Maize named fastest growing city in Kansas

A new report from the League of Kansas Municipalities, using data from the 2020 U.S. Census, has named Maize the fastest growing city in Kansas. 

Residents and city officials said they aren’t surprised at all. 

“I don’t see how any other community among the state could be any busier,” City Administrator Richard LaMunyon said. “It’s just impossible. And then this came out to kind of justify what we were saying.”

LaMunyon has lived in Maize for over 40 years. Residents are used to seeing new homes, apartments, businesses and lots of construction every day. 

“We can tell,” resident Andrea Graham said. “I mean, there’s just so many more families and apartment buildings going up.”

Graham said she likes living in Maize because it has all the perks of a small town along with cool activities. 

“It kind of has the best of both worlds right now…I don’t know if that will change as it keeps growing, but we’ll see,” she said. 

LaMunyon said the city is currently working on 11 housing developments which will result in over 140 new homes. He said this will have a positive economic impact for not only Maize, but Wichita and Sedgwick County.

However, the rapid growth does come with some growing pains. He said residents do get frustrated with all the construction, and the existing roads are not built to withstand all the traffic. 

“Some people would call it kind of a challenge, but I call it an opportunity,” LaMunyon said. 

The League of Kansas Municipalities's report also names Wichita the largest city in Kansas. Overland Park had the largest population growth from 2010 to 2020. 

“We’ve watched it grow all this time, and we’re so proud of our city,” LaMunyon said.