Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 59/100
C
Median home value$298,400
Kansas City $287,300
Median rent$1,251/mo
Kansas City $1,249/mo
Cost-burdened households21%
Kansas City 28%
Kearney
Clay County10,885 residentsKearney R-I
66
C+
Suburbgrade score
12th of 25 Kansas City suburbs. Strong on schools and employment & income, held back by amenities.
66
Kansas City median 65
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Kearney yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 66 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 Kearney is like to live in, by category
Bars show Kearney against Kansas City. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 88/100
A
Within-state proficiency92nd pct
Kansas City median 83rd pct
Student–teacher ratio13.6
Kansas City median 14.1
Graduation rate97%
Kansas City median 93%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Housing cost index96
Kansas City 100
Eff. tax rate1.01%
Kansas City 1.09%
Local sales tax8.44%
Kansas City median 8.44%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 60/100
C
Mean commute23.5 min
Kansas City 23.2 min
Under 30 minutes65%
Kansas City 70%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Kansas City median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 46/100
D
Restaurants & cafés27
Kansas City median 27 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Kansas City median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks10
Kansas City median 32 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 74/100
B
Median household income$103,622
Kansas City $83,460
Unemployment2.6%
Kansas City 4.0%
Professional occupations52%
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 Kearney 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 Kearney on amenities
Kearney's weakest grade is D. Five suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Blue Springs24 mi from KearneyB+ 66 C+ Gladstone15 mi from KearneyB 67 C+ Kansas City19 mi from KearneyB 61 C Liberty9 mi from KearneyB− 66 C+ Grain Valley25 mi from KearneyD+ 65 C+ Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Kearney
Is Kearney, MO a good place to live?
Kearney scores 66 out of 100, 12th of 25 Kansas City suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Kearney expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $298,400, 4% above the Kansas City median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.01%. $1,251/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Kearney?
Schools grade A. The districts serving Kearney sit at the 92nd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 97% graduation rate and a 13.6 student–teacher ratio. Kearney is served by Kearney R-I. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Kearney?
The mean commute is 23.5 min, with 65% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 15% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Kearney?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 27 restaurants and cafés and 10 parks, which grades D on amenities.
Are the homes in Kearney old or new?
The median home in Kearney was built in 2002 — newer 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. 83% 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.
Six Kansas City lists
Best Kansas City suburbs for familiesMost affordable Kansas City suburbsBest Kansas City suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown Kansas CityMost walkable Kansas City suburbsBest Kansas City suburbs for young professionalsCompare Kearney
Every Kansas City suburb, side by side