Living in Buckner, Missouri: 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 moneyA typical home costs 2.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Fort Osage High, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close bySt. Mary's Medical Center in Blue Springs, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 19 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 Buckner 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $197,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 16%Jackson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $986 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $87,350U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $2,529 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940: 9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kansas City metro area, not Buckner 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: 2,8912020: 2,941
Median age: 32.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%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: Schools, health care and social services (19%); retail (17%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Mary's Medical Center, Blue Springs, MO, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

1 public school in Buckner, run by Fort Osage R-I. The nearest public high school is Fort Osage High, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Missouri'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 cable, fiber or DSL internet: 87%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 94%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: 19°F
July average high: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 31 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 113 a year
Rain and melted snow: 44.7 inches a year
Snow: 13 inches a year
Elevation: 748 feet

Weather station: Independence (11 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. Mary's Medical CenterEmergency room8

Independence, MOCity of 122,0009

Kansas City, MOMetro of 2.3 million19

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. Mary's Medical Center, Independence, Kansas City.

Jackson 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Harry S Truman National Historic Site24 miles

Read about Buckner's history on Wikipedia.

Know Buckner?

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

Grain Valley, MO16,900 people, 8 miles
Oak Grove, MO9,400 people, 9 miles
Sugar Creek, MO3,200 people, 11 miles
Excelsior Springs, MO10,800 people, 15 miles
Odessa, MO5,700 people, 15 miles
Richmond, MO6,000 people, 16 miles

Smaller places

Sibley, MO324 people, 3 miles
Napoleon, MO210 people, 6 miles
Orrick, MO740 people, 7 miles
Fleming, MO115 people, 9 miles
Missouri City, MO219 people, 9 miles
Lake Tapawingo, MO782 people, 10 miles
Camden, MO183 people, 10 miles
Wellington, MO761 people, 11 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.