Downtown Kansas City, Missouri has investment dollars pouring in with $9+ billion in investment since 2001, including a new convention center and hotel, a state-of-the-art sports arena, a performing arts center, a new streetcar, and an eight-block restaurant and entertainment district (read more here). Unprecedented levels of investment in private and public projects have made Kansas City a major entertainment and employment hub.

The Kansas City economy is diverse with numerous employment opportunities and a growing population. The city serves as the headquarters of several well known American companies including: Cerner Corporation, T-mobile (Sprint), AT&T, BNSF Railway, GEICO, Garmin, Honeywell, and Hallmark. There are several large hospitals, universities, technology startups, and a diversity of small businesses. Kansas City also boasts the most BBQ restaurants per capita and has a thriving jazz scene.

Kansas City is also a great place to invest in rental real estate. Lutz Sales and Investments specializes in multifamily and commercial real estate and the function of this guide is to get the reader up to speed quickly on the neighborhoods so you can invest in neighborhoods that meet YOUR investing criteria. Remember, cities, submarkets, zip codes, and blocks are each different. So get the lay of the land but always rely on a local market expert to help guide you (contact us here).

First let’s get a basic handle on the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Zip Code Overview and Population Density:
If you’re looking at zip codes anything that starts with 66 is on the Kansas Side and anything that starts with 64 is on the Missouri side. In general, Kansas is more of a bedroom community while Missouri has more arts, culture, and dense urban areas. For example, there are only eight zip codes with a population density of over 4,000 people per square mile in all of the Kansas City metro area. Seven of these are in Kansas City, Missouri and one of them is in Overland Park, KS. Kansas City, Missouri is also the city with the highest population in the metro area and the oldest part of the metro, so it makes sense that it would have the highest population density.

North of the River vs. South of River:
The Missouri River is the longest river in the United States. The river originates in the Rocky Mountains and flows east and south for 2,341 miles before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. In the Kansas City metro area the river runs roughly west to east. You’ll hear “north of the river” tossed around in the meteo. In general, south of the river has more going on in terms of arts, culture, and weekend activities. North of the River tends to house single family home bedroom communities. However, north of the river is the home of the current airport and the brand new single-terminal airport, the largest infrastructure project ever completed in Kansas City with a price tag of 1.5B. The northland (as north of the river is often called) is also a burgeoning center of massive data centers including one built by Facebook’s parent Meta and also has charming and distinctive downtowns including North Kansas City and Parkville.

The main counties and cities to know in the KC area:
Missouri:

• Clay
• Platte
• Jackson
• Cass

Kansas:

• Johnson
• Wyandotte

Cities over 100,000 people in the metro:
Missouri:

• Kansas City, MO
• Independence
• Lee’s Summit

Kansas:

• Overland Park
• Kansas City, KS
• Olathe

Multifamily investors usually look to balance risk and return – usually picking either B or C neighborhoods to buy rentals in. Although D neighborhoods may cash flow on paper, in reality these are more suited to very hands-on local investors. C neighborhoods cash flow well and have working class tenants. B neighborhoods see some cash flow and some appreciation and have working class and professional tenants, while A neighborhoods see almost no cash flow and have only professional tenants. Below we’ll give you a general feel for the areas. Note that many areas have a mix of A-D neighborhoods but in general the below neighborhood classes hold true.

A or B+ Neighborhoods:

• Lee’s Summit, MO
• Overland Park, KS
• Lenexa, KS
• Raymore, MO

B to B- Neighborhoods

• Blue Springs, MO
• North Kansas City, MO
• Gladstone, MO
• Areas of Kansas City MO city center “mid town” – Westport, Hyde Park, Volker, etc
• Olathe, KS
• Gardner, KS

C+ to C Neighborhoods

• Historic Northeast – 64124 and 64123, MO
• Grandview, MO
• Belton, MO
• Raytown, MO
• Independence, MO
• Kansas City, KS
• Areas of Kansas City, MO

Guide to Kansas City Zip Codes:

B+ Zip Codes

Blue Springs

• 64015
• 64014

Grain Valley

• 64029

Lee’s Summit

• 64068
• 64063
• 64081

Raymore

• 64083

Kansas City, MO

• 64145
• 64112
• 64101

Liberty

• 64158

Northland

• 64152
• 64151
• 64154
• 64155

Shawnee Mission

• 66217
• 66216
• 66219
• 66215
• 66210

Olathe

• 66026
• 66061

Prairie Village

• 66205

Gardner

• 66030

B Area Zip Codes

Kansas City, MO

• 64105
• 64114
• 64111
• 64137
• 64138
• 64108
• 64111
• 64131
• 64110

Independence

North Kansas City

• 64119

Overland Park/Merriam

• 66202
• 66203
• 66204
• 66214
• 66212
• 66214

B – /C+ Zip Codes
Gladstone

• 64118

North Kansas City

• 64116
• 64117

Independence

• 64052

Raytown

• 64133

Grandview

• 64030

Belton

• 64012

Kansas City, KS

• 66112
• 66106

C Zip Codes:

Historic Northeast

• 64124
• 64123

Kansas City, MO

• 64129
• 64130
• 64109
• 64132
• 64134

Independence

• 64053
• 64054
• 64050

Kansas City, KS

• 66102
• 66103
• 66104
• 66105

Riverside

• 64150

D Zip codes

Kansas City, MO

• 64125
• 64126
• 64127
• 64128

Kansas City, KS

• 66101

FAQs:
What are the main differences between Kansas and Missouri:

• School ratings – KS in general has higher rated schools
• Property Tax rates – little higher in general in KS, but some MO suburbs including Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit have high property taxes. So on average not a huge difference on property taxes but make sure you check the property taxes in each location, they can differ significantly.
• Trash pickup – bags on the street in MO vs bins in KS
• Road conditions and plowing – better roads and more frequent plowing in KS
• Years of construction – Kansas is mostly 1960s and newer, MO has the older buildings – 1900s and newer.

We appreciate you taking the time to learn more about Kansas City! Want to chat more about Kansas City real estate investing? Contact us here.