Kansas
| Summary Demographic State Data (and Source) | |
|---|---|
| Population (2009 CB est.): | 2,818,747 |
| Population (2000 Census): | 2,688,418 |
| Foreign-Born Population (2009 CB est.): | 171,252 |
| Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census): | 134,735 |
| Share Foreign-Born (2009): | 6.1% |
| Share Foreign-Born (2000): | 5.0% |
| Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2009 CB est.): | 53,823 |
| Share Naturalized (2009): | 31.4% |
| Legal Immigrant Admission (DHS 2000-2009): | 44,563 |
| Refugee Admission ( HHS 2000-2009): | 1,996 |
| Illegal Alien Population (2010 FAIR est.) | 70,000 |
| Costs of Illegal Aliens (2010 FAIR) | $441,800,000 |
| Projected 2050 Population (2006 FAIR) | 3,473,000 |
Kansas : Extended Immigration Data
STATE POPULATION
Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 Kansas’s population had increased to 2,818,747 residents, i.e., an annual average increase of about 14,015 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 0.5 percent per year. The comparable national annual rate of increase was 1.0 percent.
The 2000 Census found 2,688,418 persons resident in Kansas. This was an increase of 210,844 persons above the 1990 Census. The annual rate of increase (0.8%) was below the national rate of increase (1.2%).
The 2000 population is about 20,000 more persons than the Census Bureau had expected to find in the state in 2000 when it issued its state population projections in 1996. The significance of this was that the Census Bureau has concluded that much of the shortfall in their population estimates during the 1990s was due to an underestimation of the illegal alien population.
Between 1980 and 1990, the overall population of Kansas grew by 4.8 percent (from 2,364,236 to 2,477,574 residents). That was an annual rate of change of 0.5 percent. The national rate of change was 1.0 percent.
FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION
Based on the ACS, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Kansas was 171,252 persons in 2009. This meant a foreign-born population share of 6.1 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 3,925 people, which is more than one-fourth (28%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 27.1 percent compared to a 3.7 percent increase in the native-born population. This was an annual rate of increase of 2.7 percent compared with the national annual rate of 2.4 percent.
NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION (NIM)
Based on the Current Population Survey (CPS), the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2009 the state’s population increased by about 52,390 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 5,635 residents, i.e., more than one-third (35.9%) of the total increase (not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States).
FOREIGN-BORN CHANGE
The amount of change since the 2000 Census found in the 2009 ACS indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 2,695 people, which is nearly one-third (30.8%) of the state’s annual average population increase. [Note that the CPS indicates a higher rate of foreign-born growth.] Since 2000, the foreign-born population had increased by 27.5 percent compared to a 2.0 percent increase in the native-born population. The annual rate of increase from 2000-2009 was 2.7 percent compared to a national rate of 2.4 percent.
Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 12.2 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 4,845 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 8,770 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., more than three-fifths (62.6%) of the state’s overall population increase.
The 2000 Census found that more than half (55.1%) of Kansas's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is a much higher share than the national average (43.7%). In the 2009 CPS estimate, nearly two-fifths (39.9%) had arrived since 2000. That is higher than the less than one-third (31.6%) share of new arrivals nationally.
FOREIGN-BORN CHARACTERISTICS
An indicator of the change in the immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population that speaks a language other than English at home. In 2000 the share of non-English speakers at home in Kansas was 8.7 percent. More than two-fifths (44.9%) of those also said they spoke English less than very well. In the 2009 ACS data, more than one-tenth (10.1%) were non-English speakers at home, of whom 44.3 percent did not speak English well. Among those speaking other than English at home, more than two-thirds (66.8%) spoke Spanish. Among those not speaking English well, nearly three-fourths (72.2%) spoke Spanish.
| Speakers of Foreign Languages (at home in Kansas in the 2000 Census) |
|
| Spanish | 137,245 |
| German | 16,820 |
| Vietnamese | 10,395 |
| French | 6,535 |
| Chinese | 5,435 |
| Korean | 3,665 |
| Laotian | 3,145 |
| Arabic | 2,835 |
| Tagalog | 2,235 |
| Russian | 1,995 |
| (Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004) | |
The chart above shows the foreign-born population increasing by 27.1 percent since 2000 and the share of that population from Latin America and the Caribbean increasing by 34.3 percent. That region’s share of the state’s immigrant population grew from 54.7 percent to 57.8 percent in 2009.
NATURALIZATION
Data from the 2009 ACS indicate that 53,823 residents, or 31.4 percent, of the foreign-born population in Kansas were U.S. citizens, compared to 44,763 residents, or 33.2 percent, in 2000. Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population were U.S. citizens in 2000, and 43.7 percent in 2009.
