Blue SummitMO
A town of 1,156.
Is Blue Summit a good place to live?
The best of Blue Summit’s subject grades is an A+ for cost of living; the weakest is a D− for health. 37% of residents live below the poverty line in Blue Summit, above both the Missouri town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 16 of Missouri’s 419 towns score lower on health. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. Blue Summit has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Blue Summit stand out
Where Blue Summit beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
| Widest gap | Blue Summit | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 20.8% | 8.7% |
1,156 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Blue Summit grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Blue Summit is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Arrowhead Stadium and 34 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Blue Summit. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi Stadium & arenaArrowhead Stadium
3 mi Stadium & arenaKauffman Stadium
5 mi Park & preserveSubTropolis
6 mi Theme parkWorlds of Fun
5 mi Stadium & arenaCPKC Stadium
5 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile CenterPhoto credits
Arrowhead Stadium: Ichabod, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kauffman Stadium: Mysteryman28, Public domain · SubTropolis: ErgoSum88, Public domain · Worlds of Fun: Tkexb173 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CPKC Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · T-Mobile Center: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Moving to Blue Summit: who provides what
Blue Summit is unincorporated, so Jackson County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Blue Summit.
More of Blue Summit’s adults say their health is fair or poor than in the typical Missouri or U.S. town
35% of Blue Summit adults say their health is fair or poor, against 22% in Missouri’s towns and 19% across U.S. towns. 23% of adults report frequent mental distress in Blue Summit. Among 248 Missouri towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Blue Summit.
| Blue Summit | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Blue Summit | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.7% | 8.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 20.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Blue Summit has 2.4 jobs for every working resident, and 550 people commute in
Most working residents leave Blue Summit for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Blue Summit has added 147 jobs, to 555 in 2023. Blue Summit’s average trip to work is 27 minutes.
| Blue Summit | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Blue Summit has four seasons and hot summers
Blue Summit has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 20° and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Blue Summit faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Blue Summit has set aside 0% of its land for conservation
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fire Fighters Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Blue Summit
Colleges nearby
17 within 15 miles of the center of Blue Summit
About 8 of every 100 Blue Summit residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
Every workday, about 550 people come to Blue Summit for work
Where Blue Summit’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Blue Summit
Census-Designated Place in Missouri, United States
Blue Summit is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) lodged between Kansas City and Independence in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Blue Summit had a population of 658. It is located in the Independence School District, and is zoned to Korte Elementary, Nowlin Middle School, and Van Horn High School. It was previously in the Kansas City, Missouri School District, where it was zoned to West Rock Creek Elementary School, Nowlin Middle School, and Van Horn High School. Metropolitan Community College has the Independence school district in its taxation area. The community is served by Missou…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 896 ft
Questions about Blue Summit
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Blue Summit, MO expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A+.