Kansas City Metropolitan Area
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The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
anchored by
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
(9 counties) and
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
(5 counties). With and a population of more than 2.2 million people, it is the second-largest metropolitan area centered in Missouri (after Greater St. Louis) and is the largest metropolitan area in Kansas, though Wichita is the largest metropolitan area centered in Kansas. Alongside Kansas City, Missouri, these are the
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
s with populations above 100,000:
Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...
;
Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
;
Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...
;
Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...
; and
Lee's Summit, Missouri Lee's Summit is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri and a suburb of the Kansas City metropolitan area. It resides in Jackson County (predominantly) as well as Cass County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 101,108, making it the 6th ...
. Business enterprises and employers include
Oracle (formerly Cerner Corp) An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...
,
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
,
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
,
GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...
,
Asurion Asurion, LLC is a privately held company based in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides insurance for smartphones, tablets, consumer electronics, appliances, satellite receivers and jewelry. In 2014, the company operated in 14 countries and had 4 ...
,
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
(formerly Sprint), Black & Veatch,
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...
,
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...
,
Garmin Garmin Ltd. is an American multinational technology company based in Olathe, Kansas. The company designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes GPS-enabled products and other navigation, communication, sensor-based, and information ...
,
Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...
, Waddell & Reed,
H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R ...
,
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
,
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
, the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant, ''
The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...
'',
Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...
, Children's Mercy Hospital, Truman Medical Center-Hospital Hill, and
Andrews McMeel Universal Andrews McMeel Universal (AMU) is an American media corporation based in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded in 1970 by Jim Andrews and John McMeel as Universal Press Syndicate and was renamed in 1997 to AMU to reflect the diversification tha ...
(representing ''
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...
'', ''
Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was Print syndication, syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly described as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin a ...
'', and ''
Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, ...
''). Shopping centers include City Market, Crown Center,
Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it is considered to be the first planned large outdoor su ...
, Independence Center, Legends Outlets Kansas City, Oak Park Mall,
Ward Parkway Center Ward Parkway Center, Ward Parkway Mall, or Ward Parkway Shopping Center is a shopping center located in Kansas City, Missouri on the Kansas/Missouri border line. The location surrounds the area on the North from 85th Terrace to 89th Street on ...
, and Zona Rosa. Cultural attractions include the American Jazz Museum, the Kansas City Symphony,
Kansas City Union Station Kansas City Union Station (station code: KCY) is a union station that opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the Kansas City metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot built in 1878. Union Stat ...
, the National World War I Museum, the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...
, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Arabia Steamboat Museum, Uptown Theater,
Midland Theatre The Midland Theatre is a 3,000-seat theater located in the Power & Light District of Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association under Walter Byers had its headquarters in the building from the 1950s unti ...
, the Kansas City Zoo, Swope Park (featuring Starlight Theater), Sandstone Amphitheater, the Kansas City Renaissance Festival,
Worlds of Fun Worlds of Fun is a theme park located in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, it was founded by American businessmen Lamar Hunt and Jack Steadman under the ownership of Hunt's com ...
,
Oceans of Fun Oceans of Fun is a tropically themed water park that opened on May 31, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the adjacent Worlds of Fun Worlds of Fun is a theme park located in Kansas City, Missouri, United ...
, the
College Basketball Experience The College Basketball Experience is a fan-interactive facility located downtown in Kansas City, Missouri, which includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. It cost $24 million to build, was opened in October 2007, and is owned a ...
and several casinos. Major league sports franchises include the NFL's
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
, the
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
, and the MLS's
Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...
. The Kansas Speedway is owned by
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
. Historic features include the confluence of the eastern endpoints of the
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Santa Fe, and
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...
s in Independence; the Harry S. Truman Historic District; and the neighborhoods of Westport, 18th and Vine, and Pendleton Heights. Historic cultural origins include KC styles of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, vaudeville theater,
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
, and
steak A steak is a cut of meat sliced across muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally Grilling, grilled or Pan frying, fried, and can be diced or cooked in sauce. Steaks are most commonly cut from cattle (beefsteak), but can also ...
.


Geographic overview

The larger Kansas City
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
can be visualized as a map with roughly four quadrants: The southeast quadrant includes
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, and surrounding areas in Missouri. It includes the
Grandview Triangle The 3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway is the official name for an interchange in south Kansas City, Missouri that was once considered one of Missouri's most congested locations. Although it is known as the Grandview Triangle, it is not located ...
. The southwest quadrant includes all of
Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kansas, along the border of the state of Missouri. Its county seat is Olathe, Kansas, Olathe. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 609, ...
, which includes the towns in the area known as
Shawnee Mission, Kansas Shawnee Mission is a region of northern Johnson County, Kansas, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area in the United States. Since August 1, 1960, the United States Postal Service has used the name to denote a large postal coverage area ( Z ...
.
Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...
runs diagonally through
Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kansas, along the border of the state of Missouri. Its county seat is Olathe, Kansas, Olathe. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 609, ...
, from the southwest to Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The northwest quadrant contains Wyandotte, and Leavenworth, counties in Kansas and parts of Platte County, Missouri. Wyandotte County, Kansas (sometimes referred to as just Wyandotte), contains
Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
; Bonner Springs, Kansas; and Edwardsville, Kansas; it is governed by a single unified government. Another bend in the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
forms the county line between
Wyandotte County, Kansas Wyandotte County () is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which it shares a unified government. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth ...
, and Platte County, Missouri, to the north and northeast. The map's northeast quadrant is referred to as the Northland. It includes parts of
Clay County, Missouri Clay County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335, making it the fifth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Lib ...
, including North Kansas City, Missouri and Parkville, Missouri. North Kansas City is bounded by a bend in the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
that defines a border between
Wyandotte County, Kansas Wyandotte County () is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which it shares a unified government. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth ...
, and
Clay County, Missouri Clay County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335, making it the fifth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Lib ...
, running approximately north–south and a border between North Kansas City, Missouri, and
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, running approximately east–west. The river bend's sharpest part forms a
peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
containing the Kansas City Downtown Airport.


