User:Rrostie/sandbox/Kansas CIty Metropolitan Area

The Kansas City metropolitan area is a 15-county metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri, that straddles the border between the U.S. states of Missouri and Kansas. With a population of about 2,340,000, it ranks as the second largest metropolitan area with its core in Missouri (after Greater St. Louis). Alongside Kansas City, the area includes a number of other cities and suburbs, the largest being Overland Park, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; Olathe, Kansas; and Independence, Missouri; each over 100,000 in population. The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) serves as the Council of Governments and the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the area.

Metro Overview


The larger Kansas City Metropolitan Area as seen on a map can be visualized roughly as four quadrants:

The map's northeast quadrant is locally referred to as "north of the river" or "the Northland". It includes parts of Clay County, Missouri including North Kansas City, Missouri. North Kansas City is bounded by a bend in the Missouri River that defines a border between Wyandotte County, Kansas and Clay County, Missouri running approximately North-South and a border between North Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Missouri running approximately East-West. The river band's sharpest part forms a peninsula containing the Kansas City Downtown Airport.

The southeast quadrant includes Kansas City, Missouri and surrounding areas in Missouri. It includes the notorious Grandview Triangle.

The southwest quadrant includes all of Johnson County, Kansas, which includes the towns in the area known as Shawnee Mission, Kansas. Interstate 35 runs diagonally through Johnson County, Kansas from the southwest to downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

The northwest quadrant contains Wyandotte County, Kansas and parts of Platte County, Missouri. Wyandotte County, Kansas, sometimes referred to as just Wyandotte, which contains Kansas City, Kansas, Bonner Springs, Kansas and Edwardsville, Kansas is governed by a single unified government. Often the Wyandotte government is referred to simply as "The Unified Government". Another bend in the Missouri River forms the county line between Wyandotte County, Kansas and Platte County, Missouri to the north and northeast.

Divisions
The metro is divided into a number of incorporated cities and geographical areas.

Downtown
Downtown almost always refers to downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Downtown is the Kansas City's historic center, located entirely within Kansas City, Missouri, and containing the city's original town site, business districts and residential neighborhoods. Downtown is bounded by the Missouri River on the north, the Missouri-Kansas state line on the west, 31st Street on the south and the Blue River on the east. The downtown area includes the Central Business District and its buildings, which form the city's skyline.

Notable places in Downtown Kansas City include the Kansas City Convention Center, Municipal Auditorium, City Hall, the Sprint Center and the College Basketball Experience both within Power & Light District, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Crossroads District, Union Station, Crown Center, the National World War I Museum, Liberty Memorial, the River Market and Richard L. Berkeley Riverfront Park, and the Kemper Arena.

Midtown
Midtown is entirely within Kansas City, Missouri, just south of downtown, and bounded by 31st Street on the north, the state line on the west, West Gregory Boulevard (71st Street) on the south, and Troost Avenue on the east. Midtown is the core of the metropolitan area, as it contains numerous cultural attractions, shopping and entertainment areas, large hospitals, universities, and the metro area's most densely populated neighborhoods.

Midtown consists of numerous distinct and historic neighborhoods such as Westport, Hyde Park, and Southmoreland. Shopping is centered on the Country Club Plaza, which contains numerous luxury retailers, hotels, and restaurants. Brookside and Westport also contain smaller-scale, neighborhood-oriented, and niche-market retailers. Midtown is home to Saint Luke's Hospital and Research Medical Center. Cultural attractions include the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Uptown Theater, Starlight Theater, the Kansas City Zoo, Loose Park, and Swope Park. The last of these contains a soccer complex that is home to FC Kansas City of the National Women's Soccer League and the Swope Park Rangers, a United Soccer League team that is the official reserve side for the area's Major League Soccer club, Sporting Kansas City. Major educational institutions include the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Rockhurst University, Kansas City Art Institute, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Midwest Research Institute, and Penn Valley Community College.

South Side of the Metro (or "South KC")
Also known as "South Kansas City", this area consists of the southern half of Kansas City, Missouri, as well as the suburbs of Grandview, Harrisonville, Belton, Loch Lloyd, Peculiar and Raymore.

