Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by population and area. The city lies within Jackson, Clay, and Platte counties, with a small portion lying within Cass County. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Missouri–Kansas state line and has a population of 2,392,035. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090, making it the sixth-most populous city in the Midwest and 38th-most populous city in the United States. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after. Sitting on Missouri's western boundary with Kansas, with downtown near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, the city encompasses about 319.03 square miles (826.3 km2), making it the 25th largest city by total area in the United States. It is one of Jackson County's two seats along with the major satellite city of Independence; and its other major Missouri suburbs include Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, Raytown, and Liberty. Its major Kansas suburbs include Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, and Kansas City, Kansas. The city is composed of several neighborhoods, including the River Market District, 18th and Vine District, and the Country Club Plaza. Celebrated cultural traditions include Kansas City jazz; theater, as a historical center of the Vaudevillian Orpheum circuit in the 1920s; the nickname City of Fountains; the Chiefs and Royals sports franchises; and cuisine such as Kansas City–style barbecue and strip steak.

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