Divisions


Areas

* Downtown Kansas City is a section of western Kansas City, Missouri, where corporate offices and much of the city's entertainment facilities are located. The area has been undergoing a massive revitalization since 2000, and increased its population by over 7,000 people between 2000 and 2005. The Power and Light District, Historic Garment District, and the T-Mobile Center are in the downtown area. * The Northland is a section of the metropolitan area north of the Missouri River, comprising Clay and Platte Counties in Missouri. This area includes the northern half of Kansas City, Missouri, which is referred to as Kansas City, North to distinguish it from the rest of the Northland and the city of North Kansas City. * River Market is an area north of downtown, south of the Missouri River and west of Highway 9, and is home to a large farmer's market. * North Kansas City is an enclaved city surrounded by Kansas City, Missouri. * Shawnee Mission is a district created by the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
that encompasses 16 cities and towns in northeast
Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kansas, along the border of the state of Missouri. Its county seat is Olathe, Kansas, Olathe. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 609, ...
, most of which also lie in the school district of the same name. * The Waldo Residential District (Waldo) is in Kansas City, Missouri, near 75th Street and Wornall Road. *
Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it is considered to be the first planned large outdoor su ...
("the Plaza") is an upscale shopping district built by the J.C. Nichols Company in 1923, and was the first suburban shopping district in the United States. * The Country Club District is an associated group of neighborhoods built along Ward Parkway by J.C. Nichols, which is just south of the Country Club Plaza and includes Sunset Hill, Brookside, Crestwood, and Mission Hills, Kansas. * 39th Street (also referred to as the Volker neighborhood or "Restaurant Row") is a small section of West 39th Street between State Line Road and the Southwest Trafficway in Kansas City, Missouri. The area has many restaurants, bars and shops, and is just across the state line from the University of Kansas Medical Center. *
University of Kansas Hospital The University of Kansas Health System, commonly known as KU Med and formerly known as The University of Kansas Hospital, is a nonprofit, academic medical center located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, with branch hospitals and education ...
(KUMED) is the corporate name of the hospital on the KU Medical Center campus. * Benton Curve is a curve at the cross-section of Interstate 70 and Benton Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri; the area has long been prone to traffic accidents. * Pendleton Heights is a neighborhood in the Historic Northeast district of Kansas City, Missouri, which is bordered by Cliff Drive to the north, Chestnut Trafficway to the east, Independence Avenue to the south, and The Paseo to the west. It is Kansas City's oldest surviving neighborhood, and has the city's largest concentration of Victorian homes. * The
Grandview Triangle The 3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway is the official name for an interchange in south Kansas City, Missouri that was once considered one of Missouri's most congested locations. Although it is known as the Grandview Triangle, it is not located ...
is the intersection of four major highways: Interstate 435, Interstate 470, Interstate 49, and U.S. Route 71 ( Bruce R. Watkins Drive). Notorious for fatal accidents, the Triangle has undergone improvements and upgrades in recent years. * Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, named for former mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, comprises recently renamed portions of 47th Street and Brush Creek Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. * 18th and Vine Historic District (18th and Vine) is a neighborhood on Kansas City, Missouri's north side that contains the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum. This area was the heart of Kansas City's black business district. * The Library District is a recently defined district around the new Central Library at 14 West 10th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. * 135th Street (Overland Park, Kansas) is a shopping area featuring several indoor and outlet malls, restaurants, and two movie theaters. * Prariefire is a modern shopping and leisure area featuring fine restaurants and a high-end bowling venue. The Museum of Prariefire is its main attraction. * Strawberry Hill is a historical area in Kansas City, Kansas that was home to many eastern European immigrants. Later, the neighborhood became home to many Latino and Latino families. * Hospital Hill is an area near 23rd Street and Holmes Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, and consists of two major hospitals (University Health and the Children's Mercy Hospital) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City's School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Pharmacy, and School of Nursing. *
Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
is a neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, centered along Metropolitan and Strong avenues from 27th to 30th streets. It is one of the oldest Mexican/Latino neighborhoods in Kansas City, with Mexican immigration to that area starting in the 1800s. * The Crossroads Arts District is a neighborhood in the downtown area between the Central Business District and
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
, centered around the intersection of 19th Street and Baltimore Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. It contains dozens of art galleries, and is considered to be the center of the arts culture in the metropolitan area. Local artists sponsor exhibits in the district on the first Friday of each month. * Quality Hill is a residential and commercial neighborhood atop the bluff on the west side of the Central Business District of Downtown Kansas City, across the river from the Charles B. Wheeler Airport. * Washington-Wheatley is a historically
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
neighborhood southeast of the 18th and Vine Historical District. * The Westside is a historically African American and Chicano/Latino neighborhood near Southwest Boulevard and Interstate 35. * Westport is a historic district that includes the oldest building still standing in the city and that is home to much of the metropolitan area's entertainment and nightlife. * Valentine is a neighborhood north of Westport that includes the historic Uptown Theater. * West Bottoms has many of the oldest buildings and the former location of the city's stockyards. It is now known for its arts community, the American Royal,
Hy-Vee Arena Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena. It ...
, antique stores, and First Fridays events. * Rosedale is the southernmost district of Kansas City, Kansas, and the only part of that city whose streets are on the metropolitan grid. Home to the main hospital of the
University of Kansas Health System The University of Kansas Health System, commonly known as KU Med and formerly known as The University of Kansas Hospital, is a nonprofit, academic medical center located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, with branch hospitals and education ...
, it was the last municipality absorbed by Kansas City, Kansas, prior to the creation of the Unified Government of Kansas City and Wyandotte County. * Union Hill * Armourdale is a residential and commercial neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, and is one of the historically Chicano(a) neighborhoods of the Kansas City metropolitan area. *
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
is an industrial district in the Blue River valley on the city's far northeast side. * East Bottoms, also known as the Industrial District, is primarily known for its industrial businesses and railroad activity. * Brookside is a pedestrian-friendly district built in the 1920s, centered on the Brookside Shopping District at 63rd Street and Brookside Boulevard. * Hanover Heights is a small neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas' Rosedale section that was once primarily noted for the antiques shops along 45th Avenue, with the neighborhood's boundaries running mainly between Rainbow Boulevard and State Line Road, running south of the KU Medical Center to the Johnson County border. * The Historic Northeast District (Northeast) is a working-class immigrant collection of neighborhoods between downtown Kansas City and the suburb of Independence. * The
Truman Sports Complex The Truman Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility in Kansas City, Missouri. It includes two major league sports venues: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which is home to the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, and ...
, at the junction of I-70 and I-435 (east of downtown Kansas City, Missouri), is home to several professional sports attractions. It is anchored by Arrowhead Stadium, home of the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
NFL franchise; and
Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium () (nicknamed "The K") is a ballpark located in Kansas City, Missouri, and the home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. It is next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Bo ...
, home of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
.


Jackson County, Missouri


Downtown

Downtown
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
has a population of 25,204. Downtown is Kansas City's historic center, located entirely within Kansas City, Missouri, and contains the city's original town site, business districts, and residential neighborhoods. Downtown is bounded by the Missouri River on the north, the Missouri-Kansas state line on the west, 31st Street on the south and Woodland Avenue on the east. The downtown area includes the
Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
and its buildings, which form the city's skyline. The Downtown Loop is formed by Interstates 670, 70, and 35. Within the downtown loop are many of the tall buildings and skyscrapers that make up the city's skyline. The downtown loop also has small, distinct neighborhoods such as Quality Hill, the Garment District, the
Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
, the
Convention Center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...
District, and the Power and Light District. Other nearby neighborhoods are River Market and Columbus Park, both located between the downtown loop and the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
. Between the downtown loop and the state line are the Westside neighborhood and the West Bottoms, located at the bottom of the bluff adjacent to Kaw Point. East of the loop are the 18th & Vine District, the North Bottoms, and Northeast Kansas City (the East Bottoms, Northeast, and Pendleton Heights). South of the loop is the Crossroads District, Union Hill, Crown Center, Hospital Hill, Longfellow, Wendell Phillips, and Washington Wheatley. The Kansas City Convention Center, Municipal Auditorium,
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
, Lyric Theater,
Midland Theatre The Midland Theatre is a 3,000-seat theater located in the Power & Light District of Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association under Walter Byers had its headquarters in the building from the 1950s unti ...
, Ilus Davis Park, and Barney Allis Plaza are within the Central Business District inside the downtown loop. The T-Mobile Center and the
College Basketball Experience The College Basketball Experience is a fan-interactive facility located downtown in Kansas City, Missouri, which includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. It cost $24 million to build, was opened in October 2007, and is owned a ...
are within the Power & Light District, also within the downtown loop. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is perched upon a high point immediately south of the downtown loop. South of the loop is the Crossroads District,
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
, Crown Center, the National World War I Museum, Liberty Memorial, Penn Valley Park, University Health Truman Medical Center, Children's Mercy Hospital, and the 18th & Vine District. North of the loop are City Market within the River Market and Richard L. Berkeley Riverfront Park. West of the loop within the West Bottoms are
Hy-Vee Arena Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena. It ...
and Hale Arena.


