Kansas City metropolitan area



The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri after Greater St. Louis and is the largest metropolitan area with territory in Kansas, ahead of Wichita. The metropolitan area includes numerous large suburbs including the following which have a population exceeding 100,000: Independence, Missouri; Kansas City, Kansas; Olathe, Kansas; and Overland Park, Kansas.

In 2007, Worldwide ERC and Primary Relocation recognized Kansas City third overall as one of the "Best Cities for Relocating Families" in the United States. Also in 2010, Money Magazine rated Overland Park, Kansas, the 7th best city to live in the United States. Neighboring city Olathe, Kansas, was rated 11th, Lee's Summit, Missouri 27th best, and Shawnee, Kansas, 39th best. Kansas City is one of two metro areas to have two cities in the top fifteen.

Geographic overview
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area can be visualized roughly by the following divisions:

Northland
Northland refers to all that portion of the metro area within Missouri and located north of the Missouri River. The Northland is largely suburban in character with industrial uses and pre-World War II development along the Missouri River. Places in the Northland are commonly referred to as being "north of the river" (Missouri River). Sometimes the area is referred to as "Kansas City North", which should not be confused with "Northtown", a nickname for the city of North Kansas City. The Northland encompasses portions of Clay County and Platte County and includes the suburban areas of Kansas City, Missouri as well as the metro area's northern suburbs such as Parkville, Liberty, Excelsior Springs, North Kansas City, Smithville, Kearney, Platte City, and Gladstone.

The Northland is home to the Charles B. Wheeler Airport, Kansas City International Airport, Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun, and Zona Rosa a large-scale mixed use development and regional attraction, as well as most of the metro area's riverboat casinos.

The Northland does not include downtown Kansas City, Missouri, though the city's boundaries extend far into the Northland. In contrast to that portion of Kansas City, Missouri south of the river, that portion in the Northland is largely suburban.

Downtown
Downtown is the historic center of the city of Kansas City, Missouri, located entirely within the city of Kansas City, Missouri and containing the original townsite, business districts and residential neighborhoods of the city. Downtown is bounded by the Missouri River on the north, the state line on the west, 31st Street on the south and the Blue River on the east. Downtown includes the central business district and its buildings which form the city's skyline.

Downtown Loop
This area contains the central business district and is surrounded by the downtown loop formed by Interstates 670, 70, 35, and 29. Within the downtown loop are many of the tall buildings and skyscrapers forming the city's skyline. Also within the downtown loop are small, distinct neighborhoods such as Quality Hill, the Garment District, the Financial District, the Convention Center District, and the Power and Light District.

Other Downtown Neighborhoods
Other neighborhoods within Downtown are the River Market and Columbus Park, both located between the downtown loop and the Missouri River. Between the downtown loop and the state line are Westside neighborhood and the West Bottoms, located at the bottom of the bluff adjacent to Kaw Point. East of the loop are the 18th & Vine District, the North Bottoms, East Bottoms, and Pendleton Heights. South of the loop is the Crossroads District, Union Hill, Crown Center, Hospital Hill, Longfellow, Wendell Phillips, and Washington Wheatley.

Downtown Attractions
The Kansas City Convention Center, Municipal Auditorium, City Hall, Lyric Theater, Midland Theater, Ilus Davis Park, Barney Allis Plaza, are located within the central business district inside the downtown loop. The Sprint Center and the College Basketball Experience are located within Power & Light District, also within the downtown loop. The Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts is perched upon a high point immediately south of the downtown loop. South of the loop is the Crossroads District, Union Station, Crown Center, the National World War I Museum, Liberty Memorial, Penn Valley Park, Truman Medical Center, Children's Mercy Hospital, and the 18th & Vine District. North of the loop is, City Market within the River Market and Richard L. Berkeley Riverfront Park. West of the loop within the West Bottoms are Kemper Arena, and Hale Arena.

