Jackson (city limits also extend into Clay, Platte and Cass counties) County · MO
Kansas City, MO
Founded 1838 · population 510,612
The market, last twelve months
Half of the homes that sold went under contract within 16 days. The median sale closed at 100.0% of asking - at list. 48% 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 1838 · where the name comes from · 6 dated events
John McCoy established Westport in the 1830s and a landing on the Missouri River (Westport Landing) below it; in 1838 investors formed the Town Company to acquire the riverfront property. The settlement was incorporated as the Town of Kansas in 1850, became the City of Kansas in 1853, and was renamed Kansas City in 1889. source
The name. Named for the Kansas, or Kaw, River, which was itself named for the Kansa people. The Kansas side of the state line adopted the same name later and independently, which is why two separately incorporated Kansas Citys exist in two states. source
Incorporated as the Town of Kansas in 1850; chartered as the City of Kansas in 1853; renamed Kansas City in 1889. source
- 1850Incorporated as the Town of Kansas at Westport Landing on the Missouri River. source
- 1889Renamed Kansas City by the State of Missouri. source
- 1893George E. Kessler's Report of the Park and Boulevard Commissioners set out the parks-and-boulevards plan that became the framework for the city's growth, using landscaped boulevards to organize districts in the absence of zoning. source
- 1905Cliff Drive, part of Kessler's original plan, opened in full (grand opening July 30, 1905); it was designated a State Scenic Byway on June 2, 2000. source
- 1914Union Station opened, replacing the Union Depot in the West Bottoms that had been wrecked by flooding. source
- 1926Construction of the Liberty Memorial completed; dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge before more than 150,000 people. The National WWI Museum beneath it opened in 2006. source
The housing stockmedian built 1964
The median home sold here was built in 1964. Most of what sells was built between 1920 and 2018. That closely matches the Census figure of 1969 for all housing, so sales are broadly representative of the stock. 45% 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 (6336), Condo/Loft (387), Townhouse (280), Patio/Villa (132).
What's hereNational WWI Museum and Memorial (Liberty Memorial), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and more
The Country Club Plaza, announced by developer J.C. Nichols in April 1922 with the first commercial building opening in 1923, is the nation's first comprehensively planned, automobile-oriented shopping center - designed in Spanish Baroque Revival style by architect Edward Buehler Delk, with wide streets and the first free off-street parking in an American shopping district. source
The Kansas City Park and Boulevard System, begun with George E. Kessler's 1893 Report of the Park and Boulevard Commissioners, is a designated ASCE historic civil engineering landmark. Kessler's original 1893 plan called for under 10 miles of boulevards and 323 acres of parks and produced North Terrace (now Kessler) Park, West Terrace Park and Penn Valley Park. source
The 18th and Vine district and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum document the history of Black baseball, including the Kansas City Monarchs. source
- National WWI Museum and Memorial (Liberty Memorial)
- Egyptian Revival monument completed 1926 with a 217-foot tower; the museum opened in 2006. source
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- Free art museum with a 22-acre lawn holding four 18-foot shuttlecock sculptures. source
- Union Station
- Opened 1914 after flooding destroyed the West Bottoms Union Depot. source
- Country Club Plaza
- 1922-23 Spanish Baroque Revival shopping district by Edward Buehler Delk, the first planned automobile-oriented shopping center in the U.S. source
- Kessler Park and Cliff Drive
- Limestone-bluff parkland in the historic Northeast; Cliff Drive is a State Scenic Byway (designated June 2, 2000) running just over three miles. source
- Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 18th and Vine
- Museum of Black baseball history in the historic 18th and Vine jazz district. source
Neighborhoods with their own market data32 with enough sales to report
32 subdivisions in Kansas City had enough closed sales in the last twelve months to report on individually.
