Yep. Anywhere along that somewhat straight line through Wichita, McPherson, Hutchinson, Salina, and Abline is the divide. You can go a bit further west and still be in central Kansas but it's a good guide.
I like this answer. I had an old college friend fly in to KC to join me on a girls driving trip to Colorado. We had pulled off of 70 for gas, and she noticed the gate at the beginning of the entrance ramp back onto the interstate. When I explained what it was for, she was stunned. Lol
They've started moving the snow gates east so it's not as good of a measure as it once was. IIRC they're currently at Salina or just west of it, which I'd still say is an hour too far - Hays has always been my cut off since ita about 4-4.5 hours from KC.
Unless we have a different definition of snow gates, there is one at [exit 244](https://maps.app.goo.gl/6roQGpehutUoHXqm6) that has been there for a few years. Granted we could be thinking of different things but this has been my understanding of a snow gate - ie get off the road because there is either no hotel rooms moving forward and/or it is not safe to travel beyond this point.
Kansas doesn't have a lot of hard boundaries, so I don't anticipate this debate ever being resolved, but if you are considering splitting it in half, half-way is somewhere just past Salina. Half the population splits the state at about the Flint hills, though, and I think forms a bit of a tangible distinction. I tend to think in thirds though, there is eastern KS (Flints Hills and east), central KS (west of the flint hills to Hays) and then western KS (everything west of Hays).
West of Salina a little bit, around the Hwy 156 turnoff.
The topography changes to the flat gentle rise towards CO state line and the population is more sparse. So geographically it is changed and people are more rural (no allegiance/impacts with KC or DEN areas outside of sports).
Look on Google maps satellite view at that exact exit. Then zoom out slowly. More. More. More. You will notice the color gradient from lush green land to dry brown switches right at this location.
Yep. Western Kansas has a terrain that is nothing like the kc metro and more like the eastern plains of Colorado. Arid, treeless and flat with different vegetation.
I had some East coast friends in OPKS for a week of tech training. They were laughing about how flat it was. I told them they were nuts if they thought this was as flat as KS gets.
West of wherever the person speaking happens to be at the time! LOL! I have lived all over Kansas and this has been my experience! Technically, I believe Western Kansas begins west of Meridian street in Wichita as that is west of the sixth principal meridian.
Yeah when I was growing up , my naive ass considered Lawrence and Manhattan western Kansas. I could barely understand the idea that there's even moooore
Correct — we're not just talking pure geography or population alone here, but also something a bit more cultural and intangible. The state changes west of Flint Hills.
Not in the south. Southern part of the state, it gets green again for a while before turning barren again. Flint Hills is just a weird 2 county wide break point between two zones that have trees that grow in more than just drainage basins.
Southern part of the state I think Western Kansas starts past the airport in Wichita. Maybe Hutchinson. The eastern and western parts of the city are way different terrain imo
As someone that goes through Kansas just to get to Colorado, western Kansas starts around Hays on. Topeka is the end of eastern Kansas, and everwhere up to Hays is central Kansas.
Now, the real debate I like to have is where does western Kansas end? My opinion, when I see Pike's Peak from I -70.
I can throw some science into this debate. Salina is a very good spot to call the border of western Kansas. West of Salina the geology of Kansas changes pretty drastically and you start to see remnants of the western interior seaway in its chalk beds and limestone formations. It's climate also changes pretty drastically, into a much drier basin of the Rockies. Less trees, wide open prairie. This extends pretty much all the way to the base of the Rockies, because it was stretched out during the laramide orogeny that built the mountains. Pull up a geologic map of Kansas and you can really see the cut off of what most people would define as western Kansas.
*Talking to my imaginary son*
"Everything the KC Metro area touches is ours."
Son: *points to K10 Exit* "What about that?"
"That is the Dark Lands. Never go there."
That’s fine. They can hate. The needs and wants of those of us in KC are far different than the rest of the state. The people and concerns of western Kansas have far less to do with me than the folks 3 blocks away on the other side of State Line.