Midtown
This area is located just south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, bounded by 31st Street on the north, the state line on the west, 75th Street on the south, and the Blue River on the east. Midtown, is contained entirely within Kansas City, Missouri, and is largely considered to be the core of the metro area as it contains numerous cultural attractions, shopping and entertainment areas, large hospitals, universities, and the metro areas most densely-populated neighborhoods.

Midtown Neighborhoods
Midtown consists of numerous distinct and/or historic neighborhoods such as Westport, Volker, Ivanhoe, the Country Club Plaza, the Country Club District, Hyde Park, Ward Parkway, Armour Hills, Brookside, Waldo, West Plaza, South Plaza, Southmoreland, Valentine, Coleman Highlands and Rockhill.

Midtown Attractions
Midtown is home to a majority of the metro area's regional entertainment, shopping, medical, and cultural attractions. Entertainment attractions are found throughout and include the 39th Street corridor, Westport, the Country Club Plaza, Brookside and Waldo. Shopping is centered on the Country Club Plaza, which contains numerous luxury retailers, hotels, and restaurants. Brookside and Westport also contain smaller scale, neighborhood-oriented and niche market retailers. Midtown is home to Saint Luke's Hospital and Research Medical Center. Cultural attractions include the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Rockhurst University, Kansas City Art Institute, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Midwest Research Institute, Penn Valley Community College, the Tivoli Theater, Uptown Theater, Madrid Theater, Unicorn Theater, Starlight Theater, the Kansas City Zoo, Loose Park, and Swope Park.

South KC
Also known as "South Kansas City" this area consists of is the southern half of Kansas City, Missouri as well as the suburbs of Lee's Summit, Grandview, Harrisonville, Belton, Raymore. It is sometimes called "the southland."

The Eastside is an area of the metro that contains the eastern urban side of Kansas City, Missouri as well as the suburbs of Independence, Blue Springs and Raytown. This part of town is best known for the Truman Sports Complex where the Royals and Chiefs play.

Johnson County
Also referred to as "JoCo" this area includes all of Johnson County, Kansas, and many of the affluent southwestern suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri such as Overland Park, Lenexa, Olathe, Shawnee, and De Soto. Interstate 35 runs diagonally through Johnson County from the southwest toward the northeast and downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

Wyandotte or the western side of the metro contains Wyandotte County, Kansas. Wyandotte County, sometimes referred to as just 'Wyandotte', 'WyCo', or 'The Dot', contains Kansas City, Kansas, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville, and it is governed by a single unified government similar to a consolidated city-county. Often the Wyandotte government is referred to simply as 'The Unified Government'. This area is best known for NASCAR's Kansas Speedway and CommunityAmerica Ballpark, home to the T-Bones and Sporting Kansas City. Another bend in the Missouri River forms the county line between Wyandotte and Platte counties to the north and northeast.

In all, just over 2 million people live in the metropolitan area as of July 1, 2009. It is difficult to state exactly the size of the population because there are few natural boundaries and suburban expansion (or sprawl) is ongoing.

Anchor city

 * Kansas City, Missouri (Major airport: Kansas City International Airport)

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100,000 or more inhabitants

 * Independence, Missouri
 * Kansas City, Kansas
 * Olathe, Kansas
 * Overland Park, Kansas

10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants

 * Blue Springs, Missouri
 * Belton, Missouri
 * Excelsior Springs, Missouri
 * Gardner, Kansas
 * Gladstone, Missouri
 * Grandview, Missouri
 * Lansing, Kansas
 * Leawood, Kansas
 * Leavenworth, Kansas
 * Lee's Summit, Missouri
 * Lenexa, Kansas
 * Liberty, Missouri
 * Merriam, Kansas
 * Ottawa, Kansas
 * Prairie Village, Kansas
 * Raymore, Missouri
 * Raytown, Missouri
 * Shawnee, Kansas
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Fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

