Editing Alma, Kansas

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Short description|City in Wabaunsee County, Kansas}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Alma, Kansas
|settlement_type          = [[City]] and [[County seat]]
|nickname                 = "City of Native Stone Set in the Flinthills"<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cityofalma-kansas.net/|title= City of Alma, Kansas|publisher= City of Alma, Kansas|accessdate= August 17, 2012|archive-date= July 24, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724114257/http://www.cityofalma-kansas.net/|url-status= dead}}</ref>

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Brandt Hotel, 400 Missouri Street, Alma, Kansas.jpg
|image_caption            = [[Brandt Hotel]] (2017)
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = Wabaunsee_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Alma_Highlighted.svg
|map_caption              = Location within [[Wabaunsee County, Kansas|Wabaunsee County]] and [[Kansas]]
|image_map1               = Map of Wabaunsee Co, Ks, USA.png
|map_caption1             = [[Kansas Department of Transportation|KDOT]] map of [[Wabaunsee County, Kansas|Wabaunsee County]] ([[:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png|legend]])

<!-- Location -->
|coordinates_footnotes    = <ref name="GNIS"/>
|coordinates              = {{coord|39|0|55|N|96|17|14|W|region:US-KS_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Kansas]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Kansas|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Wabaunsee County, Kansas|Wabaunsee]]
|subdivision_type3        = [[List of townships in Kansas|Township]]
|subdivision_name3        =

<!-- Established -->
|established_title        = Founded
|established_date         = 1867
|established_title1       = [[Platted]]
|established_date1        =
|established_title2       = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date2        = 1869<ref name="gov1"/>
|named_for                =

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = <ref name="gov1">{{cite web |title=City of Alma |url=https://www.lkm.org/members/?id=41260516 |website=The League of Kansas Municipalities |date=May 26, 2019}}</ref>
|government_type          = [[Mayor–council government|Mayor–Council]]
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Maurice Baker

<!-- Area -->
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_20.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 24, 2020}}</ref>
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.60
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.58
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.01
|area_total_km2           = 1.55
|area_land_km2            = 1.51
|area_water_km2           = 0.04
|unit_pref                = Imperial

<!-- Elevation -->
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name="GNIS"/>
|elevation_ft             = 1096

<!-- Population -->
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="Census-2020-Profile"/>
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_total         = 802
|pop_est_footnotes        =
|pop_est_as_of            =
|population_est           =
|population_density_sq_mi = auto
|population_density_km2   = auto

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Central Time Zone|CST]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]s
|postal_code              = 66401, 66501
|area_code_type           = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
|area_code                = [[Area code 785|785]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 20-01350
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS ID]]
|blank1_info              = 2393926<ref name="GNIS">{{GNIS|2393926}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|https://cityofalma-kansas.com/|cityofalma-kansas.com}}
}}

'''Alma''' is a city in and the [[county seat]] of [[Wabaunsee County, Kansas|Wabaunsee County]], [[Kansas]], United States.<ref name="GNIS"/>  As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population of the city was 802.<ref name="Census-2020-Profile">{{cite web |title=Profile of Alma, Kansas in 2020 |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US2001350 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514100754/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US2001350 |archive-date=May 14, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|History of Kansas}}

===19th century===
[[File:Alma, Kansas (1901).jpg|thumb|left|Missouri Street in Alma (1901)]]
For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].  In 1803, most of [[History of Kansas|modern Kansas]] was secured by the United States as part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]].  In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th [[U.S. state]].  In 1859, Wabaunsee County was founded.

The first house was built at Alma in 1867.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_o8X5krq3fP8C | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_o8X5krq3fP8C/page/n61 65]}}</ref>

In 1887, the [[Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway]] built a main line from [[Topeka, Kansas|Topeka]] through Alma to [[Herington, Kansas|Herington]].<ref name="Rock Island Rail History">{{Cite web |url=http://home.covad.net/~scicoatnsew/rihist4.htm |title=Rock Island Rail History |access-date=2011-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110619230000/http://home.covad.net/~scicoatnsew/rihist4.htm |archive-date=2011-06-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  The [[Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway]] was foreclosed in 1891 and taken over by [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway]], which shut down in 1980.  This line of the former Rock Island Railroad was sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad and later merged into the Union Pacific that operates and owns the line today.  Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

