McPherson, Kansas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

McPherson is a city located in the center of the state of Kansas in McPherson County, Kansas. The population was 13,770 at the 2000 census.^GR6. The city is named after General James Birdseye McPherson, a Civil War general.

It is the county seat of McPherson County and home to McPherson College.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 History
5 External links

[edit] History

The community was founded in 1872. In 1887, city officials attempted have the community named the state capital, but failed.

By 1888, the community was at the junction of four railroad lines.

[edit] Geography

McPherson is located at 38°22′19″N, 97°39′44″W (38.371923, -97.662177)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.1 km² (6.2 mi²). 15.9 km² (6.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.97%) is water.

The community is located on US Route 56, west of Interstate 135.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 13,770 people, 5,378 households, and 3,651 families residing in the city. The population density was 865.9/km² (2,241.6/mi²). There were 5,658 housing units at an average density of 355.8/km² (921.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.11% White, 1.31% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.21% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.92% of the population.

There were 5,378 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,469, and the median income for a family was $48,882. Males had a median income of $33,831 versus $20,633 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,716. About 5.1% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.