Midtown/Plaza

Midtown/Plaza is entirely within Kansas City, Missouri with a population of 40,355. It is just south of downtown, and bounded by 31st Street on the north, the state line on the west, West Gregory Boulevard (71st Street) on the south, and Troost Avenue on the east. Midtown/Plaza, the core of the metropolitan area, has many cultural attractions, shopping and entertainment areas, large hospitals, universities, and the metro area's most densely populated neighborhoods. Midtown/Plaza has many distinct and historic neighborhoods, including Westport, Hyde Park, and Southmoreland. Shopping is centered on the Country Club Plaza, which has luxury retailers, hotels, and restaurants. Brookside and Westport also contain smaller-scale, neighborhood-oriented, and niche-market retailers. Midtown is home to Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City and Research Medical Center. Cultural attractions include the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...
, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Uptown Theater, Starlight Theater, the Kansas City Zoo, Loose Park, and Swope Park. The last of these has a soccer complex that is home to the Swope Park Rangers, a
USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
team that is the official reserve side for the area's
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
club,
Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...
. Major educational institutions include the
University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...
, Rockhurst University,
Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. The institute ...
, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Midwest Research Institute, and Penn Valley Community College.


East Side

East Side of the Metro is primarily eastern Jackson County which is an area of the Kansas City Metro that contains the far-eastern urban side of Kansas City, Missouri and the following large suburbs of Blue Springs,
Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
, and Lee's Summit. The area includes western Lafayette County Missouri and the far northeast portion of Cass County Missouri. The East Side of Metro includes the
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
suburbs of
Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
, Grandview, Blue Springs, Raytown, Lees Summit, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Sugar Creek, River Bend, Lake Lotawana, Lone Jack, Greenwood, Unity Village, Buckner, Pleasant Hill, Bates City,
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
, and Lake Tapawingo. Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL's
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
and
Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium () (nicknamed "The K") is a ballpark located in Kansas City, Missouri, and the home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. It is next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Bo ...
, home of the
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
are on the eastern edge of Kansas City. The Cable Dahmer Arena home of the
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
's Kansas City Mavericks and the MASL's Kansas City Comets is in Independence.


Johnson County, Kansas

Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kansas, along the border of the state of Missouri. Its county seat is Olathe, Kansas, Olathe. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 609, ...
contains many municipalities with a population of 609,863. It has the largest economy in the metropolitan area and is the fastest growing county by total population. Municipalities include
Overland Park Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the pop ...
, Olathe,
Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...
, Leawood, Lenexa, Prairie Village, Gardner, Merriam, Mission, Roeland Park, Fairway, Lake Quivira, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Westwood, and Westwood Hills. Corporate headquarters include
Garmin Garmin Ltd. is an American multinational technology company based in Olathe, Kansas. The company designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes GPS-enabled products and other navigation, communication, sensor-based, and information ...
, Black & Veatch, and
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...
, and the secondary headquarters of
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
. Many local area attractions and shopping districts are in Johnson County, such as Oak Park Mall, Town Center Plaza, and Prairie Fire.


The Northland (Missouri)

The Northland is the area north of the Missouri River, bordered by the Kansas state line on the west. The southern half of Platte County, and much of Clay County make up the area. The Northland is a fast-growing, primarily suburban region of the metropolitan area, although much of it is contained within the city limits of
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. The economy of the Northland is dominated by Cerner, Kansas City International Airport, Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant, the Zona Rosa shopping community and three riverboat casinos. The metro area's largest amusement park,
Worlds of Fun Worlds of Fun is a theme park located in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, it was founded by American businessmen Lamar Hunt and Jack Steadman under the ownership of Hunt's com ...
and
Oceans of Fun Oceans of Fun is a tropically themed water park that opened on May 31, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the adjacent Worlds of Fun Worlds of Fun is a theme park located in Kansas City, Missouri, United ...
, is in the Northland. Major educational institutions in the Northland include Park University,
William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri ...
, and the Maple Woods campus of Metropolitan Community College. The Northland is also home to the popular recreational reservoir, Smithville Lake. Communities of the Northland outside the city limits include Parkville, Kearney,
Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
, Platte City,
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
, Riverside, Smithville, North Kansas City, and Weatherby Lake.


Wyandotte County, Kansas

Wyandotte County, Kansas Wyandotte County () is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which it shares a unified government. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth ...
has a population of 169,245 and contains
Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
, Bonner Springs, Kansas, and Edwardsville, Kansas. Kansas City, Kansas is locally called "KCK" to distinguish it from the larger
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
(KCMO). It contains many residential neighborhoods, the Fairfax Industrial District, and the Village West entertainment district. The General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant is in the Fairfax Industrial District. Village West contains many area attractions. This includes many sporting venues such as
Children's Mercy Park Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the team home for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandot ...
, home of the area MLS soccer team
Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...
, the Kansas Speedway, which hosts many NASCAR races, and Field of Legends, home of the independent baseball team, the Kansas City Monarchs, and the Legends shopping district. Bonner Springs is home to the Azura Amphitheater (commonly known as the Sandstone Amphitheater), the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, Wyandotte County Historical Museum, and the annual Kansas City Renaissance Festival.


Cass County, Missouri

Cass County, Missouri Cass County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,824. Its county seat is Harrisonville; however, the county co ...
has a population of 107,824 and contains parts of "South Kansas City". This area consists of the most southern part of Kansas City, Missouri, and the suburbs of Harrisonville, Belton, Loch Lloyd, Peculiar, and Raymore.


Leavenworth County, Kansas

Leavenworth County, Kansas has a population of 81,881 and contains the cities of Leavenworth and Lansing, and the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.


Population

The Kansas City metropolitan area (MO-KS) population in 2018 was 2,106,632 and the Kansas City CSA in 2022 was 2,209,152.


