogallala (sp?) is used for agricultural purposes. Residential use is comparatively small.

[@ChronicAndIronic]

Kansas City belongs to Kansas. Under barbaric Missourian occupation

[@urghertable]

Lived in Kansas much of my life. Been a lot of other places. If you can find a job here its a hell of a lot nicer than many other places. Kansan proud.

[@Our__Earth]

Geo - I studied geography at the Univ of KS as 1 of my univ's and I love it there. When I moved there from CO though, many people thought "KS? That is the end of the world!" to which I reply, The Great Plains are beautiful in their own way, and #2 - get off the interstates to see the real towns and landscapes!

[@KS5040]

Kansas is one of the worst states in the country for many reasons. It has no dynamic cities, as the state loves to dump massive amounts of money into mostly suburbs and huge subsidized green field developments at large cost to taxpayers. The utilities there are also some of the worst and most backward in the country, charging more for residential customers because the state gives massive subsidies to huge industrial users.

[@KonzaCelt]

For one thing, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis is a bit of a misconception. Almost all of the old pioneer trails that went west started in Independence MO, a modern suburb of Kansas City MO. Yes the Louis and Clark expedition started in St. Louis, but by the time of mass westward expansion in the 19th century the goalposts had already moved from the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, to the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers (KC). It was also the edge of the great forested region of the east and the grass prairie of the west - which was arguably the legitimate practical border of 'the west' back then. But more to your point, it's a simple matter of urban center locations and where the state boundaries were drawn. If you take out the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver metropolitan areas, all three states would be much closer in population. I mean, Kansas City KS alone (KC straddles the state line) is easily half of all of Kansas' population. The next biggest city in Kansas is Wichita, which is only like ~20% the population of KC Kansas...and that's not including the MO side. The Dust Bowl was a long time ago, and it doesn't explain why the population has remained low after a century of relatively disaster-free agriculture (tornados are less damaging and rarer than people think). What better explains the difference is the general trend for urban migration that is true over pretty much the entire nation. Kansas land is way more valuable as farmland, while forested areas (especially along rivers) are much more suited for transition to urban centers. There's a reason Denver is situated right at the foothills of the Rockies (after the gold ran out!), and not randomly somewhere on Colorado's eastern plains. Good farmland, and ranchland for that matter, are almost always going to have lower populations simply because of the nature of efficient land use.

[@markb3786]

facts

[@Jeff-fx1zy]

Because. Missouri has the Ozarks. Colorado has the Rockies. Kansas has the land that is not empty, it feeds not just the tourists, but a good chunk of the world. You cant grow a worlds worth of grain, and build condos in the same place. Weve all got our own priorities.

[@rattmausch]

I'm from WI and drove through Kansas in 2019 and I actually loved the openness. In WI we have trees and hills everywhere, not saying that's a bad thing either. WI is a pretty state but sometimes wide open spaces do feel refreshing. I definitely don't find Kansas boring.

[@KS5040]

Kansas has far worse weather than Wisconsin because it is too open, therefore the wind is horrible most of the time.

[@brynblue93]

@rattmausch i lived in the Ozarks for 6 years. One of my complaints was you couldn't see the scenery because of all of the trees! Ks born and raised.

[@kuwinsitall]

Where's my western Kansans at! Just me here? 😅

[@WestbyNorthwest]

I live in Colby👍

[@deborahmcdonald4371]

Quinter

[@rockymountainjazzfan1822]

I am a Western historian and I'm familiar especially with the history of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains Your descriptions of Colorado's historical development are often grossly inaccurate and obviously poorly researched. For example, the "Pikes Peak" gold rush of 1859 actually occurred far from Pikes Peak (though named for it) in the mountains near Denver and near Leadville. It was over by the early 1860's. Colorado Springs was not even established until 1870, then as a resort town. It was the silver mining boom that started in the early 1870's through 1893 that was Colorado's first major economic and population boom. After that, Colorado's population grew slowly--some places not at all--until World War II and after. Until after World War II, Pueblo and Denver were the industrial centers of Colorado.