The Northland
The Northland is the area north of the Missouri River, bordered by the Kansas state line on the west and Missouri Highway 291 on the east. The southern half of Platte County, and much of Clay County make up the area. The economy of the Northland is dominated by Kansas City International Airport, Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant, the Zona Rosa shopping community and three riverboat casinos. The metro area's largest amusement park, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, is located in the Northland. Communities of the Northland outside the city limits include Parkville, Kearney, Liberty, Platte City, Gladstone, Riverside, Smithville, and North Kansas City.

Eastern Jackson County
East Side of the Metro is primarily eastern Jackson County which is an area of the Kansas City Metro that contains the far-eastern urban side of Kansas City, Missouri and the following large suburbs of Blue Springs, Independence, and Lee's Summit. Also included in this area is western Lafayette County Missouri and the far northeast portion of Cass County Missouri. The East Side of Metro includes the following Missouri suburbs of Independence, Blue Springs, Raytown, Lees Summit, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, Sugar Creek, River Bend, Lake Lotawana, Lone Jack, Greenwood, Unity Village, Buckner, Pleasant Hill, Bates City, Odessa, and Lake Tapawingo. Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and Kauffman Stadium, home of the MLB's Kansas City Royals are located on the eastern edge of Kansas City. The Silverstein Eye Centers Arena home of the ECHL's Missouri Mavericks and the MASL's Missouri Comets is located in Independence.

Kansas City Kansas and Johnson County
In Wyandotte County lies Kansas City, Kansas, which is locally called "KCK" to distinguish it from the larger Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO). It contains many residential neighborhoods, the Fairfax Industrial District, and the Village West entertainment district. The General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant is located in the Fairfax Industrial District. Village West contains many area attractions. This includes many sporting venues such as Children's Mercy Park, home of the area MLS soccer team Sporting Kansas City, the Kansas Speedway, which hosts many NASCAR races, and Community America Ballpark, home of the independent baseball team, the Kansas City T-Bones. Other Village West attractions include the Legends shopping district, the Providence Medical Center Amphitheater, and Schlitterbahn Waterpark.

Johnson County, Kansas is home to many local suburbs. These suburbs include Overland Park, Olathe, Shawnee, Leawood, Lenexa, Prairie Village, Gardner, Merriam, Mission, Roeland Park, Fairway, Lake Quivira, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Westwood, and Westwood Hills. Many local area attractions and shopping districts are located in Johnson County, such as Oak Park Mall, Town Center Plaza, and Prairie Fire.


 * Anchor city
 * Kansas City, Missouri – Pop: 475,378 (2015)

Counties
The MSA covers a total area of 7952 sqmi including 97 sqmi of water.

Parks
The metro area has 214 urban parks, much of which designed by George E. Kessler, were constructed from 1893 to 1915.

Swope Park is one of the nation's largest city parks, comprising 1,805 acres (730 ha), more than twice the size of New York City's Central Park.[70] It features a zoo, a woodland nature and wildlife rescue center, 2 golf courses, 2 lakes, an amphitheatre, a day-camp, and numerous picnic grounds. Hodge Park, in the Northland, covers 1,029 acres (416 ha) (1.61 sq. mi.). This park includes the 80-acre (320,000 m2) Shoal Creek Living History Museum, a village of more than 20 historical buildings dating from 1807 to 1885.

Berkely Riverfront Park, 955 acres (3.86 km2) on the banks of the Missouri River on the north edge of downtown, holds annual Independence Day celebrations and other festivals.

Associated areas
Often associated with Kansas City, the cities of Lawrence, Kansas, and St. Joseph, Missouri, are identified as separate Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

The Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas Combined Statistical Area, which encompasses the Kansas City MO-KS MSA, the Warrensburg, Missouri Micropolitan Statistical Area (µSA) (in Johnson County, Missouri), and the Atchison, Kansas µSA (in Atchison County, Kansas), covers a total area of 9220 sqmi including 103 sqmi of water.

Highways
The Kansas City metropolitan area has more freeway lane miles per capita than any other large metropolitan area in the United States (over 27% more than the second-place Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex), over 50% more than the average American metro area, and nearly 75% more than the large metro area with the least: Las Vegas.

