Kansas City, MO has 2.22 million residents and sits 31st among the 387 US metropolitan areas by population. Here is what the public data says about the households, the business base and what that means for advertising locally.
The metropolitan statistical area is centered on Kansas City, Missouri.
Household income runs $83,460 here, which is 3 percent above the national figure. Homes are valued at a median of $287,300 against $332,700 nationally, 14 percent below the national figure. Together they say a good deal about the ticket sizes a local business can expect.
Unemployment in the civilian labor force is 4%, 1 points below the US share. Median age 38, 0.9 years below the national median. Owner-occupied housing 65.8%, about the same as the US share, which is the figure home-service advertisers should watch. Bachelor's degree or higher: 39.8% of adults, 4 points above the US share.
Compared with Missouri: income is 18 percent higher than the Missouri figure, home values are 25 percent higher than the Missouri figure, and business density is about the same as the Missouri figure.
County Business Patterns counts 55,104 employer establishments in Kansas City, MO. That works out to 24.8 businesses per 1,000 residents, in line with the national figure (the national rate is 25 per 1,000). Home-services contractors make up 2,881 of those establishments, 5.2% of the total, about the same as the US share.
| Trade (NAICS) | Count | Per 100,000 | Index vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 428 | 19.3 | 1.52× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 228 | 10.3 | 1.48× |
| Roofing contractors | 204 | 9.2 | 1.21× |
| Legal services | 1,310 | 59.1 | 1.10× |
| Landscaping services | 840 | 37.9 | 1.08× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 66 | 3 | 1.08× |
| Automobile dealers | 325 | 14.7 | 1.05× |
| Personal care services (all) | 1,061 | 47.8 | 1.00× |
| Dentists | 878 | 39.6 | 0.98× |
| Electrical contractors | 519 | 23.4 | 0.94× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 841 | 37.9 | 0.93× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 3,747 | 168.9 | 0.92× |
| Beauty salons | 504 | 22.7 | 0.91× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 662 | 29.8 | 0.90× |
| Child day care services | 479 | 21.6 | 0.88× |
| General freight trucking | 680 | 30.7 | 0.88× |
| General automotive repair | 486 | 21.9 | 0.87× |
| Physicians' offices | 1,174 | 52.9 | 0.82× |
| Self-storage facilities | 89 | 4 | 0.73× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 398 | 17.9 | 0.60× |
The last column divides the local share of establishments by the national share (1.00 = the same mix as the US).
Kansas City, MO is dense with specialty trade contractors, concrete contractors and roofing contractors compared with the US pattern. Specialty trade contractors stand out with 428 locations, 1.5 times what the national mix would predict. The thin end of the table is grocery stores, self-storage operators and physicians' offices. Grocery stores are the widest shortfall at 398 establishments, about 60% of the US share. Plumbing and HVAC contractors, electrical contractors and landscaping services track the US share closely.
Per resident the densest are restaurants at 168.9 per 100,000 people, then legal services and physicians' offices. Restaurants (3,747), legal services (1,310) and physicians' offices (1,174) are the biggest categories by establishment count. Sector view: legal services index at about the same as the national share, medical and dental practices at about the same as.
With specialty trade contractors, concrete contractors and roofing contractors over-indexed, the cost of a click rises and so does the value of everything that happens after it: a page that loads fast, a number that is answered, a review profile that settles the comparison. A business in grocery stores, self-storage operators and physicians' offices enters a lightly contested auction. That is the time to build organic visibility and a review base before the category fills in. Younger residents (median age 0.9 years below the national median) split their attention between search, social feeds and AI assistants, so the presence has to be in all three.
Where to start in Kansas City, MO, based on the competition profile above.
Paid search that shows up when someone in Kansas City, MO is ready to call, not just browsing.
Listing management for the map results that most local searches start and end with.
Pages that answer the specific services-plus-place searches people in Kansas City, MO use, built to be found.
A fast site with the services, the area served and a clear way to call or book.
Content for the site, planned around what people search.
Being the answer when people ask an AI assistant who to call in Kansas City, MO.
Kansas City, MO has 2.22 million residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 31st of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Kansas City, MO is $83,460 (ACS 2024 5-year), above the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 55,104 employer establishments in Kansas City, MO (County Business Patterns 2023), or 24.8 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Kansas City, MO is $287,300, and 65.8% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), specialty trade contractors, concrete contractors and roofing contractors have more establishments per resident than the US average; grocery stores, self-storage operators and physicians' offices have fewer in Kansas City, MO.
One conversation about your trade, your area and your goals; then a written plan.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.