[@LennyLentil]

Yeah, I found his explanation troubling. He exaggerated the impact of the dust bowl on Kansas's population. It was only about a 4.3% loss and had recovered by 1950. He also avoided the fact that Kansas had a larger population than Colorado up until the 1970's. Yet he made it seem like Colorado's mining history was what made it more populous than Kansas. Census data paints a much different picture that what Geoff is trying to panhandle here.

[@malachi-]

Just a side note, Pike stocked up and started his journey out of Missouri, the same place that Lewis and Clark made stops at, just before and 'after' their tour. "Old Fort Belle Fontaine​ W. T. Norton" "FORT BELLEFONTAINE THE GHOST ON THE STAIRS"

[@stephenlight647]

Adjunct professors always have to be busting into videos to make tangential points.

[@pdxbeaver]

Not one mention of Kansas City? About 40% of Kansans live in the Kansas City metro area, so way far eastern Kansas and more attached to western Missouri than the remainder of Kansas. The KC metro area is fascinating with the state line going right through the middle of the metro area

[@twostop6895]

Kanasas City is more know as a Missouri city, most of the land and people are on the Missouri side including all the sports teams and down town

[@colbymcarthur7871]

@@twostop6895 Even if KC is known as a MO city, it’s certainly important in a video about where people live in KS

[@mizzou1016]

It’s not a coincidence that the majority of Kansans live in a suburb of a major city in Missouri. Kansas sucks

[@iknowdeweybrudda6564]

@@twostop6895that’s a joke right ? Over 50% of the areas office space is in Johnson county Kansas. Missouri side is typically poorer and less desireable

[@iknowdeweybrudda6564]

@@mizzou1016by suburb you mean wealthy more jobs and more economic opportunities. Kcmo is a ghetto

[@williamhild1793]

I hadn't thought of the dust bowl as a reason that Kansas lags behind Colorado and Missouri in population.

[@nilesanders5110]

It's not.

[@julieolson9832]

Yep. My father and both sets of grandparents lived through the dust bowl. They often discussed how people left and didn’t return when the dust bowl ended.

[@danielzhang1916]

I think it was the last straw factor, there seems to be a correlation between farming and low rural population, Kansas unfortunately got the short end of the stick, everyone moved to other states and west for jobs and stuff

[@LennyLentil]

He's grossly misrepresenting the effects on the Dust Bowl on Kansa's population, it had recovered before 1950 and Kansas was larger in Population than Colorado all the way up until 1970.

[@timothyjuarez5306]

Living in an Eastern Kansas small town, my thoughts are that the state has resisted efforts to help itself in the last 2 to 4 decades. When it has money it tries to catch up from when it didn't. This leads to a cycle of poverty and plenty. Doesn't matter which party is in office here though most of the time it is republican. Also, there is really sparse entertainment here. And almost a resistence to change overall. Glad to see more renewable energy efforts but doubt that will help much.

[@rabidgoon]

no one who has ever been to western kansas would be confused about why this is.

[@bla-t]

when i road-tripped through kansas from missouri to colorado, i can say the first 2 ish hours (in eastern kansas) seemed normla just like in missouri with towns and cities but then the western part of kansas took like 4 hours to drive throguh with almost nothing in it apart from wind turbines and huge and mesmerizing thunderstorms if you’ve ever seen them. What’s even worse is that it extends into eastern colorado for 2 hours as well until you reach the rockies TLDR; like 70% of kansas is just a huge cornfield and is boring

[@marktevault57]

Exactly right!

[@orangeyewglad]

It's funny you say this because as someone from Pennsylvania who has road tripped across the country from my perspective it feels like the moment you leave Kansas city Kansas it become decidedly empty. In my eyes it all feels pretty empty between coastal California and Western Missouri other than Denver and a few others thrown in there along the way. Hopefully it remains this way, we need to keep empty places empty, and keep the urbanization to the coasts.

[@frankhammond9909]

Kansas is beautiful but you can't experience that just driving through on a major interstate.

