Living in Mission Hills, Kansas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.5% below the U.S. average in the Kansas City metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Mission Hills to say.
A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town4 public schools: 3 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Shawnee Mission East High, about 2 miles away.
A hospital close bySt. Lukes Hospital of Kansas City in Kansas City, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 8 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Mission Hills meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Mission Hills runs into the built-up area around Kansas City (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $1,237,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Johnson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $250,000 or moreU.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 100%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearKansas: $2,798
Homes built before 1940: 24%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 92.5U.S. average = 100 (the Kansas City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kansas City metro area, not Mission Hills alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 3,5222020: 3,589
Median age: 47.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 87%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Professional and business services (28%); schools, health care and social services (27%); finance, insurance and real estate (19%)
Unemployment rate: 0%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 29%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 1%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Lukes Hospital of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Mission Hills, run by Shawnee Mission Pub Sch. The nearest public high school is Shawnee Mission East High, about 2 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kansas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription: 97%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 22°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 47 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 93 a year
Rain and melted snow: 38.1 inches a year
Snow: 11 inches a year
Elevation: 954 feet

Weather station: Kansas City Downtown Ap (7 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

St. Lukes Hospital of Kansas CityEmergency room3

Kansas City, MOMetro of 2.3 million8

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Lukes Hospital of Kansas City, Kansas City.

Johnson County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Horn-Vincent-Russell Estate.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Harry S Truman National Historic Site9 miles
Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park57 miles

Read about Mission Hills's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mission Hills?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Fairway, KS4,200 people, 1 miles
Westwood, KS1,700 people, 2 miles
Roeland Park, KS6,700 people, 2 miles
Mission, KS10,100 people, 2 miles
Merriam, KS11,500 people, 4 miles
Lake Quivira, KS1,000 people, 8 miles

Smaller places

Mission Woods, KS200 people, 1 mile
Westwood Hills, KS395 people, 2 miles
Blue Summit, MO (unincorporated)1,156 people, 9 miles
Avondale, MO430 people, 10 miles
Northmoor, MO294 people, 12 miles
Houston Lake, MO227 people, 12 miles
Oaks, MO125 people, 13 miles
Oakwood, MO199 people, 13 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.