 * Avondale, Missouri
 * Basehor, Kansas
 * Birmingham, Missouri
 * Bonner Springs, Kansas
 * Buckner, Missouri
 * Claycomo, Missouri
 * Countryside, Kansas
 * De Soto, Kansas
 * Edgerton, Kansas
 * Edwardsville, Kansas
 * Fairway, Kansas
 * Garden City, Missouri
 * Glenaire, Missouri
 * Grain Valley, Missouri
 * Greenwood, Missouri
 * Harrisonville, Missouri
 * Houston Lake, Missouri
 * Kearney, Missouri
 * Lake Lotawana, Missouri
 * Lake Quivira, Kansas
 * Lake Tapawingo, Missouri
 * Lake Waukomis, Missouri
 * Lake Winnebago, Missouri
 * Lawson, Missouri
 * Levasy, Missouri
 * Lexington, Missouri
 * Linwood, Kansas
 * Lone Jack, Missouri
 * Louisburg, Kansas
 * Mission, Kansas
 * Mission Hills, Kansas
 * Mission Woods, Kansas
 * Missouri City, Missouri
 * Napoleon, Missouri
 * North Kansas City, Missouri
 * Northmoor, Missouri
 * Oak Grove, Missouri
 * Oaks, Missouri
 * Oakview, Missouri
 * Oakwood, Missouri
 * Oakwood Park, Missouri
 * Odessa, Missouri
 * Orrick, Missouri
 * Paola, Kansas
 * Parkville, Missouri
 * Peculiar, Missouri
 * Platte City, Missouri
 * Platte Woods, Missouri
 * Pleasant Valley, Missouri
 * Pleasant Hill, Missouri
 * Randolph, Missouri
 * Richmond, Missouri
 * River Bend, Missouri
 * Riverside, Missouri
 * Roeland Park, Kansas
 * Sibley, Missouri
 * Smithville, Missouri
 * Spring Hill, Kansas
 * Sugar Creek, Missouri
 * Tonganoxie, Kansas
 * Unity Village, Missouri
 * Weatherby Lake, Missouri
 * Wellington, Missouri
 * Westwood, Kansas
 * Westwood Hills, Kansas
 * }
 * Westwood, Kansas
 * Westwood Hills, Kansas
 * }

The metropolitan area is experiencing continued growth. Between July 2000 and July 2007, the population in the Kansas City MSA grew from 1,842,965 to an estimated 2,037,357, an increase of 10 percent.

Counties
The MSA covers a total area of 7952 sqmi. 7,855 sq. mi. is land and 97 sqmi. is water.

Associated areas
Often associated with Kansas City, the cities of Lawrence, Kansas and St. Joseph, Missouri are identified as separate Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area, which encompasses the Kansas City MO-KS MSA, the Warrensburg, MO µSA, and the Atchison, KS µSA, covers a total area of 9,220 sq. mi. 9117 sqmi. is land and 103 sqmi. is water.

Transportation
The Kansas City metropolitan area has by far more freeway lane-miles per capita than any other large metropolitan area in the United States, over 27% more than the second-place Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, over 50% more than the average American metro area and nearly 75% more than the large metro area with the least, Las Vegas.

Kansas City is also served by long-distance Amtrak trains from Union Station.

Some of Kansas City's interstates include:
 * I-29 - To Saint Joseph, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska, to the north.
 * I-35 - To Des Moines, Iowa, to the north and Wichita, Kansas, to the south.
 * I-70 - To St. Louis, Missouri, to the east and Topeka, Kansas/Denver, Colorado, to the west.
 * I-435 - Bi-state loop through Missouri and Kansas suburbs. Second longest in U.S., fourth longest single numbered beltway in the world.
 * I-470 - Connects South Kansas City with Lee's Summit and Independence.
 * I-635 - Connecting the Kansas suburbs with Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City International Airport.
 * I-670 - A southern bypass of I-70 and southern portion of the downtown loop. Signed as East I-70 when exiting from I-35 while traveling north.

