Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 63/100
C+
Median home value$359,700
Kansas City $287,300
Median rent$1,322/mo
Kansas City $1,249/mo
Cost-burdened households22%
Kansas City 28%
Shawnee
Johnson County68,542 residents2 school districts
69
B−
Suburbgrade score
6th of 25 Kansas City suburbs. Strong on schools and employment & income, held back by amenities.
69
Kansas City median 65
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Shawnee yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 69 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 Shawnee is like to live in, by category
Bars show Shawnee against Kansas City. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 86/100
A−
Within-state proficiency93rd pct
Kansas City median 83rd pct
Student–teacher ratio13.7
Kansas City median 14.1
Graduation rate95%
Kansas City median 93%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Housing cost index114
Kansas City 100
Eff. tax rate1.13%
Kansas City 1.09%
Local sales tax8.69%
Kansas City median 8.44%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Mean commute22.3 min
Kansas City 23.2 min
Under 30 minutes75%
Kansas City 70%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Kansas City median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 49/100
D+
Restaurants & cafés14
Kansas City median 27 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Kansas City median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks27
Kansas City median 32 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 74/100
B
Median household income$109,940
Kansas City $83,460
Unemployment3.3%
Kansas City 4.0%
Professional occupations53%
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 Shawnee 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 Shawnee on amenities
Shawnee's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Overland Park11 mi from ShawneeB+ 75 B Gladstone19 mi from ShawneeB 67 C+ Kansas City16 mi from ShawneeB 61 C Lee's Summit24 mi from ShawneeB 69 B− Merriam6 mi from ShawneeB 68 B− Prairie Village9 mi from ShawneeB 75 B Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Shawnee
Is Shawnee, KS a good place to live?
Shawnee scores 69 out of 100, 6th 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 Shawnee expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $359,700, 25% above the Kansas City median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.13%. $1,322/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Shawnee?
Schools grade A−. The districts serving Shawnee sit at the 93rd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 95% graduation rate and a 13.7 student–teacher ratio. Shawnee is served by De Soto and Shawnee Mission Pub Sch. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Shawnee?
The mean commute is 22.3 min, with 75% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 21% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Shawnee?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 14 restaurants and cafés and 27 parks, which grades D+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Shawnee old or new?
The median home in Shawnee was built in 1990 — 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. 78% 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.