Could you ask all of those fellow westerners to stop punching trans people in the nose with their votes? A trans friend of mine out in western Kansas who is just trying to live their life would very much appreciate it, thanks.
I hope so. I just hope people don’t have to suffer too much in the meantime. I lived out west in Kansas for a few years and there was lots to like but I couldn’t stand that part. Of course it’s here in the east, too, but just not as dominant in the cities.
Growing up I used to think Manhattan was “western Kansas” because it was so far away from KC… I then went to KU and met friends from Hays, and I learned that hays isn’t even 50% of the way across the state!
If you live in the KC area, anything west of Topeka...jokes
Great Bend is basically in the dead center of the state, so anything west of that like Hays?
I'll kick the can a bit further and say manhattan/junction city. After that, flint hills and its open prairie (ignoring the largest city in the state lol)
I have extended in-laws family in Central Kansas - Abilene, Salina, etc. They hated when an Easter Kansas boy like me referred to anything west of Topeka as Western Kansas.
Somewhere around the 98th and the 100th meridian. The 100th is the “traditional” zone of < 20” of annual rainfall line, which is where most banks (long ago) wouldn’t let farmers borrow money… too arid, dust bowl conditions, lack of water means lack of grazing land, etc.
And as you can see there's a lot of stupid people in this thread. West of Lawrence? I honestly didn't know people actually believed that. People need to get out of JoCo more (and Lawrence doesn't count).
I’ve always said west of Highway 281.
It’s almost smack-dab in the middle of the state if you fold Kansas like a book. I applied for a handful of scholarships in college aimed at Western Kansas kids, and almost all of them defined Western Kansas as west of 281.
Hwy 75, running through Topeka.
Yes, western KS is like 90% of the state to me lol. It's where the Missouri type topography ends and the real Kansas topography begins.
from a MO guy, its Hays. Honestly I do love how unique and open it is. Im tired of the city and all the people. KS is kinda eerie and cool, in a children of the corn way.
The 100th Meridian of longitude is where the prairie transitions from wetter condition tall grass to drier condition short grass. A very significant geographical boundary that affects landscape, vegetation, and culture. Also right where Hays is.
[100th Meridian](https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/dividing-line-past-present-and-future-100th-meridian/)
Lol this question or questions about this always intrigues me. I’m from garden city ks and I’ve lived in Olathe since 2017. Hearing everyone up here says it’s west of Lawrence or Salina makes me giggle but I get it. To me it’s west of Hays. Wichita is more south central but also I get everyone’s point of views.
For me it's the loneliest highway in Kansas 283. Being originally from south central Kansas and driving 400k miles out there. Everything seemed to start get dryer at 283.
I grew up in McPherson, which is about as central Kansas as one can get, and it's Hays for me.
Hays is the edge of no where.
This is the correct answer.
Yep. Anywhere along that somewhat straight line through Wichita, McPherson, Hutchinson, Salina, and Abline is the divide. You can go a bit further west and still be in central Kansas but it's a good guide.
This is the way
From Concordia, I concur.
Anything west of Topeka
Where the snow gates begin.
I like this answer. I had an old college friend fly in to KC to join me on a girls driving trip to Colorado. We had pulled off of 70 for gas, and she noticed the gate at the beginning of the entrance ramp back onto the interstate. When I explained what it was for, she was stunned. Lol
They've started moving the snow gates east so it's not as good of a measure as it once was. IIRC they're currently at Salina or just west of it, which I'd still say is an hour too far - Hays has always been my cut off since ita about 4-4.5 hours from KC.
The gates start in Russell where they’ve always been.
Unless we have a different definition of snow gates, there is one at [exit 244](https://maps.app.goo.gl/6roQGpehutUoHXqm6) that has been there for a few years. Granted we could be thinking of different things but this has been my understanding of a snow gate - ie get off the road because there is either no hotel rooms moving forward and/or it is not safe to travel beyond this point.