More than 500,000

*
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
– Pop: 508,090


More than 100,000

*
Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...
– Pop: 197,238 *
Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
– Pop: 156,607 *
Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...
– Pop: 141,290 *
Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...
– Pop: 123,011 *
Lee's Summit, Missouri Lee's Summit is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri and a suburb of the Kansas City metropolitan area. It resides in Jackson County (predominantly) as well as Cass County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 101,108, making it the 6th ...
– Pop: 101,108


50,000–99,999

*
Shawnee, Kansas Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh-most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311. History Territory of Kansas Befor ...
– Pop: 67,311 * Blue Springs, Missouri – Pop: 58,604 *
Lenexa, Kansas Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. making it the ninth-most populated city in Kansas. It is bordered by the ...
– Pop: 57,434


20,000–49,999

*
Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...
– Pop: 37,351 * Leawood, Kansas – Pop: 33,902 *
Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willia ...
– Pop: 30,167 *
Raytown, Missouri Raytown is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County, Missouri, United States, and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City. The population was at 30,012 in 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The current mayor of Raytown ...
– Pop: 30,012 * Gladstone, Missouri – Pop: 27,063 *
Grandview, Missouri Grandview is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 26,209 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. History A post office called Grandview has been in operation since 1889. The city w ...
– Pop: 26,209 *
Belton, Missouri Belton is a city in northwestern Cass County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 23,953 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. History Belton was platted ...
– Pop: 23,953 * Gardner, Kansas – Pop: 23,287 * Prairie Village, Kansas – Pop: 22,957 * Raymore, Missouri – Pop: 22,941


10,000–19,999

* Grain Valley, Missouri – Pop: 15,627 *
Ottawa, Kansas Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 United ...
– Pop: 12,625 * Lansing, Kansas – Pop: 11,239 *
Merriam, Kansas Merriam is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,098. Merriam is included in the Shawnee Mission postal designation. It is al ...
– Pop: 11,098 * Excelsior Springs, Missouri – Pop: 10,553 * Smithville, Missouri - Pop: 10,406 * Kearney, Missouri – Pop: 10,404 *
Harrisonville, Missouri Harrisonville is a city in Cass County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,121 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Cass County. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan ar ...
– Pop: 10,121


Counties

The MSA covers a total area of including of water.


Associated areas

Often associated with Kansas City, the cities of
Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...
and
Saint Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...
are identified as separate Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City MO-KS (USA) Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses the Metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) of Kansas City MO-KS, the St. Joseph metropolitan area and the Lawrence, Kansas metropolitan area with the Micropolitan Statistical Areas (μSA) of Warrensburg, Missouri,
Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city in, and the county seat of, Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator ...
, and
Ottawa, Kansas Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 United ...
. (Warrensburg is in
Johnson County, Missouri Johnson County is a County (United States), county located in western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 54,013. Its county seat is Warrensburg, Missouri, Warrensburg. The ...
. Atchison is in Atchison County, Kansas. Ottawa is in
Franklin County, Kansas Franklin County is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Ottawa. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 25,996. The county was named for Benjamin Franklin, ...
.) The combined statistical area covers a total area of including of water.


Politics

The Kansas City metro area is a swing metro area, going between the Republican and Democratic parties for decades and voting for Democratic and Republican presidential candidates equally since 2000. It is unlike most other large cities in the United States; most populous metropolitan areas lean Democratic, which makes Kansas City slightly Republican as compared to metros of similar size, even as compared to St. Louis, which is also centered in
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
.


Economy

, Missouri accounted for 56% of employment and Kansas accounted for 44% of employment. From 2018 to 2019 Kansas added 13,000 jobs and Missouri added 6,500 jobs. Kansas side employment grew by 2.7% and Missouri side employment grew by 1.1%; job growth in Kansas was more than double that in Missouri. Professional and business employment growth was due entirely to a gain of 5,200 jobs in the Kansas portion of the metro area. In 2015, the metropolitan area accounted for 40.9% of the total GDP in the state of Kansas and 22.7% of the total GDP in the state of Missouri.


Transportation


Highways

The Kansas City metropolitan area has more freeway lane miles per capita than any other large metropolitan area in the United States. This is 27% more than the second-place Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, 50% more than the average American metro area, and nearly 75% more than the large metro area with the least in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
.


Interstates

The Kansas City area is a confluence of four major U.S.
interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...
: * – North to
St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...
* – North to
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
and south to
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
* – South to Joplin * – East to St. Louis and west to
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...
Other interstates that cross through the area include: * – A bi-state loop through Jackson,
Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
and Platte counties in Missouri and through
Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...
and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. It is the second-longest single-numbered beltway in the U.S., and the fourth-longest in the world. * – Connects South Kansas City with Lee's Summit and Independence. * – Connects Johnson County and
Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
to I-29, I-70, and
I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...
. * – A southern bypass of I-70 and the southern portion of the downtown loop. The roadway is designated on road signs as East I-70, when exiting from I-35 while traveling north.


US Highways

U.S. Highways serving the Kansas City Metro Area include these: * – Running from Independence Avenue and Winner Road, between downtown Kansas City and Independence, Missouri, it serves as a street-level connection to Independence. * – U.S. 40 is one of six east-west U.S.-numbered routes that run (or ran) from coast to coast. It serves as a business loop and an alternate route for I-70. * – Enters the area in southern Johnson County, follows I-435 from the west to I-470, then splits off of I-470 in Lee's Summit to continue eastward to
Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...
and St. Louis as a regular highway. Its former route through Raytown and southeast Kansas City was renumbered as Route 350. U.S. 50 is also one of the six east–west highways that run coast-to-coast through the United States. * - Enters the area concurrent with I-35 until the Shawnee Mission Parkway exit. It runs east along the Parkway into the Plaza area of Kansas City before terminating at US-71. * – Connects Excelsior Springs, Missouri in the north and serves as a freeway in Johnson County Connecting I-35 to I-435 and connecting Overland Park to Louisburg and Linn Valley on the Kansas side. * – In the north, concurrent with I-29 to Amazonia, Missouri, and serves as a freeway (Bruce R. Watkins Drive) south from downtown, joining with I-49 at the Grandview Triangle. * – Connects Smithville, Missouri, in the north.


Kansas state highways

Kansas highways in the area include these: * – A minor freeway bypassing the north of Kansas City, Kansas, connecting the GM Fairfax plant with I-635. K-5 continues as Leavenworth Road west to I-435 then on to Leavenworth, Kansas. * – A freeway linking Leavenworth, Wyandotte and Johnson Counties in Kansas. * – A freeway linking I-435 to De Soto and Lawrence. * – A highway that links Lawrence to Wyandotte County in Kansas.