[@danielzhang1916]

I think Kansas unfortunately got the short end of the stick, everyone moved to other states and west, there's no real industry or jobs letting people stay, so there will continue to be low rural population

[@kjwade6606]

Kansas is a beautiful state but you have to stop, be still and enjoy it. Riding across it doesn’t do it justice. Stop and listen to the wheat as it rustles, the grasses of the Flint hill, the stark beauty of western Kansas. Watch buffalo in their natural habitat and horses with area to roam. Take the time, listen, look and smell the clean air. The people don’t rush, we have the time to talk and tell you about our beautiful state. Where the apple farm is, best pie in town, where the buffalo farm is and where to buy farm raised elk. I have lived on the west coast and Hawaii but there is nothing more beautiful than a sunset on a wheat field.

[@BS-ni8ww]

How does Kansas compare to Nebraska and Oklahoma? Maybe a better comparison?

[@ZiggyZou]

Kansas is boring and flat. No major city.

[@BrotherKyler]

@@ZiggyZouNot true.

[@jasoncerullo4706]

Kansas City, Kansas is not Kansas City, Missouri 😂 The Missouri side of KC is bigger, but if include all the suburbs on the Kansas side, then KC is around 2 million? If you include the towns around Wichita, it's around 500,000. OKC is bigger, probably closer to 650,000. Tulsa is pretty cool and a decent size city. Probably, most of Nebraska's big cities are Lincoln and Omaha.

[@richellepeace4457]

High taxes, pathetic politicians, corrupt systems, don't come here...

[@JHKCF]

Where’s here?

[@cindywine4660]

I grew up there and it was a good place to grow up. Most people have to leave as adults though because it’s too hard to make a living. I would go back if I wasn’t settled elsewhere now

[@marktheaardvark7208]

Western Kansas isn’t fit for man nor beast, I use to say the Kansas State tree was a telephone pole but now days I think it’s a wind turbine, All that being said I have to say the people in Kansas are very nice folks

[@kentbarnes1955]

St. Louis is NOT the largest city in Missouri. It's Kansas City. And here in Missouri we pronounce OSAGE as "OH-SAAGE" (Long O, and Long A). Otherwise good video

[@iknowdeweybrudda6564]

⁠kcmo is full of crime and poverty. It’s your typical “central city” but with low density. Most the jobs, economy, wealth and density are in Johnson county Kansas now in the southwest corner of the area. This can easily be statistically proven.

[@dl2839]

Things have never been the same since dorothy got taken by the tornado.😔

[@crazyman8472]

Seriously, Wichita is like Car Guy Central for KZbinrs (Hoovie’s Garage, Car Wizard, Car Ninja, etc.)! 😎

[@gamewizardks]

Some people say Wichita has one of the best car scenes in the nation. My family are from Wichita and my dad was a part of it before he died. He had a fairly nice collection of antique and vintage sports cars.

[@jasoncerullo4706]

I live near KZbinr's Tyler Hoover of "Hoovies Garage" and John Ross of "Watch JR Go!" 😂 see them all the time ridi g around in their cars.

[@jumperpoint]

Osage is pronounce Oh Sage. Until it became Colorado (when gold was discovered), the Eastern half of Colorado was Kansas territory. Much of the state depends on the Ogallala Aquifer for water. It's already shrinking. Most of Kansas doesn't have enough water to support a larger population. Especially since Colorado and Nebraska typically use more than they are allowed from shared rivers by their agreements with Kansas. Water has always been scarce for both people and agriculture; Kansas is well positioned to get screwed.

[@jonathanterrebonne]

Interesting! Never thought of this before.

[@herschelwright4663]

I had a feeling you would mention the dust bowl and the Great Depression of the 1930s. I wasn’t surprised at all.

[@jaredhardaway]

Driving on I-70 in Grainfield when we broke down (which turned into our rear differential going out). Everyone was so nice. We wanted pizza and the only restaurant was a pizza restaurant. The owner let our dog come in and gave her water, and helped us find a tow truck and hotel and drove us to Quinter (14 mi. away) to our hotel

[@ShawnSage-m1h]

Kansas is known for 3 things sunshine, sunflowers, and sons of bitches...