Other major highways:
 * U.S. 24-40 - Combination of the U.S. 24 and U.S. 40 highways that pass through Kansas City. U.S. 40 is one of six east-west US-numbered routes that run (or ran) from coast to coast.
 * U.S. 50 - Enters the area in southern Johnson County, follows I-435 from the west to I-470, then splits off I-470 in Lee's Summit to continue eastward to Jefferson City and St. Louis as a regular highway. Its former route through Raytown and southeast Kansas City was renumbered as Route 350. U.S. 50 is also one of the six coast-to-coast east-west US highways.
 * U.S. 69 - Connects Excelsior Springs, Missouri, in the north and serves as a freeway in Johnson County suburbs.
 * U.S. 71 - In the north, concurrent with I-29 to Amazonia, Missouri, and serves as a freeway (Bruce R. Watkins Drive) south from downtown.
 * U.S. 169 - Connects Smithville, Missouri, in the north.
 * K-5 - A minor freeway bypassing the north of Kansas City, Kansas, connecting the GM Fairfax plant with I-635. K-5 continues as Leavenworth Road west to I-435 then on to Leavenworth, Kansas.
 * K-7 - A freeway linking Leavenworth County, Kansas, Wyandotte County, Kansas, and Johnson County, Kansas.
 * K-10 - A freeway linking Johnson County, Kansas, and Douglas County, Kansas.
 * K-32 - A highway that links Leavenworth County, Kansas, and Wyandotte County, Kansas.
 * MO 9 - A minor freeway northwest of North Kansas City, and serves as a commercial backbone to North Kansas City, Riverside, Platte Woods, and Parkville.
 * Route 150 - A highway linking southern Lee's Summit and Grandview to the Kansas suburbs at State Line Road.
 * MO 152 - A freeway contained entirely in Kansas City's Northland, stretching from Liberty in Clay County west to its intersection with I-435 near Parkville, Missouri.
 * Route 210 - A minor freeway east of North Kansas City that, as a two-lane road, stretches to Richmond, Missouri.
 * Route 291 - Formerly an eastern bypass route of U.S. 71, the minor freeway connects Harrisonville and Lee's Summit to Independence, Sugar Creek, Liberty and Kansas City North. It is signed along with I-470 north of Lee's Summit.
 * Route 350 - Crosses through Raytown as Blue Parkway.

Other notable roads:
 * Ward Parkway - A scenic parkway in Kansas City, Missouri near the Kansas-Missouri state line where many large historic mansions and fountains are located.
 * Broadway - A street that runs from the west side of downtown Kansas City to Westport. The street has long been an entertainment center, with various bars, live jazz outlets and restaurants. It also forms the eastern border of Quality Hill, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Kansas City
 * The Paseo - Part of the city's original system of parks and boulevards developed beginning in the late 1880s, it is the longest of the original boulevards and the only one that runs the entire length of the pre-World War II city, from the Missouri River bluffs in the north to 79th Street on the south
 * Troost Avenue - A north-south thoroughfare 11 blocks east of Main Street, named for an early Kansas City settler and dentist, Benoist Troost. The street roughly divides the city's mostly black neighborhoods to its east from its mostly white ones to its west
 * Swope Parkway - Running on the south side of the Brush Creek valley eastward from The Paseo, then southward from its junction with Benton Boulevard, this street is the main route from the city's midtown to its largest city park, Swope Park

Local navigation tips
''See related article: WikiTravel entry on Kansas City, Missouri

Street numbers
The Missouri side of the Metropolitan Area shares a grid system with Johnson County on the Kansas Side. Most east-west streets are numbered and most north-south streets named. Addresses on east-west streets are numbered from Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri, and on north-south streets from St. John Avenue (or the Missouri River, in the River Market area). The direction 'South' in street and address numbers is generally implied if 'North' is not specified, except for numbered 'avenues' in North Kansas City. In most of Wyandotte County, Kansas the north-south streets are numbered and the address numbers are measured from Riverview Avenue. A few suburbs use completely independent numbering schemes; however, the majority use the Kansas City, MO system, even in Kansas.