Missouri state highways

Missouri highways in the area include these: * - An important state highway serving the eastern suburbs of the metro. Primarily running north and south through Jackson and Cass Counties. Connecting the following communities: Independence, Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville. It is the commercial backbone for Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana and Pleasant Hill. * – A minor freeway northwest of North Kansas City, and serves as a commercial backbone to North Kansas City, Riverside, Platte Woods and Parkville. * – Known as Tom Watson Parkway in the Kansas City vicinity until it intersects with I-435, it is a highway that spans 42 miles from I-29/US-71 to US-59/MO-273 in Lewis & Clark Village, Missouri. Its eastern segment is also known as NW 64th Street. The highway serves as a commercial backbone of Parkville, Missouri and runs across Riss Lake. The National Golf Club of Kansas City is located on MO-45. * - A state highway serving the southern suburbs of Belton and Raymore. * – This narrow and hilly road crosses the northern part of the metro, connecting Platte City, Smithville, Kearney, and
Excelsior Springs Excelsior Springs is a city in Clay County, Missouri, Clay and Ray County, Missouri, Ray counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 10,553 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census ...
. * – A highway linking southern Lee's Summit and Grandview to the Kansas suburbs at State Line Road. * – A freeway contained entirely in Kansas City's Northland, stretching from Liberty in Clay County west until it intersects with I-435 near Parkville, Missouri. * – A minor freeway east of North Kansas City that, as a two-lane road, stretches to Richmond, Missouri. * – Formerly an eastern bypass route of U.S. 71, this minor freeway connects Harrisonville and Lee's Summit to Independence, Sugar Creek, Liberty and Kansas City North. The roadway is designated on road signs alongside I-470 north of Lee's Summit. * – This road crosses through Raytown as Blue Parkway.


Other roads

These are other notable roads: * 18th Street Expressway – a freeway carrying US-69 through central Wyandotte County from I-35 to I-70. * Ward Parkway – A scenic parkway in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Kansas-Missouri state line, where many large historic mansions and fountains are located. * Broadway – A street that runs from the west side of downtown Kansas City to Westport. The street has long been an entertainment center, with various bars, live jazz outlets, and restaurants along it. It also forms the eastern border of Quality Hill, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Kansas City. * The Paseo – Part of the city's original system of parks and boulevards developed beginning in the late 1880s, it is the longest of the original boulevards, and the only one that runs the entire length of the pre-
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
city boundary, from the Missouri River bluffs in the north to 79th Street on the south. * Shawnee Mission Parkway – Former alignment of K-10 from 1929 to 1983; K-58 from 1956 to 1979; US-56 from 1957 to 1968; K-12 from 1983 to 1998. Serves Shawnee Mission. * Troost Avenue – A north-south thoroughfare 11 blocks east of Main Street, named for an early Kansas City settler and dentist, Benoist Troost. The street roughly divides the city's mostly black neighborhoods to its east from its mostly white ones to its west. * Swope Parkway – Running on the south side of the Brush Creek valley eastward from The Paseo, then southward from its junction with Benton Boulevard, this street is the main route from the city's midtown to its largest city park, Swope Park. * North Oak Trafficway – A major road in the Northland. The roadway is designated as MO-283 from MO-9 to I-29. It is a major road in the Northland and serves as the commercial backbone of Gladstone, Missouri. * Barry Road – Runs along the former route of Military Road, which ran from
Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
to
Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
. It is now a major commercial street in the Northland, although it has been paralleled by MO-152 for its entire route and has been effectively replaced by it east of Indiana Avenue. * 87th Street Parkway – A major parkway that extends from Overland Park to De Soto. Former alignment of K-10 from 1929 to 1983.


Street numbers

The Missouri side of the metropolitan area south of the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
shares a grid system with Johnson County on the Kansas side. Most east–west streets are numbered and most north–south streets named. Addresses on east–west streets are numbered from Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri, and on north–south streets from St. John Avenue (or the Missouri River, in the River Market area). The direction 'South' in street and address numbers is generally implied if 'North' is not specified, except for numbered 'avenues' in North Kansas City. In the northland, east–west streets use the prefix N.E. or N.W., depending on the side of N. Main on which they lie.


Air

The metro has several airports. Primary service is at Kansas City International Airport (MCI), 15 miles northwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It was opened in 1972 as TWA's "Airport of the Future", a global hub for supersonic transport and the
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
. A new single-terminal building was opened on February 28, 2023, to modernize the design, operations, and passenger experience. The much smaller Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, immediately north of downtown across the Missouri River, was the original headquarters of
Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...
(TWA) and houses the Airline History Museum. It served as the area's major airport until 1972, when Kansas City International (then known as Mid-Continent International Airport and home to an Overhaul Base for TWA) became the primary airport for the metropolitan area after undergoing $150 million in upgrades that had been approved by voters in a 1966 bond issue. Downtown Airport is still used for
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
and airshows. Two general aviation airports are in Johnson County, Kansas. New Century AirCenter borders southwest Olathe and northeast Gardner. The primary runway at New Century AirCenter is the second longest runway in the region next to those at Kansas City International Airport. It is from the Logistics Park Kansas City Intermodal Facility. Johnson County Executive Airport has one runway on 500 acres and is the fourth-busiest towered airport in the state of Kansas.


Rail

Kansas City is a freight hub served by the
BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...
, CPKC,
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
, and
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
. Kansas City Terminal Railway and Kaw River Railroad provide local interchange and switching service.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
Passenger service is centered at Kansas City, Missouri's
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
and managed by the Kansas City Terminal. Daily long-distance services are Missouri River Runner with two round trips daily to Saint Louis, connecting to Chicago via the Lincoln Service; and Southwest Chief with daily service between Chicago and Los Angeles.


Transit

City buses operated by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) provide most public transportation. The Metro Area Express (MAX) became Kansas City, Missouri's first bus rapid transit line in July 2005, and operates and is marketed akin to a rail system instead of a local bus line. The MAX links River Market, Downtown, Union Station, Crown Center, and Country Club Plaza. Buses in Johnson County, Kansas, are operated by Johnson County Transit, known as The JO. The KC Streetcar is a 2.2-mile modern streetcar line in Downtown Kansas City. Opened to the public in May 2016, it is maintained and operated by the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, a non-profit corporation made up of private sector stakeholders and city appointees. A ballot initiative to fund construction of the line was approved by voters on December 12, 2012. The system runs between River Market and Union Station, mostly along Main Street, with extensions north and south under consideration. There are no commuter rail services. Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines and Jefferson Lines at the Kansas City Bus Station.


