Sedgwick County is home to many different governing bodies.  It contains 27 townships, 20 cities, 20 unified school districts, 1 fire district, 1 soil conservation district, 4 rural water districts, 6 watershed districts, 8 sewer districts, 12 improvement districts, 4 industrial districts and 1 rural library district. In all, there are more than 350 separate taxing units within the county.

All counties in the state of Kansas are subdivided into townships, with cities of the first and second classes being excluded from them by law. Generally, cities of the third class remain within the township territory. Townships are governed by a 3 person board (Trustee, Clerk and Treasurer) elected every 4 years by the residents. They supervise the construction and maintenance of township roads and bridge approaches as well as the control of noxious weeds on township property. Townships may levy taxes for roads, bridges, fire protection and cemeteries.

Sedgwick County contains only 1 city of the first class (Wichita) 3 cities of the second class and 16 cities of the third class.  The City of Sedgwick is partially located in Harvey County and the City of Mulvane is partially located in Cowley County. All of the cities have elected mayor-council governments and a number of them, including Wichita, have City Managers or Administrators.

The public schools of Sedgwick County are divided into 20 unified school districts (10 of which lie within the county and 1 or more other counties). The school boards of each district are comprised of 7 members elected to 4 year terms with elections every 2 years for 3 or 4 of the positions. Schools are funded, primarily, by local ad valorem property taxes. As a result of a statewide school district equalization act, the State provides additional funding which is distributed according to a formula which takes into account the number of pupils enrolled and the district’s wealth. Several of the unified school districts in Sedgwick County offer magnet or alternative schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In addition to its public schools, the county has more than 30 private and parochial schools and is the center of a burgeoning home schooling movement.

Wichita is also the site of Wichita State University, which has an enrollment of approximately 17,000 students. It offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in a number of areas including: Business Administration; Education; Engineering; Fine Arts; Health Professions; and Liberal Arts and Sciences. Friends University, a private liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students, and Newman University, a 4-year Catholic liberal arts school with an enrollment of more than 600 students are also located in the city.

Sedgwick County Fire District #1 is served by the Sedgwick County Fire Department, which is the fourth largest fire department in the state. The District includes most of the unincorporated areas of the county as well as a number of the smaller cities and the industrial complexes of Boeing, Cessna, Raytheon and Vulcan Materials. Its coverage extends over an area of more than 620 square miles (approximately 65,000 citizens) and includes mutual aid agreements with the cities of Wichita, Derby, Mulvane and Valley Center as well as with McConnell Air Force Base.