Interstates
The Kansas City area is a confluence of four major U.S. interstate highways:
 * – North to St. Joseph, Missouri
 * – North to Des Moines, Iowa and south to Wichita, Kansas
 * – South to Joplin
 * – East to St. Louis and west to Topeka, Kansas

Other interstates that cross through the area include:
 * – A bi-state loop through the city's suburbs in Missouri and Kansas. It is the second-longest single-numbered beltway in the U.S., and the fourth-longest in the world.
 * – Connects South Kansas City with Lee's Summit and Independence.
 * – Connects the Kansas suburbs with Kansas City, Kansas, and I-29, I-70, and I-35.
 * – A southern bypass of I-70 and the southern portion of the downtown loop. The roadway is designated on road signs as East I-70, when exiting from I-35 while traveling north.

US Highways
U.S. Highways serving the Kansas City Metro Area include:
 * – Running from Independence Ave. and Winner Rd., between downtown Kansas City and Independence, Missouri, it serves as a street-level connection to Independence.
 * – U.S. 40 is one of six east-west U.S.-numbered routes that run (or ran) from coast to coast. It serves as a business loop and an alternate route for I-70.
 * – Enters the area in southern Johnson County, follows I-435 from the west to I-470, then splits off of I-470 in Lee's Summit to continue eastward to Jefferson City and St. Louis as a regular highway. Its former route through Raytown and southeast Kansas City was renumbered as Route 350. U.S. 50 is also one of the six east-west highways that run coast-to-coast through the United States.
 * - Enters the area concurrent with I-35 until the Shawnee Mission Parkway exit. It runs east along the Parkway into the Plaza area of Kansas City before terminating at US-71.
 * – Connects Excelsior Springs, Missouri, in the north and serves as a freeway in the suburbs of Johnson County.
 * – In the north, concurrent with I-29 to Amazonia, Missouri, and serves as a freeway (Bruce R. Watkins Drive) south from downtown, joining with I-49 at the Grandview Triangle.
 * – Connects Smithville, Missouri, in the north.

Kansas state highways
Kansas highways in the area include:
 * – A minor freeway bypassing the north of Kansas City, Kansas, connecting the GM Fairfax plant with I-635. K-5 continues as Leavenworth Road west to I-435 then on to Leavenworth, Kansas.
 * – A freeway linking Leavenworth, Wyandotte and Johnson Counties in Kansas.
 * – A freeway linking I-435 to De Soto, Eudora and Lawrence.
 * – A highway that links Leavenworth and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.

Missouri state highways
Missouri highways in the area include:
 * - An important state highway serving the eastern suburbs of the metro. Primarily running north and south through Jackson and Cass Counties. Connecting the following communities: Independence, Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville.  It is the commercial backbone for Blue Springs, Lake Lotawana and Pleasant Hill.
 * – A minor freeway northwest of North Kansas City, and serves as a commercial backbone to North Kansas City, Riverside, Platte Woods and Parkville.
 * – Known as Tom Watson Parkway in the Kansas City vicinity until it intersects with I-435, it is a highway that spans 42 miles from I-29/US-71 to US-59/MO-273 in Lewis & Clark Village, Missouri (right east of the larger city of Atchison, Kansas). It is also known as NW 64th Street from NW Klamm Drive to I-29/US-71. The highway runs through the northern part of Parkville, Missouri and across Riss Lake. The National Golf Course is located off of MO-45.
 * - A state highway serving the southern suburbs of Belton and Raymore.
 * – A highway linking southern Lee's Summit and Grandview to the Kansas suburbs at State Line Road.
 * – A freeway contained entirely in Kansas City's Northland, stretching from Liberty in Clay County west until it intersects with I-435 near Parkville, Missouri.
 * – A minor freeway east of North Kansas City that, as a two-lane road, stretches to Richmond, Missouri.
 * – Formerly an eastern bypass route of U.S. 71, this minor freeway connects Harrisonville and Lee's Summit to Independence, Sugar Creek, Liberty and Kansas City North. The roadway is designated on road signs alongside I-470 north of Lee's Summit.
 * – This road crosses through Raytown as Blue Parkway.