The city was named after either the city of Alma, Germany, or for a [[Alma River (Ukraine)|stream]] in [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=4419|title= Profile for Alma, Kansas, KS| publisher= ePodunk|accessdate=August 17, 2012}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|0.59|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|0.58|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.01|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=2012-07-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archivedate=2012-01-25 }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1880= 362
|1890= 1125
|1900= 966
|1910= 1010
|1920= 789
|1930= 811
|1940= 776
|1950= 716
|1960= 838
|1970= 905
|1980= 925
|1990= 871
|2000= 797
|2010= 832
|2020= 802
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=[https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html U.S. Decennial Census]
}}
[[File:Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Wabaunsee County.png|thumb|right|1915 Railroad Map of Wabaunsee County]]
Alma is part of the [[Topeka, Kansas]] [[Topeka metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]].
===2020 census===
The [[2020 United States census]] counted 802 people, 324 households, and 199 families in Alma.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P16: HOUSEHOLD TYPE |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20p16&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref name=:0 /> The population density was 1,370.9 per square mile (529.3/km{{sup|2}}). There were 357 housing units at an average density of 610.3 per square mile (235.6/km{{sup|2}}).<ref name=:0>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table DP1: PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20dp1 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Gazetteer Files |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2020/geo/gazetter-file.html |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=US Census Bureau}}</ref> The racial makeup was 90.65% (727) [[White (U.S. Census)|white]] or [[European American]] (88.9% [[Non-Hispanic White|non-Hispanic white]]), 0.12% (1) [[African American (U.S. Census)|black]] or [[African American|African-American]], 0.25% (2) [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]], 0.5% (4) [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.0% (0) [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]] or [[Native Hawaiian]], 0.75% (6) from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 7.73% (62) from [[Multiracial Americans|two or more races]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P1: RACE |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P1?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20p1&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race was 6.23% (50) of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P2: HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P2?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20p2&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

Of the 324 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18; 49.7% were married couples living together; 25.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 33.0% of households consisted of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.<ref name=:0 /> The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.1.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1101: HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1101?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20s1101%20&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 14.3% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1501: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1501?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20s1501%20&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

24.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.6 males.<ref name=:0 /> For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 111.5 males.<ref name=:0 />

The 2016-2020 5-year [[American Community Survey]] estimates show that the median household income was $56,667 (with a margin of error of +/- $17,369) and the median family income was $76,250 (+/- $10,537).<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1903: MEDIAN INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2020 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1903?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20s1903%20&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> Males had a median income of $38,214 (+/- $9,356) versus $31,458 (+/- $5,790) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $33,700 (+/- $7,145).<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S2001: EARNINGS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2020 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S2001?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20s2001%20&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> Approximately, 3.0% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.3% of those under the age of 18 and 4.9% of those ages 65 or over.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1701: POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1701?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20s1701%20&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table S1702: POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS OF FAMILIES |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1702?q=Alma%20city,%20Kansas%20s1702&y=2020 |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2012-07-06}}</ref> of 2010, there were 832 people, 342 households, and 212 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1434.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 381 housing units at an average density of {{convert|656.9|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.4% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.1% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.0% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.2% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 2.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.7% of the population.

There were 342 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.0% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.03.

The median age in the city was 42.7 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 21.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.8% male and 53.2% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 797 people, 315 households, and 208 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,410.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 354 housing units at an average density of {{convert|626.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.86% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.63% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.25% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.63% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.63% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.26% of the population.

There were 315 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,333, and the median income for a family was $46,339. Males had a median income of $31,750 versus $21,094 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $16,245. About 4.7% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
The community is served by [[Wabaunsee USD 329]] public school district.  USD 329 was formed by school unification that consolidated Alma, Maple Hill, McFarland, and Paxico.  Wabaunsee High School is located in Alma. The Wabaunsee High School mascot is Wabaunsee Chargers.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wabaunsee USD 329 | publisher = USD 329 | url = http://www.usd329.com/ | accessdate = 4 January 2017}}</ref>

Alma High School was closed through school unification. The Alma High School mascot was Blue Devils.<ref>"Alma Blue Devils Belt Burlingame To Post Third Win", The Manhattan Mercury, 7 October 1962, p.11.</ref>

==Area events==
* Hot Alma Nights is held on the third Saturday in August.<ref>[http://www.hotalmanights.com/ Hot Alma Nights]</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Kansas}}
* [[Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the meat industry in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Kansas books}}
{{See also|Wabaunsee County, Kansas#Further reading|l1=List of books about Wabaunsee County, Kansas}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alma, Kansas}}
* [https://cityofalma-kansas.com/ City of Alma]
* [https://www.lkm.org/members/?id=41260516 Alma - Directory of Public Officials]
* [https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/city-pdf/alma.pdf Alma city map], KDOT

{{Wabaunsee County, Kansas}}
{{Kansas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Kansas]]
[[Category:County seats in Kansas]]
[[Category:Cities in Wabaunsee County, Kansas]]
[[Category:Topeka metropolitan area, Kansas]]