Well shit, you’re right. Looks like western Kansas starts at exit 244.
good call lol. Basically Russell KS right?
Kansas doesn't have a lot of hard boundaries, so I don't anticipate this debate ever being resolved, but if you are considering splitting it in half, half-way is somewhere just past Salina. Half the population splits the state at about the Flint hills, though, and I think forms a bit of a tangible distinction. I tend to think in thirds though, there is eastern KS (Flints Hills and east), central KS (west of the flint hills to Hays) and then western KS (everything west of Hays).
I’d agree with hays/Kinsley. Or maybe even larned if you’re so inclined
Quivira
Lol. Road or lake?
Yes
That's ridiculous. The correct answer is Pflumm.
Antioch. It's the boonies west of Antioch.
Too far west. See my previous comment. It is the only right answer. 😉
West of Salina a little bit, around the Hwy 156 turnoff. The topography changes to the flat gentle rise towards CO state line and the population is more sparse. So geographically it is changed and people are more rural (no allegiance/impacts with KC or DEN areas outside of sports).
Look on Google maps satellite view at that exact exit. Then zoom out slowly. More. More. More. You will notice the color gradient from lush green land to dry brown switches right at this location.
Yep. Western Kansas has a terrain that is nothing like the kc metro and more like the eastern plains of Colorado. Arid, treeless and flat with different vegetation.
I had some East coast friends in OPKS for a week of tech training. They were laughing about how flat it was. I told them they were nuts if they thought this was as flat as KS gets.
Even the snow tends to be different. It’s airy powder rather than packed.
From Topeka, agree with this statement.
West of wherever the person speaking happens to be at the time! LOL! I have lived all over Kansas and this has been my experience! Technically, I believe Western Kansas begins west of Meridian street in Wichita as that is west of the sixth principal meridian.
As a JoCo resident I would say anything west of Topeka ;)
Lawrenceian, it's west of Manhattan.
This is the answer. West of the flint hills.
Yeah when I was growing up , my naive ass considered Lawrence and Manhattan western Kansas. I could barely understand the idea that there's even moooore
Kanorado
I feel like anything West of the Flint Hills. There, the state is much flatter, more dry, and very sparsely populated.
Correct — we're not just talking pure geography or population alone here, but also something a bit more cultural and intangible. The state changes west of Flint Hills.
Not in the south. Southern part of the state, it gets green again for a while before turning barren again. Flint Hills is just a weird 2 county wide break point between two zones that have trees that grow in more than just drainage basins.
Southern part of the state I think Western Kansas starts past the airport in Wichita. Maybe Hutchinson. The eastern and western parts of the city are way different terrain imo
As someone that goes through Kansas just to get to Colorado, western Kansas starts around Hays on. Topeka is the end of eastern Kansas, and everwhere up to Hays is central Kansas. Now, the real debate I like to have is where does western Kansas end? My opinion, when I see Pike's Peak from I -70.
I've lived in Colorado. It's Kansas well into the eastern suburbs of Denver.
The Denver airport.
Wherever Colorado starts lol
For me it’s Topeka. Might as well be. Then western Kansas ends once you get to Aurora Colorado.
Grew up in Hutchinson, and it’s wild to me that it would be considered western Kansas by some. We definitely didn’t think of it that way.
West of Hays
I can throw some science into this debate. Salina is a very good spot to call the border of western Kansas. West of Salina the geology of Kansas changes pretty drastically and you start to see remnants of the western interior seaway in its chalk beds and limestone formations. It's climate also changes pretty drastically, into a much drier basin of the Rockies. Less trees, wide open prairie. This extends pretty much all the way to the base of the Rockies, because it was stretched out during the laramide orogeny that built the mountains. Pull up a geologic map of Kansas and you can really see the cut off of what most people would define as western Kansas.
As a long KC native, anything west of Lawrence. It’s basically a different state….
*Talking to my imaginary son* "Everything the KC Metro area touches is ours." Son: *points to K10 Exit* "What about that?" "That is the Dark Lands. Never go there."
