Kansas City might be the “City of Fountains” but did you know that it also happens to be a great place to live? HomeUnion ranked us among the top 30 cities that are best for family living. Inside one of America’s best cities, there are plenty of great neighborhoods and suburbs to take root in. Here we take a look at the top 10 Kansas City metro areas to live in, according to Niche.
- Mission Hills
Linda Yvonne/Flickr Mission Hills has a population of just over 3,500, meaning that they don’t see a huge amount of traffic, but there are still enough people around to make friends. They don’t have the best commute or diversity, but their weather and nightlife are decent. They scored an A+ to A- in all other categories, including public schools, housing, jobs, and crime and safety. All around, Mission Hill is a great place to live.
- Roeland Park
City of Roeland Park, KS Facebook Roeland park comes in at #9 with a population of just over 6,800. Their crime data wasn’t specifically available, but they do have decent weather and an affordable cost of living in the area. Every other score was A- or above, which is one step above our previous candidate.
- Olathe
Luke X Martin/Flickr Olathe is a pretty popular place, with more than 131,500 people living in this area. They earned an A+ in public schools and were recommended as “good for families,” but earned a few Bs in categories like cost of living, nightlife, and crime and safety. Sometimes in an area this populated, you’ll have to deal with the higher crime rates in some neighborhoods.
- Parkville
Laura Gilchrist/Flickr Parkville’s scenery has attracted almost 6,000 residents, and for good reason. Though they do have Bs or above in a few categories, they’re still better off than others on this list. However, they have As in public schools, “good for families,” jobs, commute and housing.
- Lenexa
kansasphoto/Flickr Lenexa’s more than 50,000 residents live in a great area. Their crime rating is a B-, but that’s pretty normal for the Kansas City area in general. They have B+ ratings in cost of living and jobs, and A- or above in every other category. Overall, a great score!
- Overland Park
Chris Murphy/Flickr Another step up brings us to Overland Park and their more than 181,000 residents. They scored B+ in nightlife and outdoor activities, and A+ in “good for families” and public schools. Go Overland Park!
- Fairway
City of Fairway, KS Facebook Fairway’s on the smaller side, with close to 4,000 residents within its borders. It got a C+ in diversity, but As everywhere except for crime and safety, weather, and cost of living. That’s a pretty good report card!
- Westwood
City of Westwood Kansas - Government Facebook Westwood is our least populated area, at around 1,800 individuals living here. However, they have four Bs (in crime and safety, diversity, weather, and cost of living) and the rest are A- or above. Having less people here means that you’ll have smaller classrooms in public schools and more space for families, which is why they scored an A+ in both of those categories.
- Prairie Village
Steve Revare/Flickr With close to 22,000 residents, this cozy area of town isn’t too crowded at all. It’s great for families and public schools, and is pretty good in both the housing and job departments.
- Leawood
Gary Gamso/Flickr Number one! Leawood has a population of more than 33,000 residents, and they’re all pretty happy about it. They’ve got A+ ratings in families, jobs, and public schools. In addition to those, they’ve got good scores in the rest of the categories, with their lowest being a B- in diversity. A great candidate for living, I’d say!
Did you guess which one would be #1? In case you’re also looking for great places to eat around town, why not chase down a food truck?
Linda Yvonne/Flickr
Mission Hills has a population of just over 3,500, meaning that they don’t see a huge amount of traffic, but there are still enough people around to make friends. They don’t have the best commute or diversity, but their weather and nightlife are decent. They scored an A+ to A- in all other categories, including public schools, housing, jobs, and crime and safety. All around, Mission Hill is a great place to live.
City of Roeland Park, KS Facebook
Roeland park comes in at #9 with a population of just over 6,800. Their crime data wasn’t specifically available, but they do have decent weather and an affordable cost of living in the area. Every other score was A- or above, which is one step above our previous candidate.
Luke X Martin/Flickr
Olathe is a pretty popular place, with more than 131,500 people living in this area. They earned an A+ in public schools and were recommended as “good for families,” but earned a few Bs in categories like cost of living, nightlife, and crime and safety. Sometimes in an area this populated, you’ll have to deal with the higher crime rates in some neighborhoods.
Laura Gilchrist/Flickr
Parkville’s scenery has attracted almost 6,000 residents, and for good reason. Though they do have Bs or above in a few categories, they’re still better off than others on this list. However, they have As in public schools, “good for families,” jobs, commute and housing.
kansasphoto/Flickr
Lenexa’s more than 50,000 residents live in a great area. Their crime rating is a B-, but that’s pretty normal for the Kansas City area in general. They have B+ ratings in cost of living and jobs, and A- or above in every other category. Overall, a great score!
Chris Murphy/Flickr
Another step up brings us to Overland Park and their more than 181,000 residents. They scored B+ in nightlife and outdoor activities, and A+ in “good for families” and public schools. Go Overland Park!
City of Fairway, KS Facebook
Fairway’s on the smaller side, with close to 4,000 residents within its borders. It got a C+ in diversity, but As everywhere except for crime and safety, weather, and cost of living. That’s a pretty good report card!
City of Westwood Kansas - Government Facebook
Westwood is our least populated area, at around 1,800 individuals living here. However, they have four Bs (in crime and safety, diversity, weather, and cost of living) and the rest are A- or above. Having less people here means that you’ll have smaller classrooms in public schools and more space for families, which is why they scored an A+ in both of those categories.
Steve Revare/Flickr
With close to 22,000 residents, this cozy area of town isn’t too crowded at all. It’s great for families and public schools, and is pretty good in both the housing and job departments.
Gary Gamso/Flickr
Number one! Leawood has a population of more than 33,000 residents, and they’re all pretty happy about it. They’ve got A+ ratings in families, jobs, and public schools. In addition to those, they’ve got good scores in the rest of the categories, with their lowest being a B- in diversity. A great candidate for living, I’d say!
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