Other notable roads
Other notable roads in the area are:
 * 18th Street Expressway – a freeway carrying US-69 through central Wyandotte County from I-35 to I-70.
 * Ward Parkway – A scenic parkway in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Kansas-Missouri state line, where many large historic mansions and fountains are located.
 * Broadway – A street that runs from the west side of downtown Kansas City to Westport. The street has long been an entertainment center, with various bars, live jazz outlets, and restaurants located along it. It also forms the eastern border of Quality Hill, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Kansas City.
 * The Paseo – Part of the city's original system of parks and boulevards developed beginning in the late 1880s, it is the longest of the original boulevards, and the only one that runs the entire length of the pre-World War II city boundary, from the Missouri River bluffs in the north to 79th Street on the south.
 * Shawnee Mission Parkway – Former alignment of K-10 serving the Johnson County, KS suburbs in the area.
 * Troost Avenue – A north-south thoroughfare located 11 blocks east of Main Street, named for an early Kansas City settler and dentist, Benoist Troost. The street roughly divides the city's mostly black neighborhoods to its east from its mostly white ones to its west.
 * Swope Parkway – Running on the south side of the Brush Creek valley eastward from The Paseo, then southward from its junction with Benton Boulevard, this street is the main route from the city's midtown to its largest city park, Swope Park.
 * North Oak Trafficway – A major road located in the Northland. The roadway is designated as MO-283 from MO-9 to I-29. It is a major commercial road in the Northland and serves as the main street in Gladstone, Missouri.
 * Barry Road – Runs along the former route of Military Road, which ran from Liberty to Fort Leavenworth. It is now a major commercial street in the Northland, although it has been paralleled by MO-152 for its entire route and effectively replaced it east of Indiana Avenue.
 * 87th Street Parkway – a major parkway that extends from Overland Park to De Soto.

Air
The Kansas City metropolitan area is served by two airports. It is primarily served by Kansas City International Airport, located 15 miles northwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, was built to serve as a world hub for the supersonic transport and Boeing 747. The airport's gates were positioned 100 ft from the street; however, since the September 11, 2001 attacks, these have undergone expensive overhauls, retrofitting it to incorporate elements of conventional security systems.

The much smaller Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, located to the immediate north of downtown near the Missouri River, was the original headquarters of Trans World Airlines (TWA) and houses the Airline History Museum. It served as the area's major airport until 1972, when Kansas City International (then known as Mid-Continent International Airport and was home to an Overhaul Base for TWA) became the primary airport for the metropolitan area after undergoing $150 million in upgrades that were approved by voters in a 1966 bond issue. Downtown Airport is still used to this day for general aviation and airshows.

Rail and bus
Union Station serves as a hub for Amtrak, which maintains daily service by long-distance trains to and from Kansas City, Missouri.

Public transportation in the Kansas City area is only provided by city buses operated by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA). The Metro Area Express (MAX) went online as Kansas City, Missouri's first bus rapid transit line in July 2005, and operates and is marketed akin to a rail system as opposed to a local bus line; the MAX links the River Market, Downtown, Union Station, Crown Center and the Country Club Plaza. Buses in Johnson County, Kansas, are operated by Johnson County Transit (known as "The JO").

The Kansas City Downtown Streetcar is a 2.2-mile modern streetcar line in downtown Kansas City opened to the public in May 2016, and is maintained and operated by the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, a non-profit corporation made up of private sector stakeholders and city appointees. A ballot initiative to fund construction of the $102 million line was approved by voters on December 12, 2012. The system will run between River Market and Union Station, mostly on Main Street, with extensions to the starter line planned for addition at a later date.

Local navigation tips
See related article: Kansas City (Missouri) at Wikivoyage

Street numbers
The Missouri side of the metropolitan area shares a grid system with Johnson County on the Kansas side. Most east-west streets are numbered and most north-south streets named. Addresses on east-west streets are numbered from Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri, and on north-south streets from St. John Avenue (or the Missouri River, in the River Market area). The direction 'South' in street and address numbers is generally implied if 'North' is not specified, except for numbered 'avenues' in North Kansas City. In the northland, east-west streets use the prefix N.E. or N.W., depending on the side of N. Main on which they lie.

