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Harrisonville, Missouri

Harrisonville is a small town of about 10,000 people in Cass County, Missouri. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Kansas City, is about 35 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
10,040
down 0.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$209,200
Cass County prices up 16% since 2022
Household income
$62,473
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Kansas City area
92.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Cass Regional Medical Center
To Kansas City
35 mi
straight line

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 3.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood29 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCass Regional Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 35 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 Harrisonville 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
$209,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 16%Cass County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$944 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,473U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,642 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%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 Harrisonville 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
10,0402020: 10,130
Median age
37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%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 (20%); retail (17%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (10%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cass Regional Medical Center, Harrisonville, MO, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Belton Regional Medical Center, Belton, MO, about 14 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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

5 public schools in Harrisonville, run by Harrisonville R-IX.

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
70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%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
21°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
37 a year
Nights at or below freezing
106 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.7 inches a year
Snow
17 inches a year
Elevation
923 feet

Weather station: Pleasant Hill Wfo (12 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

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: Lee's Summit, Kansas City.

Cass 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Harrisonville Courthouse Square Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harry S Truman National Historic Site20 miles
  • Fort Scott National Historic Site59 miles

Read about Harrisonville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Harrisonville?

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

Smaller places

  • East Lynne, MO312 people, 7 miles
  • Lake Annette, MO112 people, 8 miles
  • Freeman, MO508 people, 9 miles
  • Strasburg, MO123 people, 13 miles
  • West Line, MO124 people, 13 miles
  • La Tour, MO (unincorporated)132 people, 14 miles
  • Cleveland, MO649 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.