Highways

 * Kansas Citians tend to express U.S. and Missouri highway designations with the number before the word "highway," (e.g., 40 highway, 71 highway). This colloquialism tends not to apply to interstates or Kansas route numbers (e.g., "I-70", "K-10").
 * 69 Highway "The Overland Parkway": Southbound on I-35 from Kansas City, Missouri towards Johnson County there are two exits marked South 69. The first or northern one (Metcalf Ave/I-635) is a left lane exit and leads to Metcalf, an at-grade trafficway, before turning west along Shawnee Mission Parkway, to rejoin I-35. The southern US-69 exit is a two-lane right lane exit between the 75th and 87th street exits and begins a four-lane highway known as the Overland Parkway.
 * Bruce R. Watkins Drive is the name of the new section of U.S. Route 71 in Kansas City, Missouri. The old U.S. 71 ran mostly on Prospect Avenue.
 * When traveling north on I-35 from Johnson County the first signs that say I-70 east actually guide the driver through the southern portion of I-670 which takes motorists into the southern part of the Downtown Freeway Loop and goes underneath the Bartle Hall Convention Center and some downtown overpasses. This is sometimes referred to as "going under downtown".
 * The downtown freeway loop, is a complex layout of freeways in downtown Kansas City, Missouri involving 23 exits, four Interstate Highways, four U.S. highways and numerous city streets. Each exit in the freeway loop is numbered 2 and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet except I, O and Z (which would look like 1, 0 and 2 on the exit signs), although some of the exits are currently under construction/renovation and closed to traffic. The entire circumference of the loop is just over four miles (6 km).

Navigation landmarks

 * The KCTV pyramid shaped television and radio tower can be seen from many parts of the city and is well lit at night. It is next to the KCPT studios at the corner of 31st and Main.
 * The twin red brick towers of American Century Investments are oriented north and south along Main at 45th street. They are just north of the Country Club Plaza. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is slightly east. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is east and slightly south.
 * Kansas City Community Christian Church at 4601 Main has a group of lights that shoot a beam straight up at night. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s, it is slightly south of and across the street from the American Century Investment Towers. The Nelson Atkins is to the east and the Kemper Museum is to the north and slightly east.
 * Bartle Hall has a section that looks somewhat like a north-south suspension bridge crossing over I-670 at the southwest corner of the downtown loop. It has four towers with metal sculptures on top of each tower.
 * The Veterans Affairs Medical Center has a large "VA" emblem. It is near the intersection of I-70, Linwood and Van Brunt.