Highways

 * Kansas Citians tend to express U.S. and Missouri highway designations with the number before the word "highway," (e.g., 40 highway, 71 highway). This colloquialism tends not to apply to interstates or Kansas route numbers (e.g., "I-70", "K-10").
 * 69 Highway, known as "The Overland Parkway", runs southbound on I-35 from Kansas City, Missouri towards Johnson County. There are two exits marked South 69 on the roadway. The first – or northern – exit on Metcalf Ave/I-635, is a left lane exit and leads to Metcalf, an at-grade trafficway, before turning west along Shawnee Mission Parkway, to rejoin I-35. The southern US-69 exit is a two-lane right lane exit between the 75th and 87th street exits and begins a four-lane highway known as the Overland Parkway.
 * Bruce R. Watkins Drive is the name of the new section of U.S. Route 71 in Kansas City, Missouri. The old U.S. 71 ran mostly on Prospect Avenue.
 * When traveling north on I-35 from Johnson County, the first signs that are designated as I-70 East actually guide drivers through the southern portion of I-670, which takes motorists into the southern part of the Downtown Freeway Loop, and runs underneath the Bartle Hall Convention Center and some downtown overpasses. This is sometimes referred to as "going under downtown".
 * The downtown freeway loop is a complex layout of freeways in downtown Kansas City, Missouri involving 23 exits, four Interstate highways, four U.S. highways and numerous city streets. Each exit in the freeway loop is numbered "2" and suffixed with every letter of the alphabet – except I, O and Z (which would resemble 1, 0 and 2 on the exit signs), although some of the exits are currently under construction/renovation and closed to traffic. The entire circumference of the loop is just over 4 mi.

Navigation landmarks

 * The KCTV-Tower is a 1,042 ft pyramid-shaped television and radio tower used primarily by local CBS affiliate KCTV (channel 5). It is located at the corner of 31st and Main Streets, next to the studio facilities of PBS member station KCPT (which formerly housed the original studios of KCTV), and is visible from many parts of the city, especially at night due to the string of lights adorning the tower.
 * The twin red-brick towers of the American Century Investments complex are oriented north and south along Main at 45th Street, just north of the Country Club Plaza (the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is located slightly east, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is located east and slightly south).
 * Kansas City Community Christian Church, located at 4601 Main Street, has a group of lights that shoot a beam upwards to the sky at night. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s, it is located slightly south of and across the street from the American Century Investment Towers (the Nelson Atkins is located to the east, and the Kemper Museum is to the north and slightly east).
 * Bartle Hall has a section that somewhat resembles a north-south suspension bridge, crossing over I-670 at the southwest corner of the downtown loop. It has four towers, with metal sculptures on top of each tower.
 * The Veterans Affairs Medical Center, located near the intersection of I-70, Linwood Boulevard and Van Brunt Boulevard, has a large "VA" emblem.
 * The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 16th Street and Broadway (just south of the downtown loop), with its tiered glass and steel half-domes, has a design reminiscent of the world-famous Sydney Opera House.

Libraries

 * Johnson County Library
 * Antioch
 * Blue Valley
 * Cedar Roe
 * Central Resource
 * Corinth
 * De Soto
 * Edgerton
 * Gardner
 * Lackman
 * Leawood Pioneer
 * Monticello
 * Oak Park
 * Shawnee Mission
 * Spring Hill
 * Kansas City, Kansas Public Library
 * Kansas City Public Library (Missouri)
 * Linda Hall Library
 * Mid-Continent Public Library
 * Olathe Public Library

Print media
The Kansas City Star is the metropolitan area's major daily newspaper. The McClatchy Company, which owns The Star, is also the owner of two suburban weeklies, Lee's Summit Journal and Olathe Journal.

