Kansas

Known as the Sunflower State and the Wheat State, Kansas is full of fields of all sorts of agricultural products. The state song is "Home on the Range" – a song young children learn nationwide. Kansas is peaceful and quiet – a taxi driver told me that there were more cows than people.

This state of 82,282 square miles (213,110 square kilometers), with 459 square miles (1188 square kilometers) of water, sits in the middle of America and has a population of nearly 2,723,507. The highest point is Mount Sunflower – surrounded by rolling plains and small towns.

The state's largest cities include Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City, Topeka, Olathe, Lawrence, Shawnee, Salina, Manhattan, and Hutchinson. On three occasions, Wichita won the national distinction of All America City – a prestigious award given to communities in which citizens, government, non-profit organizations, and business work together to address local concerns. Kansas City boasts more than 30 annual ethnic festivals and a booming jazz scene, and smaller towns like Prairie Dog boast unusual attractions like the world's largest prairie dog.

Outdoor activities include hunting, fishing, boating in the 25 state parks. Kansas is a state where you can make the most of your present outdoor hobbies and also take up new ones.

Famous Kansans include poet Gwendolyn Brooks, Walter P. Chrysler, Amelia Earheart, Dennis Hopper, and Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle.

Stretch out on your hammock between two Cottonwood trees on a summer afternoon and read your book, or go into town to chat with friends. If you like peace and quiet, community values, the great outdoors, and relaxed small-town living, then this is a state for you.

See our 150 Jobs in Kansas