Kansas City is a city located in Cass County, Clay County, Jackson County, and Platte County Missouri. Kansas City has a 2023 population of 509,319. Kansas City is currently growing at a rate of 0.09% annually and its population has increased by 0.27% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 507,932 in 2020.
The average household income in Kansas City is $81,577 with a poverty rate of 14.99%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to - per month, and the median house value is -. The median age in Kansas City is 35.4 years, 34.8 years for males, and 36 years for females.
Kansas City is a 15-county metropolitan area that's anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. To make things confusing, however, the metro area also includes Kansas City, Kansas, which is much smaller in size. This article will cover Kansas City, Missouri and the metropolitan area as a whole. The city is located on the border of Kansas and Missouri, and it's the second largest metro area in the state after Greater St. Louis.
The most densely populated area is within the Historic Kansas City boundary with about 58 square miles and a density of around 5,000 people per square mile. The urban core of the city has dropped in population continually for the past 13 years, while only a few areas -- especially the Greater Downtown area in the city center -- have gained population. The most significant growth has been in the Northland area.
The Kansas City metropolitan area (or just KC) has a population of 2.34 million people. MC has an area of 7,952 square miles, which means its density is 260 people per square mile (100/square kilometers).
Located on the border of Kansas and Missouri, KC spreads over 15 counties in both states. Kansas City, Missouri is the anchor city with a population of 488,600, but cities with at least 50,000 inhabitants include:
Johnson County, Kansas (JoCo) makes up the southwestern area of the metro and includes Overland, Lenexa, Olathe, and Shawnee. Wyandotte County, Kansas (The Dotte) is on the western side, and it contains Kansas City, Kansas. Leavenworth County, Kansas is just outside the Kansas City area, but it is included in the 15-county metropolitan area. Kansas City, Missouri is in the center of the metro area.
The Kansas City metropolitan area also includes many suburbs and cities, the largest of which are Overland Park, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; and Independence, Missouri, all of which have over 100,000 people each.
Kansas City is home to the second largest Sudanese population in the United States. Its Hispanic and Latino community, mostly from Central America and Mexico, is spread throughout the metropolitan area with the highest concentration southwest of downtown and in the northeast region of Kansas City. The Asian population, meanwhile, is mostly from Southeast Asia and is heavily concentrated around the Columbus Park area of Greater Downtown.
Kansas City is also home to a large Irish-American community of about 250,000. This community has many bookstores, Browne's Irish Market and numerous newspapers. This large population means that 1 in 2 people in Kansas City has Irish ancestry.
Kansas City has already outgrown Missouri's previously largest city, St. Louis. St. Louis has been slowly fading, losing 538,000 people from 1950 (when it was the 8th largest city) to 2010 (when it was the 58th largest). Still, St. Louis does have the largest metropolitan area in the state, but this will probably change in the future.
Kansas City has put much emphasis on encouraging entrepreneurs in the area, and it's been increasing its funding of the arts and boosting spending on road repairs and park maintenance. Kansas City now makes up 23% of the KC metropolitan area's population, and the region's growth rate was at a very healthy 11% from 2000 to 2010.
It's hard to say what Kansas City will look like in the coming decades, but its growth is healthy, and it is growing twice as fast as nearby St. Louis.
According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Kansas City was:
White
Black or African American
Two or more races
Other race
Asian
Native American
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Household Type | Count | Average Size | Owner | Renter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 213,560 | 2.31 | 53.9 | 46.1 |
| Non Family | 99,020 | 1.27 | 39.8 | 60.2 |
| Married | 76,843 | 3.18 | 77.1 | 22.9 |
| Female | 28,217 | 3.35 | 41.6 | 58.4 |
| Male | 9,480 | 3.11 | 49.6 | 50.4 |
3.12
Average Family Size
2.31
Average Household Size
53.9%
Rate of Home Ownership
Married
Male
Female
NonFamily
owner
renter
Only English
Spanish
Other Indo-European Languages
Asian and Pacific Island Languages
Other Languages
88.05% of Kansas City residents speak only English, while 11.95% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 6.84% of the population.
rate
14.99%
Overall Poverty Rate
13.88%
Male Poverty Rate
16.02%
Female Poverty Rate
The race most likely to be in poverty in Kansas City is Native, with 32.27% below the poverty level.
The race least likely to be in poverty in Kansas City is White, with 9.27% below the poverty level.
The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 3.08%. Among those working part-time, it was 18.76%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 26.7%.
Married
Widowed
Divorced
Separated
NeverMarried
40.6%
Overall Marriage Rate
42.7%
Male Marriage Rate
38.6%
Female Marriage Rate
male
female
The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.
Married
Widowed
Divorced
Separated
NeverMarried
Less Than 9th Grade
High School Graduate
Some College
Bachelors or Greater
8.65%
Veteran Poverty Rate
30.8%
Veteran Disability Rate
LaborForceParticipation
69.7%
Labor Force Participation
66%
Employment Rate
5.1%
Unemployment Rate
LaborForceParticipation
LaborForceParticipation
Europe
Asia
Africa
Oceania
Latin America
North America
Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
Europe
Asia
Africa
Oceania
Latin America
North America
54.46%
Born in Kansas City
93.52%
Native Born
8.14%
Foreign Born
4.45%
Non Citizen
3.69%
Naturalized
93.52% of Kansas City residents were born in the United States, with 54.46% having been born in Missouri. 4.45% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.
Year | Population | Growth | Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 4,418 | -507,687 | 2.85% |
| 1870 | 32,260 | 27,842 | 22% |
| 1880 | 55,785 | 23,525 | 5.63% |
| 1890 | 132,716 | 76,931 | 9.05% |
| 1900 | 163,752 | 31,036 | 2.12% |
| 1910 | 248,381 | 84,629 | 4.25% |
| 1920 | 324,410 | 76,029 | 2.71% |
| 1930 | 399,746 | 75,336 | 2.11% |
| 1940 | 399,178 | -568 | -0.01% |
| 1950 | 456,622 | 57,444 | 1.35% |
| 1960 | 475,539 | 18,917 | 0.41% |
| 1970 | 507,330 | 31,791 | 0.65% |
| 1980 | 448,028 | -59,302 | -1.24% |
| 1990 | 435,146 | -12,882 | -0.29% |
| 2000 | 441,545 | 6,399 | 0.15% |
| 2010 | 459,787 | ||
| 2011 | 464,617 | 4,830 | 1.05% |
| 2012 | 469,447 | 4,830 | 1.04% |
| 2013 | 474,277 | 4,830 | 1.03% |
| 2014 | 479,107 | 4,830 | 1.02% |
| 2015 | 483,937 | 4,830 | 1.01% |
| 2016 | 488,767 | 4,830 | 1% |
| 2017 | 493,597 | 4,830 | 0.99% |
| 2018 | 498,427 | 4,830 | 0.98% |
| 2019 | 503,257 | 4,830 | 0.97% |
| 2020 | 507,932 | 4,675 | 0.93% |
| 2021 | 508,394 | 462 | 0.09% |
| 2022 | 508,856 | 462 | 0.09% |
| 2023 | 509,319 | 463 | 0.09% |
| 2024 | 509,782 | 463 | 0.09% |
| 2025 | 510,246 | 464 | 0.09% |
| 2026 | 510,710 | 464 | 0.09% |
| 2027 | 511,175 | 465 | 0.09% |
| 2028 | 511,640 | 465 | 0.09% |
| 2029 | 512,105 | 465 | 0.09% |