The Kansas City Kansan serves Wyandotte County, having moved from print to an online format in 2009. Additional weekly papers in the metropolitan area include the Liberty Tribune, Sun Newspapers of Johnson County, The Examiner in Independence and eastern Jackson County, and The Pitch. The area is also served by two newspapers focused the area's faith-based population: The Metro Voice Christian Newspaper and the Jewish Chronicle. The city's Hispanic and Latino American community is served by Dos Mundos, a bilingual newspaper with articles printed in Spanish and English, and Mi Raza magazine, the area's only weekly Hispanic publication printed in Spanish. The Kansas City Call serves the African American community publishing its paper weekly.

Broadcast media
According to Arbitron, about 1.5 million people over the age of 12 live within the Kansas City DMA, making it the 30th largest market for radio and 31st for television according to Nielsen. The Kansas City television and radio markets cover 32 counties encompassing northwestern Missouri and northeast Kansas.

Television
Television stations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, with all major network affiliates represented, include: The Kansas City television market is in very close proximity to two other media markets, St. Joseph and Topeka. As such, most of the television stations in the Kansas City area are receivable over-the-air in portions of both markets, including their principal cities; likewise, stations from Topeka are receivable as far east as Kansas City, Kansas and stations from St. Joseph are viewable as far south as Kansas City, Missouri's immediate northern suburbs.
 * WDAF-TV, channel 4 (Fox)
 * KCTV, channel 5 (CBS)
 * KMBC-TV, channel 9 (ABC)
 * KTAJ-TV, channel 16 (TBN)
 * KCPT, channel 19 (PBS)
 * KCKS-LD, channel 25 (simulcast of sister station WROB-LD)
 * KCWE, channel 29 (The CW)
 * KSHB-TV, channel 41 (NBC)
 * KMCI-TV, channel 38 (independent)
 * KUKC-LP, channel 48 (Univision)
 * KPXE-TV, channel 50 (Ion Television)
 * KSMO-TV, channel 62 (MyNetworkTV)

Radio
Over 30 FM and 20 AM radio stations broadcast in the Kansas City area, with stations from Topeka, St. Joseph and Carrollton also reaching into the metropolitan area. The highest-rated radio stations, according to Arbitron are:
 * KPRS (103.3 FM) – Urban
 * KCMO-FM (94.9) – Classic Hits
 * KQRC (98.9 FM) – Rock
 * KRBZ-FM (96.5) – Alternative
 * KMBZ (98.1 FM) – News/Talk
 * WDAF-FM (106.5) – Country
 * KZPT (99.7) - Adult Top 40
 * KCSP (610 AM) - Sports, Kansas City Royals flagship
 * KMXV (93.3) - Top 40
 * KFKF (94.1) - Country
 * KCFX (101.1) - Classic Rock, Kansas City Chiefs flagship
 * KCHZ (95.7 FM) – Top 40/Rhythmic

Public and community radio

 * KCUR (89.3 FM) – NPR affiliate
 * KANU-FM (91.5) and KTBG (90.9 FM) – both college radio stations; also NPR affiliates
 * KKFI (90.1 FM) – Locally owned not-for-profit station
 * KGSP (1480 FM) – Park University college station

Specialty radio
Hispanics, which account for 5% of the market's population, are served by three AM radio stations:
 * KCZZ (1480 AM) – Spanish music and talk
 * KDTD (1340 AM) – Mexican regional
 * KYYS (1250 AM) – Classic hits

Business interests
The Kansas City metropolitan area's largest private employer is Cerner Corporation. Cerner, a global healthcare IT company which is headquartered in North Kansas City, employs nearly 10,000 people in the area with a total workforce of nearly 20,000 people including global employees. In August 2014, the company announced its acquisition of competitor Siemens Healthcare, which, if approved, will further increase Cerner's total number of employees. Cerner has several campuses across the area with its World Headquarters building in North Kansas City, Innovations Campus in South Kansas City, and Continuous Campus in the Kansas City, Kansas area.

Other major employers and business enterprises are AT&T, BNSF Railway, Asurion, Sprint Corporation, Citigroup, EMBARQ, Farmers Insurance Group, Garmin, Hallmark Cards, Harley-Davidson, Husqvarna, H&R Block, General Motors, Honeywell, Ford Motor Company, MillerCoors, State Street Corporation, The Kansas City Star, and Waddell & Reed, some of which are headquartered in the metropolitan area. Kansas City also has a large pharmaceutical industry, with companies such as Bayer and Aventis having a large presence.

