How is Valley Center run?
Valley Center’s city government spent $6.2 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, about $830 per resident. That is its newest year reported to the Census Bureau. Water and other utilities ($2.2 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Valley Center is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $830 per resident a year, or $2.27 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 25%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$864 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Valley Center’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($864 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 30 Kansas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $984, and the middle half spent $786–$1,339. Valley Center spent less than 63% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($1.8 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Kansas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Valley Center itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is down 4% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Valley Center reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $864 · 2023: $830.
full-time in March 2025, up from 48 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $3,629 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.59% of the home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Valley Center’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Valley Center’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Valley Center →
Who’s in charge in Valley Center
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Valley Center’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on valleycenterks.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 106 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (7,419).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Valley Center Public Schools Unified School District 262
Valley Center’s K–12 school district, shared with Grant Township, Valley Center Township, Park City, Kechi, Kechi Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,850 per pupil, $9,880 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Kansas districts overall: 28% local, 61% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Valley Center’s votes are counted by county
Kansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Valley Center alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Sedgwick County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican56.1%120,118 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat42.3%90,506 votesOthers: 1.6% (3,528 votes).
Most votes in Sedgwick County: Donald J Trump
Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
100% of Valley Center lies in Sedgwick County. Every 2024 race in Sedgwick County is on the county’s page.
Sedgwick County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Valley Center.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: valleycenterks.org ↗
- 2Kansas HouseValley Center is split between 2 districts
- 3Kansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Kansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Valley Center compares with the towns next door
Valley Center spent $864 per resident in 2022; the 2 neighbors that reported 2022 spent $7 to $813. Towns that run more services spend more. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Kechi Township | $7 | $2,468 |
| Wichita | $813 | $2,233 |
| Park City | estimate | $2,249 |
| Valley Center | $864 | $3,629 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Valley Center’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Valley Center’s government
How much does Valley Center spend per resident?
About $830 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $864 was less than 63% of 30 Kansas cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Valley Center?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,629 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.59% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see valleycenterks.org.
Who runs Valley Center’s government?
See valleycenterks.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Valley Center yet.
How did Valley Center vote in 2024?
Kansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Valley Center alone. Sedgwick County, where 100% of Valley Center lies, voted Trump 56.1%, Harris 42.3% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Valley Center?
70 full-time and 10 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $393,491 (about $4.7M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Valley Center in the state legislature?
Valley Center is split among 2 State House districts, so your address decides. The Kansas Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Its State Senate district is District 31 (Stephen Owens). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Valley Center’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →