Johnson County · KS
Olathe, KS
Founded 1857 · 19.9 miles from downtown Kansas City · population 145,057
The market, last twelve months
Half of the homes that sold went under contract within 6 days. The median sale closed at 100.0% of asking - at list. 60% closed at or above the original list price, which is the better measure of how much room a buyer actually has.
Aggregated from Heartland MLS closed sales, twelve months to July 2026. Individual sale prices are not shown - Kansas and Missouri are non-disclosure states and MLS rules do not permit their public display. Ask for the full report if you need them.
How it came to befounded 1857 · where the name comes from · 4 dated events
Founded in the early months of 1857 by Dr. John T. Barton, a physician assigned to the Shawnee tribal headquarters, who with associates followed the survey of Shawnee lands and claimed the geographic center of the county for a townsite - a spot crossed by Mill Creek and by the Santa Fe Trail. source
The name. From a Shawnee word understood to mean 'beautiful'. A Shawnee interpreter named Dave Dougherty is recorded as exclaiming 'O lathe' at the site, and Barton declared that the future county seat should carry that name. source
Incorporated in 1857; Olathe legally became the seat of Johnson County in October 1859. source
- 1857Dr. John T. Barton and associates claimed the geographic center of Johnson County - at Mill Creek and the Santa Fe Trail - as a townsite and named it Olathe. Olathe incorporated the same year. source
- 1858The Mahaffie family founded their farm on the Santa Fe Trail route out of Westport; the stone house was completed in 1865 and the family ran it as a stagecoach home station from 1863 to 1869. source
- 1859Olathe legally became the county seat of Johnson County in October. source
- 1861Phillip A. Emery, a deaf teacher, founded the school that became the Kansas School for the Deaf, starting in the attic of a house in Baldwin City. On November 15, 1866 the school and its 18 students moved into a newly built stone building in Olathe. source
The housing stockmedian built 2000
The median home sold here was built in 2000. Most of what sells was built between 1975 and 2025. That closely matches the Census figure of 1994 for all housing, so sales are broadly representative of the stock. 72% of sales included finished basement space beyond the above-grade footprint - which matters here, because square footage quoted above grade can understate a house considerably.
By property type, sales broke down as Single Family (1981), Patio/Villa (242), Townhouse (73), Half Duplex (53).
What's hereMahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site, Kansas School for the Deaf and more
The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site is the only stagecoach stop on the Santa Fe Trail still open to the public. James Beatty Mahaffie and his wife Lucinda founded the farm in 1858, completed the house in 1865, and ran it as a 'home station' from 1863 to 1869, serving meals in the cellar kitchen to as many as 70 to 80 travelers a day. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is an official component of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. source
The Kansas School for the Deaf, founded in 1861, was the first school for the deaf in Kansas and is still the largest; Olathe is also home to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts and Culture. source
- Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site
- 1200 East Kansas City Road; the only Santa Fe Trail stagecoach stop open to the public, acquired by the City in the late 1970s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. source
- Kansas School for the Deaf
- State school in Olathe since 1866, founded 1861 - the first school for the deaf in Kansas. source
- Museum of Deaf History, Arts and Culture
- Museum in Olathe documenting deaf history and culture. source
Neighborhoods with their own market data12 with enough sales to report
12 subdivisions in Olathe had enough closed sales in the last twelve months to report on individually.
| Subdivision | Sold | Median price | $/sq ft | Days | Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Havencroft | 68 | $380,000 | $220 | 5 | 1978 |
| Stonebridge Trails | 50 | $641,382 | $255 | 18 | 2018 |
| Boulder Hills | 47 | $625,338 | $363 | 86 | 2025 |
| Woodland Hills | 40 | $669,975 | $255 | 20 | 2025 |
| Boulder Creek | 33 | $621,026 | $362 | 108 | 2024 |
| Prairie Farms | 32 | $614,975 | $228 | 18 | 2019 |
| Oak Run Community | 29 | $524,555 | $315 | 10 | 2024 |
| Heather Ridge South | 29 | $560,000 | $251 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hilltop Farms | 29 | $787,115 | $361 | None | 2025 |
| South Hampton | 28 | $392,500 | $281 | 2 | 1998 |
| Persimmon Hill | 27 | $425,000 | $238 | 3 | 1989 |
| Nottington Creek | 25 | $545,000 | $309 | 32 | 2011 |
Practical detailschool district · highways and transit · 2 employers
- Schools
- Olathe USD 233. Boundaries do not follow city limits - Olathe USD 233 also serves portions of neighboring cities including part of Overland Park, and edges of Olathe fall to adjoining districts. Confirm the district by address. Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source
- Getting around
- Served by I-35 running northeast-southwest through the city, with K-10 and US-169 providing the other main corridors, and I-435 to the north and east. source
- Employers located here
- Garmin International, Honeywell Aerospace. Listed as present in the city, which is not a statement about hiring.
More images9 more from the archives
Thinking about buying or selling here?
The numbers above describe the market. What they cannot tell you is what your own house is worth in it, or which of these streets fits what you need. Ask me about Olathe.