Areas of the metro
See also: The Districts of Downtown (Kansas City, Missouri)
 * Downtown Kansas City refers to the downtown area of Kansas City, Missouri, where a large concentration of the area's employees work, and where much of the entertainment is located. It has been going through a massive revitalization since 2000, and gained over 7,000 people from 2000 to 2005. The area houses the Power and Light District and the Sprint Center.
 * "The Northland" refers to the area of the metro area that is north of the Missouri River, comprising Clay and Platte counties in Missouri. This area includes the northern half of Kansas City, Missouri, which is referred to as "Kansas City, North" to distinguish it from the rest of the Northland and the city of North Kansas City.
 * River Market refers to the area north of downtown, south of the river, and west of highway 9. It is home to a large farmer's market.
 * "North Kansas City" is a separate city that is completely surrounded by Kansas City, Missouri (abbreviated NKC). It is also called Northtown.
 * Shawnee Mission, Kansas, is an area recognized by the United States Postal Service that includes many towns in Johnson County, Kansas.
 * Waldo refers to the Waldo Residential District in Kansas City, Missouri, near 75th Street and Wornall Road.
 * Country Club Plaza (or simply "the Plaza") is an upscale shopping district built by the J.C. Nichols Company in 1923. It was the first suburban shopping district in the United States.
 * Country Club District is the name for the associated group of neighborhoods built along Ward Parkway by J.C. Nichols just south of the Country Club Plaza, and includes Sunset Hill, Brookside, Crestwood, and Mission Hills, Kansas.
 * 39th Street usually refers to the small section of West 39th Street between State Line Road and Southwest Trafficway in Kansas City, Missouri. It has many restaurants, bars and shops, and is just across the state line from the University of Kansas Medical Center. The area is also referred to as the Volker neighborhood or "Restaurant Row".
 * University of Kansas Hospital (KUMED) is the corporate name of the hospital on the KU Medical Center campus.
 * Benton Curve, a curve located where Interstate 70 crosses Benton Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, is a site of many accidents.
 * Pendleton Heights is a historic neighborhood in the Northeast, home to the city's largest concentration of Victorian homes. It is bordered to the north by Cliff Drive, the east by Chestnut Trafficway, the south by Independence Avenue and to the west by the Paseo Trafficway. It is Kansas City's oldest surviving neighborhood.
 * Grandview Triangle is the intersection of three major highways: Interstate 435, Interstate 470, and U.S. Route 71 (Bruce R. Watkins Drive). Notorious for fatal accidents, as of February 2005, improvements and upgrades on the Triangle have mostly been completed.
 * Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, named for former mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, comprises recently renamed portions of 47th Street and Brush Creek Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri.
 * 18th and Vine refers to the 18th and Vine Historic District that contains the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.
 * The Library District is a recently defined district around the new Central Library at 14 West 10th Street in Kansas City, Missouri.
 * Strawberry Hill is a historical area in Kansas City, Kansas that was home to many eastern European immigrants. Later, the neighborhood became  home to many Latino/Chicano families. However, with recent immigration from Eastern Europe, Strawberry Hill is currently seeing immigration once again from Eastern Europe.
 * Hospital Hill is the area near 23rd and Holmes in Kansas City, Missouri, and consists of two major hospitals (Truman Medical Center, The Children's Mercy Hospital) and the University of Missouri, Kansas City's School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Pharmacy and School of Nursing.
 * Argentine is a part of Kansas City, Kansas, near 30th and Argentine. It is one of the oldest Mexican/Latino neighborhoods in Kansas City with Mexican immigration to that area dating to the 1800s.
 * The Crossroads Arts District is a downtown neighborhood between the Central Business District and Union Station, centered around the intersection of 19th Street and Baltimore in Kansas City, Missouri. It contains dozens of art galleries and is considered by many to be the center of the arts culture in the metropolitan area. Local artists sponsor exhibits there on the first Friday of each month.
 * Quality Hill is a residential and commercial neighborhood on top of a western hill in the Central Business District Downtown Kansas City, across the river from the Charles B. Wheeler Airport.
 * Washington-Wheatley is a historically Black neighborhood southeast of the 18th and Vine District.
 * The Westside is a historically African American and Chicano/Latino neighborhood near Southwest Blvd. and Interstate 35.
 * Westport is a historic district offering much of the metro area's entertainment and nightlife.
 * Valentine
 * West Bottoms
 * Rosedale
 * Squier Park
 * Union Hill
 * Armordale, in Kansas City, Kansas, is one of the historically Chicano(a) neighborhoods of the Kansas City metro.
 * Sheffield
 * Northend
 * East Bottoms
 * Brookside
 * Northeast refers to the Historic Old Northeast District, a working-class immigrant collection of neighorhoods. It is between downtown Kansas City and the smaller city of Independence.
 * Truman Sports Complex, located at the corner of I-70 and I-435 east of downtown Kansas City, MO, is the sports center of the KCMA. It features Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL Kansas City Chiefs; and Kauffman Stadium, home of the MLB Kansas City Royals.
 * Ivanhoe, located in the core of the city of Kansas City, Missouri. 64130 ZIP Code. Running from Benton Boulevard on the east, Paseo Boulevard on the west, 39th Street on the north and 47th Street on the south. This area is known for its high crime rate.