Cultural attractions

{, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! class="unsortable" style="width:185pt;" , Photo ! style="width:220pt;" , Name ! style="width:100pt;" , City ! class="unsortable" style="width:700pt;" , Notes , - , ,
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...
, Kansas City, Missouri , Founded in 1933, the Nelson-Atkins maintains wide-ranging collections of more than 35,000 works of art and welcomes 500,000 visitors a year. , - , , , Chicago & Alton Railroad Depot, , Independence, Missouri , , The oldest business building in Independence, Missouri. In 1978, the hotel, which originally served the railroad, moved from the original site just south of Main Street to its present location. , - , , , List of museums in Missouri, Dillingham-Lewis House Museum, , Blue Springs, Missouri , , Built in 1906, the only native limestone structure in Blue Springs. The house is named after two families. , - , , , Fort Osage National Historic Site , , Sibley, Missouri, , Part of the early 19th century U.S. factory (fur trade), factory trading post system for the Osage Nation. , - , , , Jackson County Jail and Marshal's House, , Independence, Missouri , , Former jail site, operated by the county historical society, which housed thousands of prisoners including Frank James and William Clark Quantrill. , - , , , Leila's Hair Museum, , Independence, Missouri , , A museum of Hair jewelry, hair art since the 19th century. , - , , , Lone Jack Battlefield Museum , , Lone Jack , , The only Civil War Museum in Jackson County, Missouri, and one of the few battlefields where the soldiers – who perished during the battle – are still buried on the battlefield. , - , , , Midwest Genealogy Center, , Independence, Missouri , , The largest freestanding public genealogy research library in the USA. , - , , , List of museums in Missouri, National Frontier Trails Museum, , Independence, Missouri , , A museum, interpretive center, and research library about the history of principal western U.S. trails. , - , , , Rice-Tremonti Home , , Raytown, Missouri , , Home built on the Santa Fe Trail in 1844 by Archibald Rice and his family. , - , , , Cable Dahmer Arena, , Independence, Missouri , , A 5,800-seat multi-purpose arena that hosts the Kansas City Mavericks ice hockey team. , - , , , , , , Missouri , , {, , - , colspan="2" , , - , , , The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, Truman Presidential Library, in Independence. , - , , , The Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, Truman home, in Independence, where Truman lived for most of his time in Missouri. , - , , , The Harry S. Truman Farm Home, Truman Farm, in Grandview, built in 1894 by Truman's maternal grandmother. , - , , ,
Truman Sports Complex The Truman Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility in Kansas City, Missouri. It includes two major league sports venues: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which is home to the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, and ...
, , Kansas City, Missouri , , Two major sports venues: * Arrowhead Stadium,
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
(National Football League, football) *
Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium () (nicknamed "The K") is a ballpark located in Kansas City, Missouri, and the home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. It is next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Bo ...
,
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
(Major League Baseball, baseball) , - , , , Grinter Place, , Kansas City, Kansas , , A home built in 1857 by one of the earliest settlers. , - , {{center, , , Arabia Steamboat Museum , , Kansas City, Missouri , , Artifacts from the Arabia (steamboat), ''Arabia'', a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856.


Architecture

{{main, Architecture of Kansas City The architecture of
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, and the metropolitan area includes major works by many of the world's most distinguished architects and firms, including McKim, Mead and White; Jarvis Hunt; Wight and Wight; Graham, Anderson, Probst and White; Hoit, Price & Barnes; Frank Lloyd Wright; the Office of Mies van der Rohe; Barry Byrne; Edward Larrabee Barnes; Harry Weese; and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. * The KCTV-Tower is a {{convert, 1,042, ft, m pyramid-shaped television and radio tower used primarily by local CBS affiliate KCTV (channel 5). It is at the corner of 31st and Main Streets, next to the studio facilities of PBS member station KCPT (which formerly housed the original studios of KCTV), and is visible from many parts of the city, especially at night due to the string of lights adorning the tower. * The twin red-brick towers of the American Century Investments complex are oriented north and south along Main at 45th Street, just north of the Country Club Plaza (the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is slightly east, and the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...
is east and slightly south). * Kansas City Community Christian Church, at 4601 Main Street, has a group of lights that shoot a beam upwards to the sky at night. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s, it is slightly south of and across the street from the American Century Investment Towers (the Nelson Atkins is to the east, and the Kemper Museum is to the north and slightly east). * Bartle Hall Convention Center, Bartle Hall has a section that somewhat resembles a north–south suspension bridge, crossing over I-670 at the southwest corner of the downtown loop. It has four towers, with metal sculptures on top of each tower. * The Veterans Affairs Medical Center, near the intersection of I-70, Linwood Boulevard and Van Brunt Boulevard, has a large "VA" emblem. * The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, at 16th Street and Broadway (just south of the downtown loop), with its tiered glass and steel half-domes, has a design reminiscent of the world-famous Sydney Opera House.


Colleges and universities

Top 5 largest colleges by total enrollment (within the MSA) *1. Johnson County Community College - 18,638 *2. Metropolitan Community College - 17,025 *3. University of Missouri-Kansas City - 16,383 *4. Park University - 9,512 *5. Kansas City Kansas Community College - 4807 List of institutions (including those in the CSA): {{Div col, colwidth=30em * Avila University - Kansas City, MO * Baker University - Baldwin City, KS * Benedictine College - Atchison, KS * Calvary University - Kansas City, MO * Cleveland University-Kansas City - Kansas City, KS * DeVry University - Kansas City, MO * Donnelly College - Kansas City, KS * Friends University - Lenexa, KS * Graceland University - Independence, MO * University of Arkansas Grantham - Lenexa, KS (administrative location) * Haskell Indian Nations University - Lawrence, KS * Highland Community College (Kansas), Highland Community College- Highland, KS * Johnson County Community College - Overland Park, KS * Kansas Christian College (Overland Park), Kansas Christian College - Overland Park, KS *
Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. The institute ...
- Kansas City, MO * Kansas City Kansas Community College - Kansas City, KS * Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences - Kansas City, MO * Kansas State University, Kansas State University Olathe Innovation Campus - Olathe, KS * Metropolitan Community College (Kansas City), Metropolitan Community College (Penn Valley, Maple Woods, Business and Technology Center, Blue River, and Longview) - Kansas City, MO * MidAmerica Nazarene University - Olathe, KS * Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary - Kansas City, MO * Missouri Western State University - St. Joseph, MO * National American University - Kansas City, MO * Nazarene Theological Seminary - Kansas City, MO * Northwest Missouri State University - Maryville, MO * Ottawa University - Overland Park, KS * Park University - Parkville, MO * Pinnacle Career Institute - Kansas City, KS * Pittsburg State University - Lenexa, KS * Rasmussen College - Overland Park, KS * Rockhurst University - Kansas City, MO * Saint Paul School of Theology - Leawood, KS * University of Central Missouri - Warrensburg, MO * University of Kansas - Lawrence, KS * University of Kansas Edwards Campus - Overland Park, KS * University of Kansas Medical Center - Kansas City, KS *
University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...
- Kansas City, MO * University of Saint Mary - Leavenworth, KS *
William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri ...
- Liberty, MO {{div col end


Libraries

The metro public library systems include Kansas City Public Library (Missouri), Mid-Continent Public Library, Kansas City, Kansas Public Library, and Johnson County Library. Private libraries include the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and the Linda Hall Library.


Media


Print

''
The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...
'' is the metropolitan area's major daily newspaper. The McClatchy Company, which owns ''The Star'', also owns two suburban weeklies: ''Lee's Summit Journal'' and ''Olathe Journal''. The ''Kansas City Kansan'' serves Wyandotte County, having moved from print to an online format in 2009. Additional weekly papers in the metropolitan area include the ''Liberty Tribune'', ''Sun Newspapers'' of Johnson County, ''The Examiner (Independence), The Examiner'' in Independence and eastern Jackson County, ''Alternative weekly, The Pitch'', and the ''Kansas-Missouri Sentinel''. The faith-based newspapers are ''The Metro Voice Christian Newspaper'' and the ''Jewish Chronicle''. ''Dos Mundos'' is a bilingual newspaper with articles in Spanish and English, and ''Mi Raza'' magazine is the area's only weekly Hispanic publication printed in Spanish. The ''Kansas City Call'' is an African American weekly newspaper.