[@Da__goat]

Colorado: Mineral wealth, legal marijuana, Denver is very well positioned for air traffic from east to west and north to south. Mountains and national parks for tourism. Missouri: Borders a major shipping lane, well connected by all 4 major freight railroads, mineral deposits, mountains in the south for tourism. Kansas: *FLAT*

[@davehughesfarm7983]

Only western half of Kansas is flat and KC has more rail tonnge per day than anywhere in the world..

[@mooseears9849]

@@davehughesfarm7983As someone from Eastern Kansas, I can confirm that yes, we are flat as well. The only reason you don’t notice as much is because of higher population density and more trees. The only truly non-flat part of KS is the Flint Hills

[@firefly9838]

We have the Smokey Hills and the Flint Hills that are very hilly.

[@colbymcarthur7871]

@@mooseears9849The KC area has a decent hilliness too! Especially in the river valleys

[@dreaminez472]

Missouri has legal weed too. In Colorado and Missouri you have freedom, tax renevue, and booming business. In Kansas you have jail cells and the nanny state.

[@polyrhythmia]

There is no god west of Salina. Most people can't take the haunting emptiness. But there should be vast areas where few people live. It all comes down to water in the end.

[@bunnyben5607]

It's this. There are only demons to be found in the western half.

[@DeanStephen]

Colorado Springs was never much of an industrial city. You need to go a bit further south for the next largest industrial city outside of the Denver Metro region, and that would be to Pueblo. Besides these two cities, most of Colorado’s industrialization was very dispersed and bestoke to the needs of mining and ranching.

[@mbrennan459]

For much of the 19th century, Missouri was the fastest growing region because 1) it was the “jumping off place” for anyone going wet; 2) it’s fertile soil and moderate climate; 3) it’s abundant natural resources. St. Louis is our largest metro area, but Kansas City is our largest city.

[@waynehall8920]

KS is an beautiful State, Wholesome clean air and you dont have all the problems you have on the east and west coast.

[@AcuraLvR82]

The Great Plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado are home to some of the most wild and wicked weather on earth. Aside from tornadic thunderstorms, that region also sees winter weather that can threaten human life. Also the Spanish were in the Missouri Ozarks long before the French. Would like to see you do a video on the Ozarks as its considered its own geographical sub-region.

[@davidlaney6153]

You get North of Oklahoma and the winters are just brutal with cold winds...that's why the the population drops off as you go further North.

[@STOCathain]

It feels like Kansas City is in view here but gets completely ignored except for the one line at the beginning about it being on the KS/MO border. You're missing a big part of the story by ignoring us in KC.

[@kc2dc444]

While more people live on the MO side of KC, it's hard to look past that 1/3 of the population of Kansas lives in the KC suburbs. Very odd video to pretty much ignore KC. There are many more reasons why KS has low population than the reasons they mentioned.

[@twostop6895]

Kanas City is really a Missouri city, most the land and people that make up Kansas City is in Missouri

[@cynricsaxon2945]

Kansas City was actually a Missouri City long long before it was formed as a town on the Kansas side. Just because it has the name Kansas in it doesnt mean its apart of Kansas. Its name came from the River it sits on not the state it was in. Yeah maybe 5-10% of KC is in kansas today its still a Missouri City.

[@kc2dc444]

@@cynricsaxon2945 Right, but this also has a lot to do with why the state of Kansas is not very populated. Most people in Kansas live near KCMO.

[@iknowdeweybrudda6564]

@@kc2dc444 ⁠kcmo is full of crime and poverty. It’s your typical “central city” but with low density. Most the jobs, economy, wealth and density are in Johnson county Kansas now in the southwest corner of the area. This can easily be statistically proven.

[@ian4040]

I grew up in Topeka and now live in Overland Park. The KC area (Lawrence included) is about the only area of the state that outsiders would even consider living in since it has all the amenities of a 2+ million person city. Wichita is ok, but the only reason you'd move there from another state is due to cheaper housing. Outside of that, Kansas is pretty sparsely populated and dotted with small towns. There are no mountains, no coastline, and our weather isn't what most people are looking for. Winters are generally too long and summers are too hot. May/June and September/October are pretty nice though.

