Geography
Newton is located at 38°2'39" North, 97°20'51" West (38.044089, -97.347597)1.
Newton lies at the "bull's eye" of the North American Continent. US Highway 81, also known as the Pan American Highway, stretches from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Mexico City, Mexico through Central and South America. It passes through Newton, Kansas and is known as "Main Street." US Highway 50 runs past the White House in Washington, DC through Newton, Kansas and continues on to Sacramento, California and ends in San Francisco, California.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.8 km² (9.6 mi²). 24.8 km² (9.6 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 17,190 people, 6,851 households, and 4,610 families residing in the city. The population density is 692.8/km² (1,794.0/mi²). There are 7,277 housing units at an average density of 293.3/km² (759.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 86.73% White, 2.30% African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.84% from other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. 12.73% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 6,851 households out of which 31.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% are married couples living together, 9.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% are non-families. 28.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.43 and the average family size is 2.99.
In the city the population is spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $38,236, and the median income for a family is $45,703. Males have a median income of $32,308 versus $21,906 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,529. 7.9% of the population and 5.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.7% are under the age of 18 and 5.6% are 65 or older.
Newton is located in Harvey County which is an agricultural and small manufacturing county with 34,361 people. Harvey County Kansas is part of a four county "Metro Area" with about a half million people. The major city in this metro area is Wichita, Kansas, 20 miles (20 minutes) to the South.
Major Highways (I-135, US 50, US 81, KS-15), an airport with a 7,002 foot runway, Burlington Northern - Santa Fe Railway, make Newton a central location for transportation and shipping. Amtrak's Southwest Chief stops in Newton twice each day and and provides passenger rail service to either Los Angeles or Chicago.