| Subdivision | Sold | Median price | $/sq ft | Days | Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Hills | 73 | $485,500 | $287 | 2 | 1926 |
| Ruskin Heights | 69 | $154,000 | $135 | 14 | 1955 |
| Marlborough Heights | 65 | $175,000 | $125 | 25 | 1943 |
| Woodhaven | 53 | $386,578 | $243 | 12 | 2025 |
| Cadence Villas | 46 | $433,252 | $248 | 24 | 2025 |
| Somerbrook | 45 | $461,680 | $255 | 18 | 2024 |
| Ruskin Hills | 45 | $165,000 | $147 | 29 | 1960 |
| Staley Farms | 43 | $725,000 | $317 | 30 | 2009 |
| Red Bridge | 39 | $341,500 | $201 | 5 | 1960 |
| Gracemor | 36 | $242,500 | $208 | 10 | 1963 |
| New Mark | 35 | $340,000 | $174 | 21 | 1976 |
| Crestview | 35 | $177,000 | $206 | 17 | 1950 |
| Broadland | 35 | $213,000 | $233 | 5 | 1947 |
| Fountain Hills | 34 | $540,000 | $233 | 35 | 2017 |
| Sherwood Estates | 33 | $285,000 | $188 | 8 | 1957 |
| Brooke Hills | 33 | $439,900 | $210 | 16 | 2025 |
| Robandee | 33 | $173,000 | $173 | 22 | 1963 |
| Platte Ridge | 33 | $287,000 | $258 | 9 | 1972 |
| Ward Park | 31 | $510,000 | $257 | 3 | 1928 |
| Rockhill Gardens | 29 | $415,000 | $219 | 2 | 1937 |
| Romanelli Gardens | 29 | $625,500 | $311 | 2 | 1928 |
| North Creek Village | 29 | $304,950 | $219 | 24 | 2022 |
| Wildwood West | 29 | $375,000 | $241 | 3 | 1997 |
| North Hampton | 28 | $315,000 | $272 | 8 | 1998 |
| Randolph Corners North | 28 | $219,500 | $220 | 36 | 1963 |
| Woodneath Farms | 27 | $585,000 | $209 | 23 | 2005 |
| St. Catherine's Gardens | 27 | $230,000 | $201 | 7 | 1959 |
| Terrace Lake Gardens | 27 | $204,000 | $178 | 20 | 1956 |
| Mission Lake | 27 | $220,000 | $165 | 24 | 1983 |
| Hills Of Walden | 27 | $225,000 | $188 | 31 | 1978 |
| Holiday Hills | 26 | $230,000 | $238 | 10 | 1959 |
| Riverstone | 25 | $630,000 | $327 | 41 | 2025 |
Practical detailschool district · highways and transit · 3 employers
- Schools
- Kansas City Public Schools. Boundaries do not follow city limits, and this matters more in Kansas City than anywhere else in the metro: roughly 15 separate districts serve parts of the city, including North Kansas City, Park Hill, Platte County R-3 and Center. The district serving a given address must be confirmed address by address - the mailing city is not a reliable guide. Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source
- Getting around
- Served by I-70, I-35, I-29, I-49 and I-470, ringed by I-435 (an 83-mile beltway around the metro). Kansas City International Airport's 40-gate New Terminal opened February 28, 2023; at just over one million square feet and about $1.5 billion it was the largest single infrastructure project in the city's history and is LEED Gold certified. The KC Streetcar's 3.5-mile Main Street Extension, running from Union Station south through Midtown and the Country Club Plaza to the UMKC campus, opened in October 2025. source 1 source 2 source 3
- Employers located here
- Hallmark Cards, H&R Block, Burns & McDonnell. Listed as present in the city, which is not a statement about hiring.
People from hereWalt Disney, Robert Altman, Charlie Parker
- Walt Disney
- Attended the Kansas City Art Institute and opened his first studio, Laugh-O-Gram, at 31st Street and Forest Avenue in Kansas City. source
- Robert Altman
- Film director, born in Kansas City, Missouri on February 20, 1925. source
- Charlie Parker
- Jazz saxophonist; born across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas on August 29, 1920 and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, where he played the jazz clubs as a teenager. source
- Buck O'Neil
- Played for and managed the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, later the first African-American coach in Major League Baseball, and central to founding the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. source
More images11 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 Kansas City.