Best PlacesNorth Kansas City, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Kansas City, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Kansas City ranks 27,866th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Kansas City
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
North Kansas City's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Kansas City ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of towns
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of towns
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
Where North Kansas City ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Kansas City
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Kansas City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $61,825; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses North Kansas City's effective rate of 1.06%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Kansas City
North Kansas City's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Kansas City.
Who works in North Kansas City, and how
Work in North Kansas City centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in North Kansas City
North Kansas City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of towns and more parkland per resident than 97% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Kansas City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Kansas City, month by month
North Kansas City sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 69° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of North Kansas City
Kansas City International sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.7 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around North Kansas City
Schools across North Kansas City average a C, better than 31% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Briarcliff ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Chouteau ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Crestview ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eastgate 6th Grade CenterC− · 31% proficient
- Northgate MiddleC− · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- North Kansas City HighC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Kansas City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Kansas City measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare North Kansas City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Kansas City
Is North Kansas City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Kansas City ranks 27,866th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and transit, and lowest on noise and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Kansas City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $241,448. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $61,825 median income, cost of living beats 41% of towns.
Is North Kansas City safe?
North Kansas City is safer than 4% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $882 per resident a year.
Compare North Kansas City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Kansas City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Kansas City represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
North Kansas City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Kansas City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Kansas City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Kansas City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Kansas City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Kansas City detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.