Libraries

 * Johnson County Library
 * Kansas City Kansas Public Library
 * Kansas City Public Library (MO)
 * Linda Hall Library
 * Mid-continent Library
 * Olathe Public Library

Print media
The Kansas City Star is the region's major daily newspaper. The McClatchy Company, the owner of The Star also owns the suburban weeklies Lee's Summit Journal and Olathe Journal.

The Kansas City Kansan serves Wyandotte County having moved from print to an online format in 2009. Additional weekly papers in the metropolitan include the Liberty Tribune, Sun Newspapers of Johnson County and the Northland, The Examiner in Independence and Eastern Jackson County, and The Pitch. Two newspapers serve the area's faith communities: "The Metro Voice Christian Newspaper" and the "Jewish Chronicle". "Dos Mundos" is the area's primary newspaper that serves the Spanish speaking community with articles printed in Spanish and English. A monthly newspaper, The Monitor, covers politics and policy-related news from a Center-right perspective.

Broadcast media
According to Arbitron, about 1.5 million people over the age of 12 are part of the Kansas City DMA, making it the 30th largest market for radio and 31st for television Nielsen ratings.

Television
Kansas City metro television stations, with all major network affiliates represented, include:
 * WDAF-TV 4 - Fox affiliate.
 * KCTV 5 - CBS affiliate.
 * KMBC-TV 9 - ABC affiliate.
 * KCPT 19 - PBS Member Station
 * KCWE 29 - The CW affiliate.
 * KMCI 38 (independent)
 * KSHB-TV 41 - NBC affiliate.
 * KPXE 50 - Ion Television affiliate.
 * KSMO-TV 62 - My Network TV affiliate.

Radio
Over 30 FM and 20 AM stations broadcast in the Kansas City area, with stations from Topeka, St. Joseph, and Carrollton also reaching into the metropolitan. The highest-rated radio stations according to Arbitron:
 * KPRS-FM - Urban
 * KCMO-FM - 60/70s AC
 * KQRC-FM - Rock
 * KRBZ-FM - Alternative
 * KMBZ-AM - News/Talk
 * WDAF-FM - Country
 * KCHZ-FM - CHR/Rhythmic

Public and community radio

 * KCUR-FM NPR affiliate
 * KANU-FM and KTBG-FM, both college radio stations, are also NPR affiliates


 * KKFI-FM Locally-owned not-for-profit station
 * KGSP-FM Park University college station

Specialty TV and radio
Hispanics account for five percent of the market and are served by three AM radio stations (KCZZ, KDTD, and KKHK) and a Univision affiliate, KUKC-LP.

Business interests
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area's largest private employer is Sprint Nextel Corporation. The international telecommunications company maintains its world headquarters at its 200 acre campus facility in south Overland Park. During 2005, the company employed nearly 18,500 people in the five-county metropolitan area, with wages of more than $1.16 billion generating $58 million in local and state income taxes. Sprint spent more than $21 million on property taxes and $1.74 billion for goods and services from area businesses. Sprint's headquarters was temporarily moved to Reston Virginia in 2003 after it merged with Nextel. Since then, the world headquarters has been reconsolidated in Overland Park.

Other major employers and business enterprises are AT&T, BNSF Railway, Asurion, Cerner, Citigroup, EMBARQ, Farmers Insurance Group, Garmin, Hallmark Cards, Harley-Davidson, Husqvarna, General Motors, Honeywell, Ford Motor Company, MillerCoors, State Street Corporation, The Kansas City Star, some of which may be headquartered in the "metro". Kansas City also has a large pharmaceutical industry, with companies such as Bayer and Aventis having large presences.

