Kansas City, Kansas

Area Profile

155,135 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Kansas City, in Wyandotte County.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 37% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,701st of 4,199 cities measured36
Schools3,849th of 4,162 cities measured16
GrowthTop 23% of 4,224 cities measured63
Housing affordabilityTop 24% of 4,218 cities measured75
Climate2,679th of 4,225 cities measured66
Physical resilienceTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured73
AccessTop 37% of 4,226 cities measured95
Economic stability3,361st of 4,226 cities measured39
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Kansas City in the bottom 12%.

In the public schools here, 21% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.2 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.2 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
155,135
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,401
Bottom 43% nationally
Density
1,244/sq mi
124.7 sq mi of land
Median age
33.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Kansas
Nearest major airport
MCI
12 mi · Kansas City Intl
Median home value
$167,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% — higher than in all but 25% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 2.4% over the past year, to 74,857 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWyandotte County, KS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$46,8924th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWyandotte County, KS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,2999th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,6562024 ACS 5-Year$62,401Bottom 43%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$7962024 ACS 5-Year$29,317Bottom 34%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%Bottom 33%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.0 minTop 35%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year20.8%Top 49%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.9%39th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202674,857Top 47%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.4%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.4%Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202678,82553rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year78.2%Top 50%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageKansas City, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,550Bottom 41%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageKansas City, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,820Bottom 47%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%86th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.3%Top 38%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.0%Bottom 25%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%57th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.53.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.0% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202462k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $62,401 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Kansas City, MO-KS

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers31,080$90,490
Registered Nurses29,650$83,040
Retail Salespersons26,110$34,320
Cashiers24,160$30,700
Stockers and Order Fillers23,580$36,850
Customer Service Representatives22,240$44,350

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

21% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 23% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 55 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
57
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across 55 of them
Math proficiency
20.7%
Bottom 3% in Kansas
Reading proficiency
22.9%
Bottom 9% in Kansas
The 12 largest of 57 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Wyandotte HighKansas City1,90319.24%7%
Silver City ElemKansas City1,49545.317%27%
J C Harmon HighKansas City1,28518.12%5%
Washington HighKansas City1,18018.22%6%
Turner HighTurner-Kansas City1,14714.79%12%
Sumner Academy of Arts & ScienceKansas City1,04517.149%48%
Piper HighPiper-Kansas City91315.027%42%
F L Schlagle HighKansas City84116.21%5%
Carl B. Bruce Middle SchoolKansas City82115.55%8%
Gloria Willis Middle SchoolKansas City73718.9——
Central MiddleKansas City68716.811%8%
Piper MiddlePiper-Kansas City68014.240%37%

76.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Kansas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area is up 42% over five years, and up 3.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,405 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.44% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,400, some 25% above the $1,123 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,400 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,000 a year, about 90% of the median household income here of $62,401.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,123 a month.

A median home at $167,400 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,384, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
93.2

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,400
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,123
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$167,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Kansas City’s median household income of $62,401, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure202393.2Top 19%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.2%50th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+42.4%48th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+107.0%72nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 39%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year60.9%22nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2932024 ACS 5-Year64,00099th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,235Top 40%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,824Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,400Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$232024 ACS 5-Year$1,123Bottom 37%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,7412024 ACS 5-Year$167,40044th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$2,40564th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,9052024 ACS 5-Year$77,384Bottom 48%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year1.44%75th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%Bottom 47%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1282024 ACS 5-Year22794th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%55th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%66th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5572024 ACS 5-Year6,98499th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

63/ 100
Top 23% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 156,752 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Wyandotte County, which contains Kansas City, lost about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $46,892, below the $51,299 of households that moved out.

At 3.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
517
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.3
Top 41% nationally
Year over year
+30%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
57.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024157k153k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
55%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$46,892
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$51,299
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Johnson County, KS 2,646 people · 32% of arrivals
  2. Jackson County, MO 1,800 people · 22% of arrivals
  3. Leavenworth County, KS 411 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  4. Clay County, MO 360 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  5. Platte County, MO 194 people · 2.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Johnson County, KS 2,515 people · 27% of departures
  2. Jackson County, MO 2,128 people · 23% of departures
  3. Leavenworth County, KS 785 people · 8.4% of departures
  4. Clay County, MO 511 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Platte County, MO 318 people · 3.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Wyandotte County, KS. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025402140
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+100%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 38.1 inches, including 11.0 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 46, in the Good band, and about 3 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station KANSAS CITY DOWNTOWN AP, 7.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year712024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals38.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals11.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year32024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year462024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
46
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
71
90th percentile index
Days above 100
3
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 32% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Strong windModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Heat waveModerate
TornadoElevated
HailElevated

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, cold wave, lightning, inland flooding, landslide, earthquake, wildfire, drought, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
981
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
3,169
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Kansas City's police department reported 981 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,169.

Wyandotte County records 17.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 28.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 26.0 per 100,000 residents in Wyandotte County.

Homicide
17.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
28.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
26.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Kansas City’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Kansas City (Wyandotte County) rather than Kansas City itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Kansas City Intl at 12 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year88.6%Bottom 45%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle12 miTop 33%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year7.5%Top 50%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Kansas City IntlMCI12 mi10,801 ft
Rosecrans MemlSTJ46 mi8,061 ft
Topeka RgnlFOE51 mi12,803 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
55
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Other cities in Kansas City, MO-KS

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Kansas CityJackson County510,61267Kansas City vs Kansas City
Overland ParkJohnson County200,30674Overland Park vs Kansas City
OlatheJohnson County145,05775Olathe vs Kansas City
IndependenceJackson County121,74058
Lee's SummitJackson County103,65677
ShawneeJohnson County68,54275
Blue SpringsJackson County59,96577
LenexaJohnson County58,38477
LeavenworthLeavenworth County37,19561
LeawoodJohnson County33,80972
LibertyClay County30,68973
RaytownJackson County29,44564

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Kansas City side by side with a similar place.

Kansas City vs WaterlooKansas City vs Burlington

Moving to Kansas City from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Kansas City

9 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Kansas City with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Kansas City closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6610229,443$52,861$115,60052
6610928,355$102,593$273,60063
6610427,033$61,338$141,50051
6610624,245$61,331$168,800—
6611212,881$62,313$199,700—
6610312,730$52,479$148,400—
6610112,556$42,551$106,300—
661119,996$65,972$162,600—
661052,605$34,397$79,200—