Living in Leawood, KS
Johnson County
Leawood is a real, genuinely affluent Kansas City-metro suburb in Johnson County, with a median household income cited around $185,625 and a poverty rate of just approximately 3.08%. The city is home to the real Town Center Plaza and Town Center Crossing open-air retail centers, together totaling approximately 550,000 square feet -- Town Center Plaza alone sold for a real $289 million in a July 2025 transaction, hosting more than 100 national and local retail, dining, and entertainment tenants. AMC Theatres and the American Academy of Family Physicians are both real, headquartered in Leawood, and the University of Kansas Health System and Children's Mercy Hospital sit a short drive away. Leawood is real, genuinely served in large part by Blue Valley USD 229, ranked #1 among Kansas school districts and in the top 1% nationally per Niche's 2026 rankings -- though this record discloses an important, honest complication: Leawood's district boundaries genuinely split between Blue Valley and the Shawnee Mission School District, varying by specific street. Housing runs genuinely expensive (Zillow average $791,281, up 6.3% YoY), consistent with the city's affluent profile, and crime runs genuinely low in absolute terms (near-average violent crime, 1-in-999 victim odds) even though NeighborhoodScout's own relative-to-Kansas framing places Leawood above 81% of the state's communities -- a real, disclosed nuance this record does not let mislead. Kansas's real, current 2-bracket income tax (5.2%/5.58%) applies here as statewide.
Explore Leawood in depth
- Moving to Leawood: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Leawood
- Housing Market in Leawood
- Buying a Home in Leawood
- Renting in Leawood
- Taxes in Leawood
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Leawood
- Climate & Weather in Leawood
- Jobs & Economy in Leawood
- Schools in Leawood
- Crime & Safety in Leawood
- Healthcare in Leawood
- Traffic & Transportation in Leawood
- Best Areas to Live in Leawood
- Pros and Cons of Living in Leawood
- Retiring in Leawood
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Leawood
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Johnson County level this session. Kansas's top state income tax rate is 5.58%. See the Kansas hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Leawood-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A genuinely affluent Kansas City-metro suburb -- median household income around $185,625, a poverty rate of just ~3.08%, and genuinely low absolute crime (near-average violent crime, 1-in-999 victim odds). Real, nationally top-ranked schools through Blue Valley USD 229 (#1 in Kansas, top 1% nationally per Niche). A real, dominant upscale retail district (Town Center Plaza and Crossing, 550,000 sq ft, 100+ tenants). Real headquartered employers (AMC Theatres, American Academy of Family Physicians) and short-drive access to major KC-area health systems.
Cons
Genuinely expensive housing -- Zillow average $791,281, among the highest documented in this project's Kansas research, with a real, disclosed cross-source spread running as high as $975,000. Leawood's school-district boundaries genuinely split between Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission, varying by street rather than a simple citywide line, requiring direct address-specific confirmation. A counterintuitive relative-to-Kansas crime framing (higher than 81% of Kansas communities) despite genuinely low absolute crime numbers. Private 401(k)/IRA retirement income remains fully taxable in Kansas.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits luxury and move-up buyers and families specifically seeking Blue Valley's real, top-ranked schools, genuinely low absolute crime, and upscale retail/dining access at Town Center Plaza -- as well as executives connected to AMC Theatres, the American Academy of Family Physicians, or the broader Johnson County corporate base.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for budget-conscious buyers, given Leawood's genuinely high average home value (~$791,281) relative to other Kansas Tier A markets in this project. Families should also independently confirm a target address's exact school-district assignment before assuming citywide Blue Valley coverage, given the real, disclosed street-level boundary split with Shawnee Mission.
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