Headquarters
The following companies and organizations (excluding educational institutions) are among the larger one's headquartered in the metro area (noting cities of headquarters office if not Kansas City, MO):


 * American Century Investments, a major investment management firm
 * AMC Theatres, a major movie theater chain
 * Andrews McMeel Universal, a syndication and publication company which represents media/entertainment features such as Dear Abby, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes and Doonesbury
 * Applebee's, a major restaurant chain - Lenexa, Kansas
 * Black & Veatch Corporation, major engineering firm
 * Burns & McDonnell Engineering, an engineering and architectural firm
 * Cerner, leading supplier of healthcare information technology solutions - North Kansas City, Missouri
 * Church of the Nazarene
 * Commerce Bancshares, a bank serving Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois
 * Community of Christ, International Headquarters, Independence, MO
 * DeMolay International
 * DST Systems, Inc., global provider of sophisticated information processing and computer software services and products
 * CenturyLink, formerly Embarq Corporation, large telecommunications company (headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana)
 * Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
 * Ferrellgas, the nation's largest retailer and distributor of natural gas
 * Fort Dodge Animal Health, a major animal health pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturer and a division of Wyeth - Overland Park, Kansas
 * Garmin, largest maker of GPS-based electronics - Olathe, Kansas
 * Hallmark Cards, largest maker of greeting cards in the U.S.
 * HNTB Corporation, large architectural and engineering firm
 * H&R Block, financial corporation and former parent company of CompuServe, known mostly for their income tax preparation services
 * Inergy, L.P., one of the nation's largest retailers and distributors of natural gas
 * Interstate Bakeries Corporation, makers of Twinkies and Wonder Bread (recently moved headquarters to Irving, Texas)
 * International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
 * J. E. Dunn Construction Group, major construction contractor
 * Kansas City Board of Trade, a commodity futures and options exchange
 * Kansas City Power and Light Company, a leading regulated provider of electricity and energy-related products and services
 * Kansas City Southern Industries, operators of a Class I railroad
 * Lockton Companies, the largest privately held insurance brokerage in the nation
 * National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
 * Newport Television - one of the largest privately held broadcasting companies in the United States
 * North Kansas City Hospital - North Kansas City, Missouri
 * People to People International, a voluntary organization founded by President Dwight Eisenhower
 * Peterson Manufacturing Company, a leading manufacturer of vehicle lighting - Grandview, Missouri
 * Populous (formerly HOK Sport + Venue + Event), a major sports architectural firm
 * Reece and Nichols Realtors Inc., a large real estate sales/brokerage firm
 * Russell Stover Candies
 * Sprint Nextel Corporation, one of the world's largest telecommunication companies - Overland Park, KS
 * Perceptive Software, makers of "Image NOW" software - Shawnee, Kansas
 * UMB Financial Corporation, a large commercial bank serving a multistate area of the Midwest
 * Unity Church
 * Veterans of Foreign Wars
 * Waddell & Reed, a large investment management and brokerage firm - Overland Park, Kansas
 * Walton Construction, a major construction contractor
 * Wolferman's bakery
 * YRC Worldwide Inc., known mostly from its former name and brand "Yellow Freight", one of the largest transportation service providers in the world - Overland Park, Kansas

The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank is one of the U.S.'s twelve such banks.

Shopping centers

 * Antioch Center
 * Bannister Mall - (closed For redevelopment)
 * Blue Ridge Crossing
 * Crown Center
 * Country Club Plaza
 * The Gateway (formerly Mission Center)
 * The Great Mall of the Great Plains
 * Independence Center
 * The Landing Mall
 * Metcalf South Shopping Center
 * Metro North Mall
 * Oak Park Mall
 * Summit Fair
 * Summit Woods Crossing
 * The Legends At Village West
 * Town Center Plaza
 * Town Pavilion
 * Ward Parkway Center
 * Zona Rosa

Local organizations

 * Irish Museum and Cultural Center
 * Kerala Association of Kansas City
 * Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner