Population:

33th largest U.S. State by population, with 2,802,134 people (2009 estimate).
15th largest state in the country by area, at 82,277 square miles.

Largest city: Wichita

Median income:$50,177 (2008 estimate)

Climate:
Yearly rainfall: 28.6 inches per year
Yearly snowfall: 17 inches per year in the west, 40 inches per year in the southeast.
Temperatures (High/Low) in capital city of Topeka:
January, 37/17; July, 89/68

Foreclosures:
Foreclosure activity for 2009 increased in Kansas over the prior year. There was a total of 9,056 properties with filings. That works out to a rate of one filing for every 135 households, which compares to the United States average of 45, and is a little less than one percent of the state’s housing units.

Those figures represent a 45 percent increase over 2008 and a 272 percent increase over 2007.

In 2008 there were about 60,400 existing homes (including condos, co-ops, and single-family homes but excluding new homes) sold in Kansas, compared to about 70,500 sold in 2007.

Economy:
Kansas' agricultural exports are livestock, wheat, soy, and corn. It's a so-called “Grain Belt” state. Kansas is lesser known for its oil production, but it's the 8th biggest oil producer in the United States, pumping out about 2.5 million barrels of crude per month— it's also the 8th biggest natural gas producer. The state is home to major corporations like Spirit AeroSystems and and Sprint/Nextel, the former being Kansas's largest employer (its second biggest employer is the Fort Riley military base.)

Noteworthy:
Kansas boards of education were the defendants in two seminal court cases. The first was the famous Brown vs. the Board of Education school segregation case, the second came when the state Board voted to stop the teaching evolution in public schools.