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Bel Aire, Kansas

Bel Aire is a suburb of about 10,300 people in Sedgwick County, Kansas, in the Wichita area. It's growing fast: its population is up 24% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tulsa, is about 136 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom townSuburb of Wichita

Population
10,287
up 24% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$238,100
Sedgwick County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$97,795
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Wichita area
88.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Wichita, KS
To Tulsa
136 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.1% below the U.S. average in the Wichita metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood12 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byWesley Medical Center in Wichita, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 136 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bel Aire meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Bel Aire runs into the built-up area around Wichita (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Boom town. The population is up 24% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$238,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Sedgwick County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,649 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$97,795U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,213 a yearKansas: $2,798
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
23%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.9U.S. average = 100 (the Wichita metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Wichita metro area, not Bel Aire alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
10,2872020: 8,308
Median age
35.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
50%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (27%); manufacturing (15%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, KS, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Bel Aire, run by Wichita.

Colleges in or next to town: Wichita State University-Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (5,000 to 9,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kansas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
81%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
96%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
23°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
57 a year
Nights at or below freezing
102 a year
Rain and melted snow
34.3 inches a year
Snow
13 inches a year
Elevation
1,390 feet

Weather stations: Wichita Jabara Ap (2 miles away) and Wichita (14 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, Tulsa.

Sedgwick County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve56 miles

Read about Bel Aire's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bel Aire?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Eastborough, KS724 people, 6 miles
  • Benton, KS939 people, 8 miles
  • Whitewater, KS650 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.