[@josephblow3581]

Wichita is considered by many outsiders because there is always work here. Air Capita of the world... Or at least used to be

[@rocketpod1]

A decent amount of people move to Wichita to work at Koch as well

[@LeftyStratPlayer]

I'm from Wichita, and what you're saying is partially accurate. Due in part to significant, sustained growth over the past 30 years, the city now has most of the amenities of the KC Metro on a somewhat smaller scale, with the notable exception of professional sports franchises and an amusement park. Wichita appeals to those of us who prefer the slower pace of a smaller town that still offers a big-city feel. The primary advantage of living here is that any part of the city is only a 15-20 minute driving commute. Wichita has what I tend to describe as having a sort of large-scale Mayberry vibe to it. For example, my wife is from the Bronx and loves it here.

[@JH-qqqqqiim]

I lived in Junction City for 6 years when I was a kid between the 3rd grade and 9th grade. Not military that’s where my mom’s side of the family is. Such a nasty town.

[@ian4040]

@@JH-qqqqqiim Lol, Junk City?

[@Mach11976]

I worked in Topeka Kansas putting in Fiber Optic cables. Some of the nicest folks that I've met.

[@ntatenarin]

Sadly, the middle child is usually ignored. Sees Kansas in the middle... Jokes aside, I have family there, so I've spent time in Topeka and enjoyed the Waterpark in Wichita back in the 90's.

[@merryhunt9153]

I forgot to mention the climate. From bitterly cold to scorching hot, with thunderstorms, snowstorms and the occasional tornado.

[@KansasFarmer620]

Occasional tornado lmfao get the hell out of here

[@briebel2684]

It's funny how many people seem to think Kansas is all treeless and flat and that everything changes at the state lines. Eastern Colorado is identical to western Kansas, and much of northern and western Missouri is identical to Eastern Kansas. Kansas varies quite a bit from east to west.

[@jonathanandrews7493]

​@@briebel2684I think it's even flatter till you get close to the mountains. It's green instead of gold/yellow grass though.

[@briebel2684]

@@jonathanandrews7493 You would think that if you only take I-70, which is the most boring track possible through Kansas. If you get away from the interstate, you see a lot more variation.

[@jasoncerullo4706]

Some gnarly ice storms too!

[@hannahwebb4846]

I used to work for what is now a military-industrial company in Wichita, Kansas called Weckworth-Langdon. They got their start in manufacturing stage coach canopies to much later, providing the conductive gold back plate to one of the Mercury Space modules. You can see those items at the Kansas Space Museum in Hutchinson, KS.

[@fomfom9779]

You just brushed over KCMO, as to its development, and contribution to western migration. At one point, Westport was a major town in the area. It is now a neighborhood of KCMO. Westport was a major outfitting/departure point for westbound wagon trains. The Missouri River was a navigable river from the confluence with the Kansas River and east. Supplies came in from the East and were unloaded in what is now KC. Those supplies were used to develop the city and support supplying the wagon trains. A major highway interchange, south of KCMO, is called the Three Trails Crossing. It's named for the historic Oregon, Santa Fe, and California Trails, that crossed close by, many years prior. KCMO population is 508K (Metro: 2.2M; area is 8.5K sq miles) St Louis population is 293K (Metro: 2.8M; area is also 8.5K sq miles)

[@iknowdeweybrudda6564]

Kcmo is basically a little brother to Johnson county

[@fomfom9779]

@@iknowdeweybrudda6564 Indeed, the region is very fortunate that Johnson County, KS has Union Station, The Country Club Plaza, The Nelson-Atkins Art museum, The Starlight Theater, the international airport, The Power and Light District, Crown Center, the sports teams and stadiums, Kaufman Performing Arts Center, miles of parkways and hundreds of fountains. Oooopsie...my bad. Those are all in Missouri, NOT Kansas.

