Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Much to like here, and you pay for it. It does especially well on health — residents are healthier than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. With an A− overall, Mission Hills is better than 84% of U.S. towns and ranks 17th of 150 in Kansas. Incomes are another plus: the median household earns $250K. What counts against it is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.7 million, 20.5 years of the Kansas City metro’s $83K median household income. The town has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Horn-Vincent-Russell Estate and Wolcott House. 87% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more here, above both Kansas’ towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). Only 35 of Kansas’ 373 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Mission Hills beats most towns.
0% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Mission Hills is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,275 in 1950, 3,594 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 6 maps from 1935 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mission Hills. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaArrowhead Stadium
8 mi Stadium & arenaKauffman Stadium
13 mi Park & preserveSubTropolis
6 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Center
3 mi MuseumThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
8 mi Stadium & arenaCPKC StadiumArrowhead Stadium: Ichabod, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kauffman Stadium: Mysteryman28, Public domain · SubTropolis: ErgoSum88, Public domain · T-Mobile Center: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: User:Charvex, Public domain · CPKC Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mission Hills, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Mission Hills.
Mission Hills is among the three healthiest towns in Kansas, has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Kansas and has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Kansas.
At 20.5 years of the Kansas City metro’s $83K median household income, the typical home (about $1.71M) costs more against local pay than in any other Kansas town; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Mission Woods is next at $917K.
Homes in Mission Hills are typically worth about $1,712,000, up 9.9% in a year, 7 times the Kansas typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 2.4 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #2 of 104 Kansas towns.
Among 144 Kansas towns, just one has a higher trail density than Mission Hills. 4.8 miles of trail wind through 4 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hiawassee Park | — | 4 |
| 2. Peetwood Park | — | 1 |
| 3. Mission Hills Sunken Garden | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
It ranks #2 of the 150 Kansas towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with Kansas is tooth loss: 3.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.3% statewide.
Of 32 CDC measures, Mission Hills beats the Kansas average on 26 and trails it on 2. Only one of the 150 Kansas towns we compare has a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Mission Hills. In Mission Hills, nearly a quarter of adults feel lonely. No town among the 150 in Kansas we compare has a lower share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Mission Hills.
| Mission Hills | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 31% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 35% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.6% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Mission Hills | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.1% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 3.9% | 13% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
31% of working residents cross a state line to work. 28.6% of workers work from home, against 11.8% across Kansas.
Of the 151 Kansas towns we compare, none has a higher middle household income than Mission Hills. The average trip to work for Mission Hills comes to 16 minutes. Jobs based in Mission Hills grew to 608 in 2023, 117 more than in 2013. Also worth knowing: for residents here, the share who live below the poverty line is 1.2%.
| Mission Hills | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $250,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.2% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2% | 15% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The national flood insurance program has paid 41 claims in Mission Hills since 1979. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. 50% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 20%. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Kansas City Downtown Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 211 days, the highest of 1,996 Kansas places with climate records. The Kansas City Downtown Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 47 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 76% of Kansas places with climate records.
Only 9 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a lower typical July afternoon high than Mission Hills. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 21° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 17.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 72% of Kansas’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 6 reported in 2025, 1.7 per 1,000 residents.
For Mission Hills, the property offense rate is 7.4 per 1,000 residents. The rate of reported violence here is 1.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Mission Hills | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.4 per 1,000 residents | 11.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
21 within 15 miles of the center of Mission Hills
About 1 of every 100 Mission Hills residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
Where Mission Hills’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Mission Hills on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Kansas, United States
Mission Hills is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,594. The east city limits is the Kansas-Missouri state line at State Line Road. Mission Hills was originally developed by noted Kansas City developer J. C. Nichols beginning in the 1920s as part of his Country Club District plan.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Mission Hills.
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Hills | #17 | A− | C− | B− | A− | A+ |
| Prairie Village | #13 | A | D | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Fairway | #11 | A | D | — | A− | A+ |
| Mission Woods | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Fairway reports no FBI crime data of its own. Mission Woods isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Mission Hills with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mission Hills grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #17 of 150 in Kansas. It grades A+ for health, B− for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $1,712,000, 596% above the Kansas typical home and up 9.9% in a year. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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