50 Kansas Quotes about the Jayhawk State

Check out these Kansas quotes to learn more about the beloved Jayhawk state.

Kansas was admitted to the United States as the 34th state in 1861.

It’s located in the Midwest and is bordered by Nebraska to the north, Oklahoma to the south, Colorado to the west, and Missouri to the east.

Kansas is the 15th largest state in the United States, but it is only the 36th most populated, which leaves lots of room for prairies, rivers, and farmland.

The state was named after the Kansas River and was home to many Native American Tribes and herds of Bison pre-1850s.

Take a look at these Kansas Quotes to learn more about this great state!

Best Kansas Quotes

Enjoy some of the best quotes about Kansas.

1. “We have a strong agricultural heritage in Kansas.” — Jim Ryun

2. “If I went West, I think I would go to Kansas.” — Abraham Lincoln

3. “Kansas held a subtle beauty that only a quiet eye could see.” — Kimber Silver

4. “Kansas was all golden and smelled like sunshine.” — The Outlaw Josey Whales

5. “If there’s anything better than life–it’s life in Kansas.” — Chamber of Commerce

6. “Kansas glories in her days to be, in her horizons limitless and vast.” — Harry Kemp

7. “Kansas afternoons in late summer are peculiar and wondrous things.” — P.S. Baber

8. “Tornado or no tornado, a girl from Kansas doesn’t let much get to her.” — Danielle Paige

9. “Sunrise Kansas, harvesters’ Kansas, a million men have found you before us.” — V. Lindsay

10. “Kansas had better stop raising corn and begin raising hell.” — Mary Elizabeth Lease

Iconic Kansas Quotes

There are many well-known qualities of Kansas, a beautiful prairie state.

11. “Kansas…the land of diversity…the land of unity.” — Chamber of Commerce

12. “We know that half has not been told of Kansas, nor ever can be.” — Arthur Cooper

13. “Kansas is all right for men and dogs, but it’s pretty hard on women and horses.” — Santa Fe Trail

14. “Everything you experience outside of Kansas will be measured against all you know here.” — P.S. Baber

15. “The fact remains: if you are willing to work, you need never despair of getting a livelihood in Kansas.” — Percy G. Ebbut

16. “The sun was over our town; it was like a blade. Kicking cottonwood leaves, we ran toward storms.” — William Stafford

17. “I believe we all agree that, for the health of Kansas, nothing is more important than education.” — Kathleen Sebelius

18. “I cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas.” — L. Frank Baum

19. “The wizard [of Oz] says look inside yourself and find self; God says look inside yourself and find [the Holy Spirit]. The first will get you to Kansas.” — Max Lucado

20. “Nothing is eternally stable, and even Kansas isn’t really in Kansas anymore. The earth is in a constant state of flux.” — Simon Winchester

Quotes About The Wizard of Oz

In the famous 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Kansas is often referred to as “home.” These Kansas quotes from the movie highlight the state.

21. “Toto, we’re home. Home!” — Dorothy

22. “There’s no place like home!” — Dorothy

23. “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” —Dorothy

24. “My! People come and go so quickly here!” — Dorothy

25. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” — Dorothy

26. “I am sure I can tell you of a way to get back to Kansas.” — Glinda

27. “Someplace where there isn’t any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto?” — Dorothy

28. “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.” – Wizard of Oz

29. “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard.” — Dorothy

30. “You people with hearts have something to guide you, and need never do wrong, but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful.” — Tin Man

Quotes About Kansas and Life in the State

You’ll find a variety of quotes and opinions about the state below.

31. “In Kansas, people are reserved, quiet, taciturn.” — Everett McGill

32. “Well dog, I know we’re not in Kansas, the sky’s all colored wrong.” — Big Country

33. “I’m going to Wichita / Far from this opera forevermore” — The White Stripes

34. “I come from Kansas; we’re steak-and-potato boys. I grew up on meat.” — Gary Woodland

35. “I’m a kid from Kansas, so J.C. Penny was where I got all my clothes from kindergarten to around 7th grade.” — Nick Wooster

36. “Kansas? Big state in the middle of the country. Fulla corn, Republicans, and Bible salesman, and not much else.” — Libba Bray

37. “Yeah, well, I always heard there were three kinds of suns in Kansas: sunshine, sunflowers, and sons-of-b*tches.” — The Outlaw Josey Whales

38. “There’s a reason why my mom chose to stay and raise my brothers and me in Kansas—it’s a great place to live, work, and raise a family.” — Sharice Davids

39. “As a young girl, I saw commitment in my grandmother, who helped Grandpa homestead our farm on the Kansas prairie. Somehow they outlasted the Dust Bowl, the Depression, and the tornadoes that terrorize the Great Plains.” — Sheri L. Dew

40. “I was born and raised in Kansas. The worst things are the locusts, mosquitos, the flatness, the humidity. The greatest things are the simplicity of life, watching the thunderheads building on the horizon, and running through cornfields.” — Erin Brockovich

More Kansas Quotes

Take a look at some more of the best quotes about Kansas.

41. “In Kansas, I have a chess school.” — Anatoly Karpov

42. “It’s always Kansas; that’s where I always break down.” — Fred Eaglesmith

43. “I have climbed the Great Wall of China. I have jumped out of airplanes over Kansas.” — Craig Sager

44. “If Texas and Kansas were countries, they wouldn’t be admitted to the World Trade Organization.” — Mike Leach

45. “Kansas led me to believe that everything was simple, everything made sense, and that anything was possible.” — Chely Wright

46. “Mine was a Midwest home–you can keep your world. Plain black hats rode the thoughts that made our code.” — William Stafford

47. “But wishing our Kansas soldiers’ God speed’ is not enough. We need to comfort, care for, and protect their families.” — Kathleen Sebelius

48. “We believe in Kansas institutions; in the Kansas language and in Kansas ideals; in her cleanliness of society, and in her demands that honor, sobriety, and respect.” — Charles Moreau Harger

49. “I began to believe in nothing but books and the wonderful world in books — where if people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas.” — Langston Hughes

50. “But the dollars spent on economic incentives and new investment strategies are wasted unless we seriously address the two most important economic issues in Kansas: education and health care.” — Kathleen Sebelius

Some Facts About the State

The word Kansas is a Sioux word that means “people of the south wind.”

Here are some state symbols:

• Animal – Buffalo
• Flower – Sunflower
• Tree – Cottonwood
• State Parks – 24 total
• State Capital – Topeka
• Reptile – Ornate Box Turtle
• Song – Home on the Range
• Bird – Western Meadowlark

We hope you enjoyed these Kansas quotes!

Tell us your favorite Kansas quote in the comment section.

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