[@ZiggyZou]

@@iknowdeweybrudda6564that’s the stupidest shit I have ever heard😂😂

[@iknowdeweybrudda6564]

@@ZiggyZou it’s less dense than most JOCO municipalities and has less jobs than JOCO and is full of crime and poverty

[@stevedietrich8936]

The Dust Bowl wasn't the reason that Kansas has fewer people than Missouri or Colorado. Kansas was larger than Colorado all of the way through, and including, the 1970 census, The Dust Bowl was almost 4 decades in the rear view mirror at that point. If I had to pick one thing it would be the reliance on agriculture in Kansas and the diversification of employment opportunities in the other states as the reason. Farming has become centralized and there are fewer, but larger, farms.

[@kimjohnson8471]

Geography nerds' favorite KZbin channel!😂❤

[@JohnMichael-cm6kh]

I never even thought about this. Great video

[@Figgityfoogityfog321]

Kansan here. Poor framing of the video for including CO... you included it because it's the same longitude? KS, OK, and MO are a better trio comparison.

[@frankhammond9909]

I agree, and also I think Kansas has closer ties to Nebraska in many ways.

[@wayneanderson8034]

The pay for people starting out in Kansas is as low as it gets anywhere in America. When they say minimum wage, they mean the $7.25 kind. The only thing for young people to do is leave. When you are earning double elsewhere, there is no reason to go back. Kansas will always have a population drain for that reason.

[@smugwendigo5123]

At least where i live in Kansas there is no really affordable housing especially in very rural parts of Kansas

[@purpleku7768]

Native Wichitan here, just want to say ROCK CHALK JAYHAWKS

[@nilesanders5110]

:)😆 We don't have much going on so we have Championship basketball. All recruits to KU get driven by Naismith's resting place.

[@apacheking9776]

Rock Chalk! Beautiful campus and the loudest venue in the world Allen Fieldhouse. Muck Fizzou.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

@@apacheking9776 fook all that college worship bs..

[@kc2dc444]

KU fans are weird. :)

[@thesenuts603]

@@davehughesfarm7983 fr

[@Nishkid641]

And the good thing is that Kansas is not overran by democRATs.

[@steveparker2938]

Because it's over run with Republicans is one reason no one lives here.

[@steveparker2938]

And save it from the self destructive actions of the Red Party in it's attempt to control our lives while saying they are for smaller government involvement.@@SecondPlaceSince1865

[@phillipthesing]

Geoff, I really enjoy your channel, and all your segments including this one, kudos to you! For this one, the title was to me a bit misleading -- use of "Americans" when the context makes it clear what you really mean is "inhabitants" or "residents". Cheers!

[@HonkyTonkHellraiser]

Colorado is almost like 2 separate states

[@operator8470]

You’re not gonna see the beauty of Kansas from an interstate. There’s a lot to see in Kansas it’s beautiful land.

[@greyjackson2159]

great video! Thanks!

[@scrabbleking1965]

The 5 most populous counties in Kansas make up about 3% of land area, yet have 66% of the states population. Those 5 counties are Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Wyandotte and Douglas, those make up the KC/Topeka and Wichita metro areas.

[@lindawalkup6084]

I have never heard the Osage Indians pronounced “Oh-sag-a” and I grew up in Missouri. I believe it is pronounced “Oh-sage”.

[@KevinMDowney]

Hey… I live in KS! OP represent.

[@AdvocatusThei]

The real question is why Colorado has such a relatively large population.

[@scooterjmurd]

That's the more interesting question to me, considering the populations of the states immediately north and south of it. Basically it's all about that large V-shaped "empty area" he briefly mentioned that includes the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, western Kansas, eastern Colorado, western Texas, and New Mexico. Colorado's population is the anomaly.

[@noonesomeone669]

Tourism is the answer. A place becomes relatively more preferable to move to when amenities are included. Colorado had enough of a population before 2000 to draw in things like professional sports teams or large companies that accelerate population growth of the past two decades.

[@NapoleanKelly]

Because everyone loves Colorado from the everyday families to the rich and famous

[@seanprice6345]

Wichita has many aircraft plants and brings in people from all over the world. It has a history of entrepreneurship and many restaurant chains have started there. There is a thriving music scene. It doesn’t have tourist trap things like amusement parks but does have theatre, the best movie theaters, IMAX included, and museums for all ages. Affordable housing and low unemployment make it a good place to live.