Broadcast

{{main, Broadcast Media in Kansas City According to Arbitron, about 1.5 million people over the age of 12 live within the Kansas City DMA, making it the 30th largest market for radio and 31st for television according to Nielsen Holdings, Nielsen. The Kansas City television and radio markets cover 32 counties encompassing northwestern Missouri and northeast Kansas.


Television

Television stations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, with all major network affiliates represented, include: * WDAF-TV, channel 4 (Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox) * KCTV, channel 5 (CBS) * KMBC-TV, channel 9 (American Broadcasting Company, ABC) * KTAJ-TV, channel 16 (Trinity Broadcasting Network, TBN) * KCPT, channel 19 (PBS) * KUKC-LD, channel 20 (Univision) * KCWE, channel 29 (The CW) * KSHB-TV, channel 41 (NBC) * KMCI-TV, channel 38 (Independent station (North America), independent) * KGKC-LD, channel 39 (Telemundo) * KPXE-TV, channel 50 (Ion Television) * KSMO-TV, channel 62 (MyNetworkTV) The Kansas City television market is in very close proximity to two other media markets, St. Joseph and Topeka. As such, most of the television stations in the Kansas City area are receivable over-the-air in portions of both markets, including their principal cities; likewise, stations from Topeka are receivable as far east as Kansas City, Kansas and stations from St. Joseph are viewable as far south as Kansas City, Missouri's immediate northern suburbs.


Radio

Over 30 FM and 20 AM radio stations broadcast in the Kansas City area, with stations from Topeka, St. Joseph and Carrollton also reaching into the metropolitan area. The highest-rated radio stations, according to Arbitron are: * WHB (810 AM) - Sports, ESPN Radio Affiliate * KPRS (103.3 FM) – Urban * KCMO-FM (94.9) – Classic Hits * KQRC (98.9 FM) – Rock * KFNZ (AM), KFNZ (610 AM) and KFNZ-FM (96.5) – Sports, Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals flagship * KMBZ (AM), KMBZ (98.1 FM) – News/Talk * WDAF-FM (106.5) – Country * KZPT (99.7) - Adult Top 40 * KMXV (93.3) - Top 40 * KFKF (94.1) - Country * KCFX (101.1) - Classic Rock * KCMO (AM), KCMO (710 AM) and KCHZ (95.7 FM) – Talk


=Public and community radio

= * KCUR (89.3 FM) – NPR affiliate * KANU-FM (91.5) and KTBG (90.9 FM) – both college radio stations; also NPR affiliates * KKFI (90.1 FM) – Locally owned not-for-profit station * KGSP (FM), KGSP (1480 FM) – Park University college station


=Specialty radio

= Hispanics, who account for 8% of the market's population, are specifically served by three AM radio stations who broadcast in Spanish language, Spanish: * KCZZ (1480 AM) – Spanish Sports (ESPN Deportes) talk * KDTD (1340 AM) – Mexican regional * KYYS (1250 AM) – Classic hits


Business interests

The Kansas City metropolitan area's largest private employer is Cerner Corporation. Cerner, a global healthcare IT company which is headquartered in North Kansas City, employs nearly 10,000 people in the area with a total workforce of nearly 20,000 people including global employees. In August 2014, the company announced its acquisition of competitor Siemens Healthcare.{{cite web, url=http://cerner.com/newsroom.aspx?id=17179877489&blogid=2147483710&langType=1033, title=Newsroom: Cerner.com, website=cerner.com, access-date=27 April 2018, url-status=live, archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20140916000000/http://cerner.com/newsroom.aspx?id=17179877489&blogid=2147483710&langType=1033, archive-date=16 September 2014 Cerner has several campuses across the area with its World Headquarters building in North Kansas City, Innovations Campus in South Kansas City, and Continuous Campus in Kansas City, Kansas. Other major employers and business enterprises are
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
,
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
,
GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...
,
Asurion Asurion, LLC is a privately held company based in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides insurance for smartphones, tablets, consumer electronics, appliances, satellite receivers and jewelry. In 2014, the company operated in 14 countries and had 4 ...
,
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
,
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...
, EMBARQ, Farmers Insurance Group,
Garmin Garmin Ltd. is an American multinational technology company based in Olathe, Kansas. The company designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes GPS-enabled products and other navigation, communication, sensor-based, and information ...
,
Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...
, Husqvarna Group, Husqvarna,
H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R ...
,
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
,
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
, Ford Motor Company, MillerCoors, State Street Corporation, ''
The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...
'', and Waddell & Reed, some of which are headquartered in the metropolitan area. Kansas City also has a large pharmaceutical industry, with companies such as
Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...
and Aventis having a large presence.


Headquarters

These are among the largest companies and organizations, excluding educational institutions, that are headquartered in or have since relocated from the metropolitan area. Headquarters of most are located in Kansas City, Missouri. * American Century Investments, an investment management firm *
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...
, a movie theater chain (Leawood, Kansas) *
Andrews McMeel Universal Andrews McMeel Universal (AMU) is an American media corporation based in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded in 1970 by Jim Andrews and John McMeel as Universal Press Syndicate and was renamed in 1997 to AMU to reflect the diversification tha ...
, a syndication and publication company which represents media/entertainment features such as ''Dear Abby'', ''
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...
'', ''
Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was Print syndication, syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly described as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin a ...
'' and ''
Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, ...
'' * Applebee's, a restaurant chain (Lenexa, Kansas), relocated to Glendale, California in 2015 * BATS Global Markets, a stock exchange (Lenexa, Kansas) * Black & Veatch Corporation, engineering firm (Overland Park, Kansas) * Burns & McDonnell, engineering firm (Kansas City, Missouri) * CenturyLink (formerly Embarq Corporation), telecommunications company (headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana) * Cerner, supplier of healthcare information technology solutions (North Kansas City, Missouri) * Church of the Nazarene * Commerce Bancshares, a bank serving Kansas, Missouri and Illinois * Community of Christ, International Headquarters (Independence, Missouri) * DST Systems, provider of information processing and computer software services and products * Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) * Ferrellgas, retailer and distributor of natural gas (Liberty, Missouri) * FishNet Security, a provider of information security services and technology resale - Overland Park, KS * Wyeth#Fort Dodge Animal Health, Fort Dodge Animal Health, an animal health pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturer and a division of Wyeth (Overland Park, Kansas) * Freightquote.com, largest online third party logistics provider *
Garmin Garmin Ltd. is an American multinational technology company based in Olathe, Kansas. The company designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes GPS-enabled products and other navigation, communication, sensor-based, and information ...
, largest maker of GPS-based electronics (Olathe, Kansas) *
Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...
, largest maker of greeting cards in the U.S. * HNTB, HNTB Corporation, architectural and engineering firm *
H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R ...
, financial corporation and former parent company of CompuServe, known mostly for their income tax preparation services * Hostess Brands Maker of Twinkies and other snack cakes. * Huhtamaki, makers of Chinet paper dinnerware (De Soto) * Inergy, L.P., retailers and distributors of natural gas * International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers * J. E. Dunn Construction Group, construction contractor * Kansas City Board of Trade, a commodity futures and options exchange * Kansas City Power and Light Company, a regulated provider of electricity and energy-related products and services * Kansas City Southern Industries, operators of a Class I railroad * Lockton Insurance, Lockton Companies, the largest privately held insurance brokerage in the U.S. * MK12, MK12 Studios, a filmmaking, animation, and design studio * National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) * Newport Television – privately held broadcasting company * People to People International, a voluntary organization founded by President Dwight Eisenhower * Perceptive Software, makers of "Image NOW" software (Lenexa, Kansas) * Polsinelli, AmLaw100-ranked national law firm * Populous (architects), Populous (formerly HOK Sport + Venue + Event), a major sports architectural firm * Russell Stover Candies *
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
which is retaining the former Sprint campus as a secondary headquarters (Overland Park, Kansas) * Tradebot, a high-frequency trading firm * UMB Financial Corporation, a commercial bank serving a multi-state area of the Midwest * Unity Church * Veterans of Foreign Wars * Waddell & Reed, an investment management and brokerage firm (Overland Park, Kansas) * Walton Construction, a construction contractor * YRC Worldwide Inc., known mostly from its former name and brand Yellow Freight, one of the largest transportation service providers in the world (Overland Park, Kansas) The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank is one of twelve such banks located in the United States.


