Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 42/100
D−
Median home value$242,900
Kansas City $287,300
Median rent$1,238/mo
Kansas City $1,249/mo
Cost-burdened households34%
Kansas City 28%
Kansas City
Jackson & Clay & Platte counties510,612 residents5 school districts
61
C
Suburbgrade score
17th of 25 Kansas City suburbs. Strong on commute & transport and amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
61
Kansas City median 65
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Kansas City yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 61 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Kansas City is like to live in, by category
Bars show Kansas City against Kansas City. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 59/100
C
Within-state proficiency46th pct
Kansas City median 83rd pct
Student–teacher ratio13.9
Kansas City median 14.1
Graduation rate87%
Kansas City median 93%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 66/100
C+
Housing cost index95
Kansas City 100
Eff. tax rate1.12%
Kansas City 1.09%
Local sales tax8.44%
Kansas City median 8.44%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 79/100
B+
Mean commute21.7 min
Kansas City 23.2 min
Under 30 minutes75%
Kansas City 70%
Transit stops / sq mi14
Kansas City median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 76/100
B
Restaurants & cafés70
Kansas City median 27 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Kansas City median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks87
Kansas City median 32 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 54/100
C−
Median household income$69,166
Kansas City $83,460
Unemployment4.4%
Kansas City 4.0%
Professional occupations45%
Kansas City 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Kansas City yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Kansas City on housing & affordability
Kansas City's weakest grade is D−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Leawood16 mi from Kansas CityA 76 B Prairie Village11 mi from Kansas CityB− 75 B Shawnee16 mi from Kansas CityC+ 69 B− Raymore23 mi from Kansas CityC+ 62 C Overland Park18 mi from Kansas CityC+ 75 B Olathe22 mi from Kansas CityC+ 73 B Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Kansas City
Is Kansas City, MO a good place to live?
Kansas City scores 61 out of 100, 17th of 25 Kansas City suburbs. It is strongest on commute & transport and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Kansas City expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $242,900, 15% below the Kansas City median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.12%. $1,238/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Kansas City?
Schools grade C. The districts serving Kansas City sit at the 46th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 87% graduation rate and a 13.9 student–teacher ratio. Kansas City is served by North Kansas City 74, Kansas City 33, Platte Co. R-III, Park Hill and Hickman Mills C-1. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Kansas City?
The mean commute is 21.7 min, with 75% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 17% working from home. Transit density is 14 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Kansas City?
Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 70 restaurants and cafés and 87 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Kansas City old or new?
The median home in Kansas City was built in 1969 — older than the Kansas City median of 1980. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 66% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.