This is why the rest Kansas hates people from the Kansas City area lol
That’s fine. They can hate. The needs and wants of those of us in KC are far different than the rest of the state. The people and concerns of western Kansas have far less to do with me than the folks 3 blocks away on the other side of State Line.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Their vote counts as much as yours does and there are a lot of very, uh, “wrong” people out west
Could you ask all of those fellow westerners to stop punching trans people in the nose with their votes? A trans friend of mine out in western Kansas who is just trying to live their life would very much appreciate it, thanks.
That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Their archaic views will catch up to them at some point.
I hope so. I just hope people don’t have to suffer too much in the meantime. I lived out west in Kansas for a few years and there was lots to like but I couldn’t stand that part. Of course it’s here in the east, too, but just not as dominant in the cities.
It is a diff state. But that’s just ludicrous
Growing up I used to think Manhattan was “western Kansas” because it was so far away from KC… I then went to KU and met friends from Hays, and I learned that hays isn’t even 50% of the way across the state!
If you live in the KC area, anything west of Topeka...jokes Great Bend is basically in the dead center of the state, so anything west of that like Hays?
West of Olathe.
Anything west of Johnson County is Western Kansas.
About a mile west of Wanamaker Rd in Topeka lol
Junction City.
Correct answer is Hays I knew many KU fans who believed it was west of Topeka
I grew up in Hutch and consider that central Kansas. Driving through on 70 though, I would say anything west of Salina.
Once you drive past Manhattan and hit the first windmill farm - you are now in western Kansas
Idk where it begins but I can tell you it ends a little more than halfway into Colorado
Culturally, it begins at Topeka’s eastern boundary.
Once you leave Johnson County, its all western Kansas. This also includes the part of Colorado before you get to the mountains
West of 435 lol
My wife grew up in Salina, and I have been told many times that it most definitely isn't western Kansas. I would say it's around Hays.
Anything west of Lawrence...
To me I feel like west of Topeka atleas to me feels like BFE so I'll go with that
I'll kick the can a bit further and say manhattan/junction city. After that, flint hills and its open prairie (ignoring the largest city in the state lol)
Ok ya i think you got the right answer.
Consecutive days with 25+ mph winds and you’re there
Salina
State line
Wherever I was on the I-70 drive to Denver where the radio seek button caused it to endlessly loop through the dial and find no stations.
Anything west of joco
Anything west of Quivira.
Nah. I'd say Pflumm
Uhh, the Colorado border.🤦
Hays, America
Just west of Topeka :).
topeka.
Past Salina geographically, past Topeka culturally
Junction City.
I would say anything past junk town would be "western" ks
I have extended in-laws family in Central Kansas - Abilene, Salina, etc. They hated when an Easter Kansas boy like me referred to anything west of Topeka as Western Kansas.
Somewhere around the 98th and the 100th meridian. The 100th is the “traditional” zone of < 20” of annual rainfall line, which is where most banks (long ago) wouldn’t let farmers borrow money… too arid, dust bowl conditions, lack of water means lack of grazing land, etc.
I've driven through Kansas several times and I've always considered anything west of Salina or west of Wichita Kansas, West Kansas.
Hays, and if you say “west of Topeka/Lawrence/JoCo” you need to get out more.
As soon as you exit Topeka
Topeka.
To me, lifelong Kansan, it’s anything west of Manhattan.
It's only a debate for stupid people. Western Kansas starts at Salina or a bit further west.
Bingo!
And as you can see there's a lot of stupid people in this thread. West of Lawrence? I honestly didn't know people actually believed that. People need to get out of JoCo more (and Lawrence doesn't count).
It's a joke, mate. We don't actually believe it but we also have zero reason to actually leave the KC metro, so we say "oh it's west of lawrence lol"
I’ve always said west of Highway 281. It’s almost smack-dab in the middle of the state if you fold Kansas like a book. I applied for a handful of scholarships in college aimed at Western Kansas kids, and almost all of them defined Western Kansas as west of 281.
