Wichita | World’s Best Cities

Wichita

The Air Capital of the World (so named because of the manufacturing of aircraft, its pro-aviation business environment, and the largest concentration of aerospace manufacturing employees in the nation) landed in the top 20 in two of our main categories: Product (#16) and Programming (#17). The former includes Attractions and Museums, with Wichita ranking #13 in both, with draws such as Sedgwick County Zoo, the Mid-America All-Indian Center, Ulrich Museum of Art, and the Kansas Aviation Museum. Situated on the Arkansas River, the city scores well for Programming with a Top 10 spot for Restaurants (#10, with more than 1,200 establishments and 30 food trucks) and #15 for Culture (check out Wichita Grand Opera and Ballet Wichita). Development is occurring all over: in the Historic Delano District (where cowboys caroused in the 1870s and ’80s) with a new extended-stay hotel; and downtown, where the new $75-million Riverfront Stadium for minor league baseball opens this year (even though the season was at risk) and where developers are investing at least another $75 million to turn four vacant buildings into a hotel, health school, culinary college, and student housing.