Hospitals

{{Div col, colwidth=22em * AdventHealth Shawnee Mission * AdventHealth South Overland Park * Centerpoint Medical Center * Children's Mercy Hospital * Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute * Kansas City Veterans Affairs Hospital * Kindred Hospital Kansas City * Lee's Summit Medical Center * Menorah Medical Center * North Kansas City Hospital * Olathe Medical Center * Overland Park Regional Medical Center * Providence Medical Center * Research Medical Center * St. Joseph Medical Center (Kansas City, Missouri), St. Joseph Medical Center * Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City * Saint Luke's East Hospital * Saint Luke's South Hospital * St. Mary's Medical Center * University Health Truman Medical Center *
University of Kansas Hospital The University of Kansas Health System, commonly known as KU Med and formerly known as The University of Kansas Hospital, is a nonprofit, academic medical center located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, with branch hospitals and education ...
(KU Med Center) {{div col end


Shopping centers

{{Div col, colwidth=22em * Adams Dairy Landing * Blue Ridge Crossing * Crown Center *
Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it is considered to be the first planned large outdoor su ...
* The Great Mall of the Great Plains (Demolished March 2017) * Independence Center * The Landing Mall * Legends Outlets Kansas City * Metcalf South Shopping Center (Demolished June/July 2017) * Metro North Mall (Demolished 2016) * Oak Park Mall * Park Place * Summit Fair * Summit Woods Crossing * Town Center Plaza * Town Pavilion *
Ward Parkway Center Ward Parkway Center, Ward Parkway Mall, or Ward Parkway Shopping Center is a shopping center located in Kansas City, Missouri on the Kansas/Missouri border line. The location surrounds the area on the North from 85th Terrace to 89th Street on ...
* Zona Rosa {{Div col end


Natural environment

The United States Department of Agriculture, USDA provides estimates of the number of trees by county in the Kansas City metropolitan area.{{cite web , title=Assessing Urban Forest Effects and Values: the Greater Kansas City Region , url=https://www.nrs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/rb/rb_nrs75.pdf , author=David J. Nowak , author2=Allison R. Bodine , author3=Robert E. III Hoehn , author4=Daniel E. Crane , author5=Alexis Ellis , author6=Theodore A. Endreny , author7=Yang Yang , author8=Tom Jacobs , author9=Kassie Shelton , publisher=USDA , access-date=February 28, 2023 *Cass County, MO: 43,740,000 *Miami County, KS: 38,700,000 *Leavenworth County, KS: 33,210,000 *Jackson County, MO: 32,540,000 *Clay County, MO: 26,940,000 *Johnson County, KS: 25,490,000 *Ray County, MO: 22,710,000 *Platte County, MO: 19,590,000 *Wyandotte County, KS: 6,530,000 *Total: 249,450,000 The five most common species in the region's urban and rural forest were Ulmus americana, American elm (28.9%), Celtis occidentalis, northern hackberry (14.0%), Maclura pomifera, Osage-orange (7.2%), Honey locust, honeylocust (6.7%), and Juniperus virginiana, eastern redcedar (5.0%).


Local organizations

* Irish Museum and Cultural Center * Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner


Notable people

Many notable people through history were born in, or moved to, what is now the Kansas City metropolitan area. List of people from Kansas City, Missouri, The list from Kansas City, Missouri includes these: cartoonists Walt Disney, Friz Freleng, and Ub Iwerks; musicians Count Basie, Melissa Etheridge, Tech N9ne, and Eminem; Representative Emanuel Cleaver and historical city boss Tom Pendergast; actors Ellie Kemper, Don Cheadle, and Jason Sudeikis; reporter Walter Cronkite; pilot Amelia Earhart; and writer Ernest Hemingway. List of people from Kansas City, Kansas, The list from Kansas City, Kansas includes actors Eric Stonestreet, Scott Foley, and Tuc Watkins; Kermit the Frog puppeteer Matt Vogel (puppeteer), Matt Vogel; ''West Side Story'' cinematographer Daniel L. Fapp; Marvel Comics writer Jason Aaron; sculptor and pioneering black pilot Ed Dwight, Ed Dwight Jr.; Negro leagues player Eddie Dwight, Ed Dwight Sr.; and mass murderer Richard Hickock. Independence, Missouri#Notable people, The list from Independence, Missouri includes President Harry S. Truman, Guns N' Roses keyboardist Chris Pitman, actor Arliss Howard, Devo co-founder Bob Lewis (musician), Bob Lewis, self-freed slave and
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...
pioneer Hiram Young, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, actor Ginger Rogers, fantasy novelist Margaret Weis, television series creator Paul Henning, and black female Civil War soldier Cathay Williams. List of people from Overland Park, Kansas, From Overland Park, Kansas, this includes film directors Michael Almereyda (''Hamlet (2000 film), Hamlet'') and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw (franchise), ''Saw''), actors Rob Riggle and Tom Kane, economist and writer Michael R. Strain, and eSports player Johnathan Wendel. Lenexa, Kansas#Notable people, From Lenexa, Kansas, this includes actors Paul Rudd and Jason Wiles, gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok, and autism researcher William Shaw (autism researcher), William Shaw. List of people from Olathe, Kansas, From Olathe, Kansas, this includes George Washington Carver. Lee's Summit, Missouri#Notable people, From Lee's Summit, this includes Bob Younger, Bob, Cole Younger, Cole, Jim Younger, Jim, and John Younger, John of the James–Younger Gang.


See also

*List of metropolitan areas of Missouri


References

{{reflist


Further reading

{{Kansas books * Shortridge, James R. ''Kansas City and How It Grew, 1822–2011'' (University Press of Kansas; 2012) 248 pages; historical geography


External links


VisitKC.com

DowntownKC.org

2010 KC Census
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