[@jamesu3346]

I have always liked your videos, but not this one. The mispronounced names were iritating and makes me question the rest of your research and putting too much emphasis on the dust bowl. No mention that KS did have more people than Colorado for a long time and no mention of the importance of Kansas City KS & MO, metro area, as well as Wichita in many industries. What you say of Kansas could be said of Oklahoma and Nebraksa as far as being in the dust Bowl and in the middle. Oklahoma has more people than KS and KS has almost a million more people than Nebraksa. I rarely make a bad comment on You Tube but I disagree with about half of this video. Plus if we put this much emphasis on population trends this did not go deep enough. Lastly, are people not finding Colorado too expensive and too much traffic and leaving? A follow up video would be nice, and good work on many of your other past videos but not this one

[@carlitos8943]

Lived in Kansas for 8 years, most peaceful years of my life Ong nothing ever happens other than big rain storms and a tornado every now and then but it’s chill

[@kavehhaddad5311]

The largest city in MO is KC, not STL. Largest metro is STL.

[@gamewizardks]

Fun fact. The City of Wichita by itself has more people than the City of St. Louis.

[@jackryan1809]

(last time i check) Kansas is one of the last states to offer homestead-free plots to build a house if you move there. However, the type of people they want are business creators. So you have to be able to build your home and be self-sustainable. (the requirements are kindda high considering, the value is around of the land is like 1500USD)

[@KansasFarmer620]

If only it was that cheap 😂😂😂😂😂

[@joshuabroz]

Where are these plots of land? I live in Wichita and ain’t free to live anywhere around here

[@quentinstuchlik225]

Speaking as a guy who's lived in kansas all his life, I'm fine with the population since it's still a lot to me...

[@ColoSnowWolf]

Even though the saying is Pikes Peak or bust, the first gold and silver rushes were near Denver, not Colorado Springs.

[@michaelfried3123]

I've driven from east to west and then back thru Kansas (to visit Colorado). I can easily see why nobody lives there. I wouldn't wanna live there. It was a boring part of my drive in which I learned just how many giant wind turbines are there.

[@mystic37]

This! One of my most depressing thoughts was that there are people in Kansas that have never been outside of Kansas.

[@michaelfried3123]

@@mystic37 yikes, what a rough life.

[@danielzhang1916]

Kansas is stuck in a bad cycle, there's no real industry or jobs, so people leave and don't come back again

[@mooseears9849]

@@mystic37 As someone who lives in Kansas, I find it quite funny how you claim there are people who have never left the state

[@frankhammond9909]

Ignorant comment.

[@fredingram3731]

Western Kansas is just too damn windy for me, I can't stand that constant North or South wind

[@abbyarnold4477]

There are thousands of emptied farms and homes because the younger generation have moved th the cities .

[@fergman300]

colorado has the mountains and missouri has the lakes and rivers of the Ozarks. Kansas has the great plains.

[@therealjoshuacaleb4873]

Osage is pronounced (oh-sage) and Ute is pronounced (yoot)

[@tarikmehmedika2754]

Despite the dust bowl and it happening neraly 100 years ago, it is still weird that there is still such a stark contrast between Kansas and Colorado and Missouri,

[@LennyLentil]

He's grossly misrepresenting the effects on the Dust Bowl on Kansas's population, it had recovered by 1950 and Kansas was larger in Population than Colorado all the way up until 1970.

[@dontwalkdontrun]

The Depression of 1890 is the reason the population of Kansas is so low. The Dust Bowl devastated Oklahoma much more than Kansas.

[@dr.woozie7500]

⁠@@LennyLentilcan you explain why was Kansas slower in growth and surpassed by Colorado?

[@henrydaubresse9652]

@@LennyLentil 1970 is about the time that it became known that Corporate farming was drying up the Ogalala Aquifer.

[@alanm2842]

western Kansas is dry. western Oklahoma is dry. western Nebraska is dry. Missouri has a lot of rain. Colorado has tourism. Kansas does not compare well with east and west. holds its own with north and south.

