Best PlacesNorthwest, Kansas City, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northwest, 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.
Northwest, Kansas City ranks 5,435th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Northwest, 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.
Northwest, Kansas City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northwest, Kansas City ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$712 a month, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 69% of neighborhoods
Where Northwest, Kansas City ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Northwest, Kansas City
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northwest, Kansas City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,999, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Northwest, Kansas City's effective rate of 1.28%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Northwest, Kansas City
Northwest, Kansas City runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Northwest, Kansas City.
Who works in Northwest, Kansas City, and how
Work in Northwest, Kansas City centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Northwest, Kansas City
Northwest, Kansas City has more parkland per resident than 88% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Northwest, Kansas City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Northwest, Kansas City, month by month
Northwest, Kansas City sees roughly 108 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 Northwest, Kansas City
Kansas City International sits about 12 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 Northwest, Kansas City
Schools across Northwest, Kansas City average an F, better than 1% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- West Park Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
- Bertram Caruthers ElemD− · 15% proficient
- Quindaro ElemD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleF · 6% proficient
- Carl B. Bruce Middle SchoolF · 3% proficient
Top high schools
- F L Schlagle HighF · 5% proficient
- Wyandotte HighF · 4% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northwest, Kansas City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northwest, 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 Northwest, Kansas City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Northwest, Kansas City
Is Northwest, Kansas City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northwest, Kansas City ranks 5,435th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the schools and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Northwest, Kansas City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $95,625. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $57,999 median income, cost of living beats 30% of neighborhoods.
Is Northwest, Kansas City safe?
Northwest, Kansas City is safer than 22% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $697 per resident a year.
Compare Northwest, Kansas City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northwest, Kansas City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northwest, 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.
Northwest, Kansas City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northwest, Kansas City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northwest, Kansas City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northwest, Kansas City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northwest, Kansas City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northwest, 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.