Great Bend, Kansas

Great Bend is a city in Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Barton County. It is named for its location at the place where the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. In 2020, 14,733 people lived there. Geography Great Bend is at 38°21′52″N 98°45′53″W (38.3644567, -98.7648073). It has an elevation of 1,850 feet (564 m). It is in central Kansas, and it is at the intersection of U.S. Route 281 and U.S. Route 56. Great Bend is 95 miles (153 km) northwest of Wichita, 235 miles (378 km) west-southwest of Kansas City, and 345 miles (555 km) east-southeast of Denver. The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of 10.63 square miles (27.53 km2). Of that, 10.50 square miles (27.19 km2) is land and 0.13 square miles (0.34 km2) is water. People 2020 census In 2020, there were 14,733 people, 6,136 households, and 3,690 families living in Zurich. Of the households, 61.0% owned their home and 39.0% rented their home. The median age was 38.6 years. Of the people, 77.3% were White, 1.5% were Black, 0.6% were Native American, 0.4% were Asian, 11.0% were from some other race, and 9.1% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.5% of the people. Education Primary and secondary education Great Bend Public Schools (USD 428) has about 3,000 students. It runs eight schools in Great Bend: Colleges and universities Barton Community College is a two-year community college. It is about three miles northeast of Great Bend. Media The Great Bend Tribune is the city's daily newspaper. It makes over 6,200 copies. Parks and recreation The city government's Park Department maintains 10 parks in Great Bend. Culture Sports Greyhound racing started in the United States in the bottoms in 1886 during a formal coursing event. References Other websites City City of Great Bend Great Bend - Directory of Public Officials Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Schools USD 428 Archived 2011-09-07 at the Wayback Machine, local school district Barton Community College Attractions Great Bend Zoo Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area Historical Barton County Historical Museum Cravens - They Live Their Life, Their Way on YouTube, from Hatteberg's People on KAKE TV news Maps Great Bend City Map Archived 2022-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, KDOT