[@briebel2684]

Fun fact, when Denver was founded, it was in the western part of Kansas territory. Also in terms of average rainfall, Eastern Kansas is vastly different from western Kansas. Some parts of western Kansas average less than 10 inches of rain per year, and the Pittsburg area of SE Kansas averages around 46-47 inches. That's why the bulk of Kansas residents live in the eastern half. Eastern Kansas isn't immune to drought, but it was only a tiny part of western Kansas that was affected the Dust Bowl. Irrigation is extremely rare east of Wichita, because it's super rarely needed.

[@alanm2842]

great, you hit the nail on the head.

[@ilasegal5480]

Don't forget all the tornadoes in Kansas. It's a pretty dry state unless it's blessed with water from Colorado, and they've been having a drought.

[@ian4040]

Kansas doesn't get its water from Colorado.

[@jamesschneider3329]

@@ian4040 Not too long ago, a multi-decade lawsuit over water rights was settled between Colorado and Kansas due to Colorado damming and diverting too much river water.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

@@ian4040 some from arkansas river out of colorado

[@Christhreeonesix]

It's from the precipitation coming from Colorado moving west lol cmon people. And this spring and summer in central KS we have had an insane amount of rain🤦‍♂️

[@JTA1961]

Toto~ly

[@deborahross9974]

I was born and raised in Kansas and have lived here my whole life. I love being a Kansan and I wouldn't move except to another town, as I'm tired of driving 50 miles round trip to the next town for groceries because the one here in town went out of business over 5 years ago. I'm a senior lady living in a tiny town and that 50 miles gets awful tiring. Hopefully I can get to move before I'm to old to do so. Ha! Kansas is a great state to live in and I don't care what others think because at least I don't have to worry about hurricanes, mountains, blizzards, haven't been in one yet, volcanoes or whatever. God bless.

[@markarmstrong4505]

But the wind...

[@history_leisure]

I don't even think Kansas the state was organized as a territory when Kansas City, MO was established. Kansas City's name has nothing to do with the state

[@FettiMagazine]

Yes, Kansas was a territory back then called "Kansas Territory" and the Kansas River. Kansas City is where the Missouri River and Kansas River meet.

[@colbymcarthur7871]

it’s all named for the river!

[@iknowdeweybrudda6564]

⁠kcmo is full of crime and poverty. It’s your typical “central city” but with low density. Most the jobs, economy, wealth and density are in Johnson county Kansas now in the southwest corner of the area. This can easily be statistically proven.

[@semipenguin]

Having lived in Joplin, Mo for most of the early 2000s, I can say Kansas is one of my favorite states. As a truck driver, I’ve seen just about every part of the state. Nice people and small towns.

[@thomasdarling2553]

Dorothy calls it home.

[@nilesanders5110]

🤮when Kansans hear one more "Dorothy" comment.

[@TwiggyKeely]

Hi! I am from Wichita, we are a really cool town with a lot to do! Also I'm a storm chaser and western kansas has the best storm chasing terrain in the world because you can see an entire structure of a storm for miles and miles, and we have one of the best highway systems in the US :)

[@chucke756]

Happy to say that I’ve lived in KS many more years than I’ve lived elsewhere. Much better than the east coast. 😊

[@monta247]

Kansas is perfect in geographically, and population wise. Kansas primary problem is the politicians have sold its citizens short on fighting political battles instead of solving the day to day problems that the avg joe has to deal with. Immigrant, the ukraine and the far east is not Kansas primary problem. It educating the childrem, stable employment, healthcar snd affordable living/ motagage. Politicians and the political party are for the parties. When they are alectected nothing but their bank accounts change. We need our tx moneys invested in america not builfing up place we blew up.

[@mfiorito7279]

Love your videos. I’ve always believed that geography is responsible for the economic development (or non development) of an area.

[@Jabberwockybird]

It definitely has been throughout history. With modern technology (cars, plains, internet), we will see if that changes. I think politics is causing the current populations shifts between cities at the moment.