Kansas City, Missouri had 521,220 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #37 nationally and #1 in Missouri. cost of living runs 7.5% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $57,117/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID2938000
Last build2026-05-29
At a glance.
2025 population
521,220
Census Vintage 2025
Median HH income
$69,166
-11.0% vs US $77,719
Median home value
$242,900
-19.9% vs US $303,400
Avg July high
89°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
92%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Unemployment
3.7%
Kansas City · BLS LAUS
Key statistics.
2025 population
521,220
Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025
2020 base
508,012
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+13,208
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+2.6%
Within V2025 only
1-yr change
+4,681
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.9%
Within V2025 only
Density
1,657
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
314.5
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#37
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#1
of 936 in Missouri
Population history.
Population grew 2.6% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 508,012 → 2025: 521,220 (+2.6%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
508,012
April 1, 2020
2020
508,128
July 1, 2020
2021
509,175
July 1, 2021
2022
509,218
July 1, 2022
2023
511,549
July 1, 2023
2024
516,539
July 1, 2024
2025
521,220
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 7.7% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 459,902 → 2019: 495,327 (+7.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
459,902
April 1, 2010
2010
460,697
July 1, 2010
2011
462,368
July 1, 2011
2012
464,595
July 1, 2012
2013
467,213
July 1, 2013
2014
470,629
July 1, 2014
2015
475,073
July 1, 2015
2016
481,670
July 1, 2016
2017
488,329
July 1, 2017
2018
492,012
July 1, 2018
2019
495,327
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Kansas City?
Median household income is 11% below the U.S. median ($69,166 vs $77,719); 14.6% live in poverty — 2.1 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Kansas City from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
69,166-11.0% vs US
±1,445
Per capita income
41,393-4.4% vs US
±718
Population in poverty
14.6%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 20% below the U.S. median ($242,900 vs $303,400); median rent is 8% below ($1,238 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 3.5×, making it 1.1× as affordable as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Kansas City. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.7%
Kansas City (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
280,347
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
17.0%+21.6% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Kansas City spans 4 counties; all are listed (no weighted average):
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Cass County
7.0%
$83,378
3.4%
Clay County
8.9%
$88,044
3.2%
Jackson County
14.3%
$70,661
3.9%
Platte County
5.5%
$92,305
3.2%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Kansas City's linked 4 counties in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
74,571
$1,226 / wk
#2
Retail trade (44-45)
59,360
$736 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
56,060
$542 / wk
#4
Manufacturing (31-33)
50,962
$1,551 / wk
#5
Professional and technical services (54)
43,899
$2,183 / wk
What workers earn in the Kansas City, MO-KS metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Cashiers
24,210
$29,820
$14.34
Customer Service Representatives
23,750
$42,680
$20.52
Stockers and Order Fillers
22,980
$36,950
$17.77
Fast Food and Counter Workers
21,170
$29,380
$14.12
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
21,170
$40,370
$19.41
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
20,210
$29,930
$14.39
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
29,820
$86,590
$41.63
Registered Nurses · benchmark
28,180
$82,630
$39.73
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
24,630
$33,840
$16.27
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
18,230
$58,590
$28.17
Software Developers · benchmark
13,940
$114,440
$55.02
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 7.5% below the U.S. average (RPP 92.5); rents run 13.4% below (RPP 86.6) — the metro's housing affordability is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 92.5
−7.5% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Kansas City, MO-KS metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,358/mo
FY2026 · Kansas City, MO-KS HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
4.70%
8 brackets · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$4,760/mo
3BR rent + food + taxes + transport (childcare not modeled — county outside NDCP 2022 coverage) · federal sources Note: family-of-four total excludes childcare — modeled NDCP counties typically add $1,500–$2,900/mo for two children at center-based preschool + school-age care.
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,055/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax (monthly, single adult)
$41/mo
Kansas City (earnings tax) · F3 pipeline · details
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
8.6% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (7.8% of residents 5+).
Where Kansas City's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
8.6%-38.8% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
86.9%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish7.8%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
13 districts serve Kansas City, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts. Expand the list below to see every district sorted primary first. See methodology §12.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What's the climate like in Kansas City?
Hottest month: July (89°F avg high). Coldest: January (20°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 39.3 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Kansas City from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk spans 71.4–96.5/100 across 4 counties; most-cited top hazard is Hail (in 1 of 4).
Natural-hazard exposure for Kansas City from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
Kansas City spans 4 counties. We list each separately because hurricane, flood, and fire risk varies meaningfully across county lines — manufacturing a single “city-level” risk score would hide that signal.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Cass County
74.9
Relatively Low
Hail · score 92.9 · Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind · score 91.3 · Relatively High
Tornado · score 89.9 · Relatively Moderate
Clay County
89.8
Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave · score 97.7 · Relatively High
Hail · score 97.4 · Relatively High
Heat Wave · score 96.7 · Relatively High
Jackson County
96.5
Relatively High
Tornado · score 99.5 · Very High
Hail · score 99.4 · Very High
Heat Wave · score 99.1 · Relatively High
Platte County
71.4
Relatively Low
Heat Wave · score 90.2 · Relatively Moderate
Hail · score 90.0 · Relatively Moderate
Tornado · score 88.0 · Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
21 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 92% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Kansas City from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
21 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
19
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
92.4%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
92.3%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
261,171
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Kansas City sits at state rank #1 among 936 cities in Missouri. Nearby in the state ranking:
Kansas City is ranked #37 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Atlanta, GA · #36 · 529,110 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Mesa, AZ · #38 · 513,656 residents.
Quick travel facts for Kansas City
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Kansas City International Airport(MCI) ·
15 mi 24 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Kansas City is 2938000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
