Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 16,908, settled in 1878. Public schools that outperform most of Missouri.
Grain Valley grades B+ overall, 76th among Missouri's 247 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its public schools beat 87% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation and the median household earns $90K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $332K for a typical one and 4 times the Kansas City metro’s $83K median household income. 30% of residents are under 18 in Grain Valley, above both the Missouri town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). The biggest park or preserve is Cross Creek Park, at 57 acres.
Where Grain Valley beats most towns.
12,854 counted in 2010 and 15,627 in 2020; an estimated 16,908 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.3% since 2020, after 21.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Grain Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 80 in 1880, a low of 80 in 1880, 15,627 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2016 and 4 maps from 1934 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Grain Valley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaArrowhead Stadium
15 mi Stadium & arenaKauffman Stadium
17 mi Park & preserveSubTropolis
19 mi Theme parkWorlds of Fun
13 mi MuseumHarry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
20 mi Stadium & arenaCPKC StadiumArrowhead 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 · Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: Sallyrob at English Wikipedia, Public domain · CPKC Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Grain Valley, 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 Grain Valley.
Grain Valley fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and has added a third more jobs in ten years, but it has property taxes 1.6 times the Missouri norm.
Its public schools are run by the Grain Valley R-V school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Grain Valley High, with 1,482 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Branch Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 567 | A |
| Grain Valley HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,482 | B+ |
| Matthews Elem.Top results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 422 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 2,533 in 2013 to 3,376.
Most working residents leave Grain Valley for work: only 6% work in town. 18% of workers work from home in Grain Valley. Since 2013, Grain Valley has added 843 jobs, to 3,376 in 2023.
| Grain Valley | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 9% | 11% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.3% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median property tax bill is $3,182, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Grain Valley is $1,398 a month. The typical Grain Valley home is worth about $332,000, up 1.1% in a year, 25% above the Missouri typical home.
| Grain Valley | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,398 a month | $970 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Grain Valley has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 20° and about 9 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 30% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 11% of residents (18% statewide). Grain Valley has grown 8.3% since 2020, to 16,908 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Grain Valley’s median age is 35.2 years.
| Grain Valley | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.2 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 22% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.8 points. Across Missouri, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Grain Valley | MO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.4% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.4% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.1% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.4% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.9% | 30.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.8% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.8% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.6% | 12.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Grain Valley beats the Missouri average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 21% of Grain Valley adults binge drink. Only 5 of the 247 Missouri towns we compare have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Grain Valley.
| Grain Valley | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 12% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Grain Valley | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.7% | 12.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 20.6% | 16.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 17.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 68% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 237 to 151 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Grain Valley | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Butterfly Park | 0.9 mi | 30 |
| 2. Cross Creek Park | — | 57 |
| 3. Armstrong Park | 0.1 mi | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Grain Valley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Grain Valley; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Grain Valley residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
Where Grain Valley’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Grain Valley is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. Grain Valley is located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and is a suburb of Kansas City. The population was 15,627 at the 2020 census. It is 23 miles (37 km) east of downtown Kansas City.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Grain Valley.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grain Valley | #76 | B+ | C+ | B− | A | B |
| Blue Springs | #84 | B | B− | C | A | B |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Grain Valley grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #76 of 247 in Missouri. It grades B for health, B− for safety and A for schools.
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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