Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Shawnee grades A− overall, ranked 26th of 150 in Kansas, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $110K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 87% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $424K, 5.1 years of the Kansas City metro’s $83K median household income. On hazard risk, just 19 of Kansas’ 373 towns do better. Shawnee’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both the Kansas town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On the outdoors, just 8 of Kansas’ 373 towns do better.
Where Shawnee beats most towns.
9.2% of the town is conserved land, across 24 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Shawnee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 553 in 1930, 67,311 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1983 and 6 maps from 1934 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shawnee. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaArrowhead Stadium
18 mi Stadium & arenaKauffman Stadium
20 mi Park & preserveSubTropolis
13 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Center
15 mi Stadium & arenaCPKC Stadium
20 mi Theme parkWorlds of FunArrowhead 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 · CPKC Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Worlds of Fun: Tkexb173 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shawnee, 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 Shawnee.
Shawnee has added a third more jobs in ten years and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of Kansas.
At $1,322 a month, Shawnee’s median rent is where Kansas’ towns sit at $975 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026. 39% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Shawnee.
| Shawnee | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 39% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,322 a month | $975 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Shawnee Mission Pub School. Three of its 22 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hocker Grove MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 714 | C |
| Shawnee Mission Northwest HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,599 | B |
| Mize Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 474 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KS on state tests and graduation
44 miles of trail in 24 parks and preserves. Only 8 of the 144 Kansas towns we compare have a higher share of conserved land than Shawnee. Oakridge Farm Park, at 582 acres with 9.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shawnee Mission Park | 10.7 mi | 545 |
| 2. Oakridge Farm Park | 9.3 mi | 582 |
| 3. Shawnee Riverfront Park | 6.5 mi | 347 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
10% of Shawnee adults report frequent physical distress. Shawnee beats the Kansas average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 14% of Shawnee adults report frequent mental distress.
| Shawnee | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Shawnee | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 13% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.2% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 16,511 in 2013 to 21,806. 21.4% of workers work from home, against 11.8% across Kansas.
Most working residents leave Shawnee for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Shawnee grew to 21,806 in 2023, 5,295 more than in 2013. Only 7 of the 151 Kansas towns we compare have a higher share of workers working from home than Shawnee.
| Shawnee | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 8.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $110,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 43 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Shawnee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 89°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 89% of Kansas places with climate records; January nights average 19.9°.
Shawnee has chilly winters and warm summers. Shawnee’s July high is 89°F. About 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Shawnee | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
| January low | 20°F | 21°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The property crime rate in Shawnee is 13.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Shawnee | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.7 per 1,000 residents | 10.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
19 within 15 miles of the center of Shawnee
About 6 of every 100 Shawnee residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Kansas.
Where Shawnee’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 notable people were born in Shawnee.
City in Kansas, United States
Shawnee shaw-NEE is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh-most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Shawnee.
Kansas City next door grades lower for schools (D− to Shawnee’s A) and higher for cost of living (B to C).
| Town | KS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee | #26 | A− | C | C+ | A | A |
| Lenexa | #23 | A− | C− | B− | A− | A |
| Lake Quivira | — | — | D | — | A− | A |
| Bonner Springs | #116 | C | B− | C− | C | C+ |
| Merriam | #56 | B+ | B− | D− | A− | A− |
| Edwardsville | #139 | D | C+ | C− | C | C+ |
| Kansas City | #146 | D | B | D | D− | C− |
| De Soto | #22 | A− | C | — | A | A− |
Lake Quivira has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lake Quivira and De Soto report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Shawnee with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Shawnee grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #26 of 150 in Kansas. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A for schools.
10 notable people were born here, including Shawn Womack and Jeff Andra.
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