Kansas City

Most affordable Kansas City suburbs

Ranked on what a household actually pays: the in-house cost-of-living index at 55%, the median home value against the metro at 25% (lower is better here), and the share of households already stretched by housing costs at 20%.

Updated Sep 2026·25 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
Hall of Waters w:Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Excelsior Springs$187k median · 22.3 min commute
Cost of living B+Housing D−Employment D+
74
Affordability
overall 54 C−
2
City Hall of Gladstone
Gladstone$232k median · 22.9 min commute
Cost of living BHousing DEmployment C
70
Affordability
overall 67 C+
3
Aerial view of Raytown, Missouri
Raytown$183k median · 24.2 min commute
Cost of living B−Housing D−Employment D
68
Affordability
overall 49 D+
4
Jackson County Courthouse in Independence, Missouri, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Independence$173k median · 23.9 min commute
Cost of living B−Housing FEmployment D−
66
Affordability
overall 50 D+
5
The corner of Delaware Street and Fifth Street in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2014.
Leavenworth$193k median · 19.6 min commute
Cost of living C+Housing D−Employment D
66
Affordability
overall 55 C−
6
Sunset over festival on Grandview's revitalized Main Street.
Grandview$189k median · 22.4 min commute
Cost of living BHousing FEmployment F
65
Affordability
overall 47 D
7
Belton Fire Department's Station 1 at 223 Main Street. Picture ID# 2384, 2385, 2386 HDR - High Dynamic Range
Belton$203k median · 24.8 min commute
Cost of living B−Housing D−Employment D+
65
Affordability
overall 56 C−
8
Merriam$263k median · 22.2 min commute
Cost of living B−Housing D+Employment C−
64
Affordability
overall 68 B−
9
Historic Clay County Court House in the Historic Square Liberty, Missouri
Liberty$283k median · 22.9 min commute
Cost of living B−Housing C−Employment C−
64
Affordability
overall 66 C+
10
Kearney$298k median · 23.5 min commute
Cost of living C+Housing CEmployment B
64
Affordability
overall 66 C+
This list's weighting
Cost of living 55%Median home value (lower is better) 25%Cost-burdened households 20%
Other Kansas City lists
Best Kansas City suburbs for familiesBest Kansas City suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown Kansas CityMost walkable Kansas City suburbsBest Kansas City suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Kansas City suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Excelsior Springs (Americasroof · CC BY-SA 3.0); Gladstone (SamuelNelsonGISP · CC0); Raytown (Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0); Independence (TheCatalyst31 with modifications by Kbh3rd · CC BY-SA 3.0); Leavenworth (Melissa Bower · CC BY-SA 4.0); Grandview (Thevalarie · CC BY 4.0); Belton (Tyler Silvest · CC BY 2.0); Liberty (Chiefs190 · CC BY-SA 4.0).