Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 48/100
D+
Median home value$263,300
Kansas City $287,300
Median rent$1,181/mo
Kansas City $1,249/mo
Cost-burdened households28%
Kansas City 28%
Merriam
Johnson County11,085 residentsShawnee Mission Pub Sch
68
B−
Suburbgrade score
8th of 25 Kansas City suburbs. Strong on schools and commute & transport, held back by housing & affordability.
68
Kansas City median 65
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Merriam yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 68 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 Merriam is like to live in, by category
Bars show Merriam against Kansas City. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 82/100
B+
Within-state proficiency90th pct
Kansas City median 83rd pct
Student–teacher ratio14.5
Kansas City median 14.1
Graduation rate90%
Kansas City median 93%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 71/100
B−
Housing cost index90
Kansas City 100
Eff. tax rate1.04%
Kansas City 1.09%
Local sales tax8.69%
Kansas City median 8.44%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 79/100
B+
Mean commute22.2 min
Kansas City 23.2 min
Under 30 minutes82%
Kansas City 70%
Transit stops / sq mi4.7
Kansas City median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 75/100
B
Restaurants & cafés112
Kansas City median 27 · within 2 miles
Groceries5
Kansas City median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks127
Kansas City median 32 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 53/100
C−
Median household income$73,600
Kansas City $83,460
Unemployment5.4%
Kansas City 4.0%
Professional occupations47%
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 Merriam 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 Merriam on housing & affordability
Merriam's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Leawood8 mi from MerriamA 76 B Prairie Village4 mi from MerriamB− 75 B Shawnee6 mi from MerriamC+ 69 B− Raymore19 mi from MerriamC+ 62 C Overland Park9 mi from MerriamC+ 75 B Olathe12 mi from MerriamC+ 73 B Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Merriam
Is Merriam, KS a good place to live?
Merriam scores 68 out of 100, 8th of 25 Kansas City suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Merriam expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $263,300, 8% below the Kansas City median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.04%. $1,181/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Merriam?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Merriam sit at the 90th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 90% graduation rate and a 14.5 student–teacher ratio. Merriam is served by Shawnee Mission Pub Sch. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Merriam?
The mean commute is 22.2 min, with 82% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 20% working from home. Transit density is 4.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Merriam?
Within two miles there are 5 groceries, 112 restaurants and cafés and 127 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Merriam old or new?
The median home in Merriam was built in 1970 — 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. 67% 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.