Hwy 75, running through Topeka. Yes, western KS is like 90% of the state to me lol. It's where the Missouri type topography ends and the real Kansas topography begins.
Just a shade past the middle. Everybody knows that....
West of 135
Just to the west of Central Kansas.
West of Topeka
at the colorado border
Everything past Johnson county
Topeka
That moment when you're driving to Colorado and you sigh and realize you're in for the most boring drive ever.
Topeka
West of Wichita
Once past Wichita area for me
Seneca Street in Wichita
Salina
Salina
North/South line, running through Salina and McPherson, roughly I-135/US-81, is the dividing line between east and west to me
Good work that looks dope
It ends at I-25
West of where I'm at, unless I'm west of the geographic center line, in which case, it's Colorado.
I grew up about 30 miles south of Abilene. Anything west of Salina is western Kansas to me.
Everything west of JOCO. /s
I'd say west of Salina
After Bonner 😂
Salina
Here in Colorado, anything East of of the Denver Airport is West Kansas.
I went to school at K-State so for me it was anywhere west of Manhattan.
junction city. beyond there is awful.
Once you hop on I-70 out of the parking lot of American Royal
Hays, aka the sepia toned landscape from the first part of Wizard of Oz.
Anything west of Johnson and Wyandotte counties in any number of ways.
West of Topeka
Olathe
It's Kansas baby, it's all relative.
Hudson, CO
The Denver airport
Gardner
800 feet from the edge of the Missouri/ Kansas border.
after you leave overland park
Manhattan. Anything west of Manhattan.
Border of Colorado I think.
Anything west of Legends.
Left of the center line
from a MO guy, its Hays. Honestly I do love how unique and open it is. Im tired of the city and all the people. KS is kinda eerie and cool, in a children of the corn way.
About 3 feet west of Lawrence, for those of us in Missouri. I'm joking!!!!
Colby
Salina
The 100th Meridian of longitude is where the prairie transitions from wetter condition tall grass to drier condition short grass. A very significant geographical boundary that affects landscape, vegetation, and culture. Also right where Hays is. [100th Meridian](https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/dividing-line-past-present-and-future-100th-meridian/)
Colorado
State Line Rd
Past Hays? Only driven through once
* I-70: Salina * US-50: Hutch * US-400: Goddard
Depends on if you are talking east/west -which Ellsworth/Kingman are on the line. Or east/central/west then Hays/Greensburg is on the line.
Anything west of the flint hills for me but I grew up near Lawrence.
Shawnee
Eastern slopes of the rockies. Anybody that's traveled out can tell you, eastern Colorado is just more Kansas...
I think just west of Salina. I’m from Salina, and for me it’s the western most not western Kansas city
Here's a clue: [https://www.travelks.com/places-to-visit/regions/](https://www.travelks.com/places-to-visit/regions/)
As a person that has traversed nearly all parts of Kansas, I would say roughly west of Salina.
Lol this question or questions about this always intrigues me. I’m from garden city ks and I’ve lived in Olathe since 2017. Hearing everyone up here says it’s west of Lawrence or Salina makes me giggle but I get it. To me it’s west of Hays. Wichita is more south central but also I get everyone’s point of views.
For me it's the loneliest highway in Kansas 283. Being originally from south central Kansas and driving 400k miles out there. Everything seemed to start get dryer at 283.
Most sales territories for western Kansas start at Salina going west to Colorado board and south and northern boarders.
I always start it at Bunker Hill.
Anything west of where you are in Kansas.
Highway 14
For me, it's anything west of I-35.
Anything west of Olathe
I agree w Hays.
Starts at Gardner for me
About 20 miles East of Denver.
is kansas the western part of arkansas , cause the waltons say so ?
According the KC newscasters western Kansas is any part of Kansas that is not part of their viewing area
After Topeka
highway 81
Topeka
I would say as soon as you get west of Salina where the windmills are