Refugees
Kansas received 1,996 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'00-'09).
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS
In Kansas overall enrollment in 2008 (468,295) was 0.8 percent below enrollment in 1999. LEP enrollment (34,630) was 85.5 percent higher than a decade earlier. The share of LEP enrollment rose from 1 percent to 2.6 percent.
FOREIGN STUDENTS
The 2009/2010 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in Kansas as 8,922. Five schools in Kansas are listed as having a major concentration of these students:
- U. of Kansas-Lawrence – 2,126
- Kansas State U. – 1,963
- Wichita State U. – 1,680
- Pittsburg State U. – 556
- Johnson County C.C. – 543
Those schools represented more than three-fourths (77%) of the total foreign students in the state.
For information on foreign student issues see: Foreign Students in the United States
ILLEGAL ALIENS
FAIR Estimate - FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2010 is as many as 70,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 12 million persons.
INS/DHS Estimate - The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated that the resident illegal population in Kansas was 47,000 as of January 2000. This number was 27,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.
Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimated the illegal alien population of the state at 65,000 as of 2010.
COSTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS
| Kansas Fiscal Costs In 2009 | ||
| Due to Illegal Aliens ($M) | (Pct.) | |
| K-12 educ. | $215.8 | 48.8% |
| LEP educ. | $43.4 | 9.8% |
| University | $1.5 | 0.3% |
| Medicaid | $41.9 | 9.5% |
| SCHIP | $11.6 | 2.6% |
| Justice | $31.6 | 7.2% |
| Welfare+ | $34.4 | 7.8% |
| General | $61.6 | 13.9% |
| Total | $441.8 | |
| Tax Receipts | $18.2 | |
| Net Cost | $423.6 | |
Source: “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers,” FAIR 2010.
POPULATION PROJECTION
We projected Kansas’s population in 2050 likely would be between 3.39 million and 3.47 million depending on what happens with immigration policy. See “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050: Four Immigration Scenarios,” FAIR 2006.
Kansas : Immigrant Admissions
| Kansas Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year |
|
| 2000 | 4,582 |
| 2001 | 4,030 |
| 2002 | 4,508 |
| 2003 | 3,804 |
| 2004 | 4,041 |
| 2005 | 4,514 |
| 2006 | 4,280 |
| 2007 | 4,141 |
| 2008 | 5,344 |
| 2009 | 5,319 |
| Total | 44,563 |
Recent immigrant admissions are at about 510 percent of admissions just after adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 925 immigrants. During the most recent five years, admissions averaged about 4,720 persons.
The charts above show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 868 in FY'69 to 5,319 in FY’09. The cumulative total of admissions to Kansas between fiscal years 1965 and 2009 was about 118,760 immigrants.
INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'96 - FY'05
The table below furnishes INS data on the 39,058immigrants who have been admitted for residence in Kansas since 1996 by fiscal year and by nationality.
The INS data are for nationals of the countries with the largest number of immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1996. The absence of data means that the total number of admissions to the United States by nationals of that country was not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.
The nationalities may change each year, so the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become legal immigrants in Kansas during this period.
A dash (-) indicates that the data for that year was not published for that country in the Immigration Statistical Yearbook.* China includes Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Soviet Union includes Russia and former parts of the USSR. Yugoslavia includes Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro-Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Immigrant settlement from the 31 countries above accounted for over fourth-fifths (81.3%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Kansas during this period. Mexican immigrants accounted for almost one-third (32.3%) of all admissions.
Kansas : Poll Data
Rasmussen Poll: Arizona Law SB 1070
July 2010
Suppose the new Arizona immigration law was being considered for your state. Would you favor or oppose passage of that law in your state?
A Rasmussen Report poll conducted 500 Likely Voters in Connecticut on December 12, 2007 found
- 85% oppose granting drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens.
Kansas : Immigration Impact
Environmental and Quality of Life Profile
Water: By 2050 the state's population is projected to rise to nearly 3.5 million.1 Kansas has a daily, per-capita water demand of 142 gallons. The projected population increase indicates that by 2050, human water demand in Kansas may have increased by up to 111.8 million gallons each day.2
Water shortages, particularly in western Kansas, are a real concern. The Ogallala Aquifer is the main source of water in the region, which relies heavily on this resource for grain and cattle production.3 Water levels of the Ogallala Aquifer are declining because it is being pumped out faster than it is being replenished. In some areas water levels of the Ogallala have declined in excess of 150 feet since large-scale pumping began.4 Although the Ogallala Aquifer is an enormous water source, it is not inexhaustible, as long as pumping exceeds replenishment.
The Ogallala is critical to farming in the center of the nation. At least 12 billion cubic meters are being drawn from it every year. At the current rate, the aquifer may be dry in less than 25 years.5 Limited water resources are being exacerbated by growing human consumption. When the aquifer finally runs dry, the High Plains Region will be little more than desert.
Traffic: Kansas' highway traffic increased by 27 percent between 1990 and 2008. In 2010, The Road Information Project (TRIP) reported that 25 percent of the state's major urban highways are considered congested.6 As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Kansas's residents increased 16.3 percent during the 1990s, from 17.2 minutes to 20 minutes in 2000.7
The typical Wichita commuter lost 6 hours in 2007 due to traffic congestion, resulting in an estimated $27 million cost in fuel and lost time. In Kansas City, whose urban area includes parts of Missouri and Kansas, the 15 hour annual delay wasted 9 gallons of gas and cost commuters $267 million.8 About 8 percent of Kansas commuters had a commute of 45 minutes or longer in 2008.9
Increased traffic brings wear and tear along with it. One-fifth (20%) of the state's roads were named as being in poor or mediocre condition in 2010, and 20 percent of bridges were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. As a result, the typical Kansas motorist pays $319 per year in extra vehicle maintenance and operating costs. 10
Disappearing Open Space: The amount of developed land in Kansas increased by 363,300 acres from 1982 to 2007, growing at a pace of 13,650 acres per year over the last ten years of that period.11 If growth continues its current pace, Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita will sprawl together into one giant megalopolis, experts say.12
Sprawl: A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 268.6 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Kansas City, MO metropolitan area, which spills into Kansas, and 33.6 percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase.13
Crowded Housing: An estimated 18,682 of Kansas' housing units were classified as crowded in 2008, defined as units with more than one occupant per room. This amounted to 1.7 percent of the state's housing units. In addition, 4,174 units were severely crowded, with at least 1.5 occupants per room.14 Nationally, crowded housing rates are driven upward by immigration, where 27 percent of children in immigrant families live in crowded housing compared to 9 percent of children with native-born parents. In Kansas, the shares are 26 percent of children in immigrant families are in crowded housing compared to 5 percent of those in native-headed households.15
Poverty: Kansas' immigrants are more likely to be poor than their native-born counterparts. In 2007, 21.8 percent of foreign-born households were below the poverty line, compared to 10.5 percent of native households. An additional 12.6 percent of the foreign-born and 8.8 percent of native households were not in poverty but had incomes less than 1.5 times the poverty level.16 25.9 percent of children in immigrant families were poor in 2006, compared to 14.0 percent of native children.17
Air Quality: In the American Lung Association's 2010 assessment, only seven Kansas counties were rated on high ozone days. Sedgwick's "B" was the highest grade, followed by Linn, Trego, and Johnson Counties with "C" marks. Leavenworth and Sumer scored a "D," and Wyandotte, an "F."18
Solid Waste: Kansas generates 1.73 tons of solid waste per capita each year.19
Schools: The K-12 enrollment is projected to increase by more than 3,700 students by 201520
Some schools are struggling with overcrowding. In Garden City, many teachers don't have classrooms of their own due to lack of space, and even the portable classrooms are full.21
Endnotes:
- Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. "Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050." FAIR. March 2006.
- U.S. Geological Survey 2000.
- Bridgette West. "Professor Researches Kansas Aquifer, Water Shortages" Kansas-State Collegian. April 10, 2007.
- V.L. Mcguire. "Ground Water Depletion in the High Plains Aquifer." USGS Fact Sheet. 2007.
- Heidi Stevenson. "How Corporations Drain Our Aquifers for Profit (Part 2)." Natural News. June 11, 2008.
- The Road Information Project (TRIP), "Key Facts about Kansas' Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding," May 2010.
- "Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000," Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau. "Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990," 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
- Texas Transportation Institute, "Urban Mobility Report 2009."
- American Community Survey, 2008 Estimates, Custom Data Table.
- The Road Information Project (TRIP), "Key Facts about Kansas' Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding," May 2010.
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, "Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory."
- Amy Shafer, "One Giant Mass," Associated Press, December 18, 2001.
- Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, "Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities," NumbersUSA, March 2001.
- American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates 2006-2008. Data retrieved using ACS Custom Table tool.
- Kids Count Data Center, which used 2008 American Community Survey Data.
- Migration Information Source State Data (Migration Policy Institute)
- Urban Institute, Children of Immigrants Data Tool.
- American Lung Association, "State of the Air 2010."
- Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
- "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007. "Projections of Education Statistics to 2015," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
- "Garden City High School Overcrowded, Solutions Hard to Come By," Associated Press, December 17, 2001.
Other Resources
State Local Reform Organizations
State Representatives Voting Record
Updated January 2012