Headquarters
The following companies and organizations, excluding educational institutions, are among the larger ones that are currently headquartered in or have since relocated from the metropolitan area (headquarters of most companies are located in Kansas City, Missouri, unless otherwise noted):
 * American Century Investments, an investment management firm
 * AMC Theatres, a movie theater chain
 * Andrews McMeel Universal, a syndication and publication company which represents media/entertainment features such as Dear Abby, Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes and Doonesbury
 * Applebee's, a restaurant chain (Lenexa, Kansas)
 * BATS Global Markets, a stock exchange (Lenexa, Kansas)
 * Black & Veatch Corporation, engineering firm (Overland Park, Kansas)
 * Burns & McDonnell Engineering, an engineering and architectural firm
 * CenturyLink (formerly Embarq Corporation), telecommunications company (headquarters in Monroe, Louisiana)
 * Cerner, supplier of healthcare information technology solutions (North Kansas City, Missouri)
 * Church of the Nazarene
 * Commerce Bancshares, a bank serving Kansas, Missouri and Illinois
 * Community of Christ, International Headquarters (Independence, Missouri)
 * DST Systems, provider of information processing and computer software services and products
 * Engineered Air, worldwide supplier and manufacturer of industrial air conditioners (De Soto)
 * Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
 * Ferrellgas, retailer and distributor of natural gas (Liberty, Missouri)
 * FishNet Security, a provider of information security services and technology resale - Overland Park, KS
 * Fort Dodge Animal Health, an animal health pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturer and a division of Wyeth (Overland Park, Kansas)
 * Freightquote.com, largest online third party logistics provider
 * Garmin, largest maker of GPS-based electronics (Olathe, Kansas)
 * Goodcents Sub's and Pasta's, notable midwest restaurant chain (De Soto)
 * Hallmark Cards, largest maker of greeting cards in the U.S.
 * HNTB Corporation, architectural and engineering firm
 * H&R Block, financial corporation and former parent company of CompuServe, known mostly for their income tax preparation services
 * Hostess Brands Maker of Twinkies and other snack cakes.
 * Huhtamaki, makers of Chinet paper dinnerware (De Soto)
 * Inergy, L.P., retailers and distributors of natural gas
 * International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
 * J. E. Dunn Construction Group, construction contractor
 * Kansas City Board of Trade, a commodity futures and options exchange
 * Kansas City Power and Light Company, a regulated provider of electricity and energy-related products and services
 * Kansas City Southern Industries, operators of a Class I railroad
 * Lockton Companies, the largest privately held insurance brokerage in the U.S.
 * Merck Health Institutions, pharmaceutical corporation (De Soto)
 * MK12 Studios, a filmmaking, animation, and design studio
 * National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
 * Newport Television – privately held broadcasting company
 * North Kansas City Hospital (North Kansas City, Missouri)
 * People to People International, a voluntary organization founded by President Dwight Eisenhower
 * Perceptive Software, makers of "Image NOW" software (Lenexa, Kansas)
 * Polsinelli, AmLaw100-ranked national law firm
 * Populous (formerly HOK Sport + Venue + Event), a major sports architectural firm
 * Russell Stover Candies
 * Sprint Nextel Corporation, a telecommunication company (Overland Park, Kansas)
 * Tradebot, a high-frequency trading firm
 * UMB Financial Corporation, a commercial bank serving a multistate area of the Midwest
 * Unity Church
 * Veterans of Foreign Wars
 * Waddell & Reed, an investment management and brokerage firm (Overland Park, Kansas)
 * Walton Construction, a construction contractor
 * YRC Worldwide Inc., known mostly from its former name and brand "Yellow Freight", one of the largest transportation service providers in the world (Overland Park, Kansas)

The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank is one of twelve such banks located in the United States.

Hospitals

 * Centerpoint Medical Center
 * Saint Luke's Hospital
 * Children's Mercy Hospital
 * Research Medical Center
 * North Kansas City Hospital

Shopping centers

 * Adams Dairy Landing
 * Blue Ridge Crossing
 * Crown Center
 * Country Club Plaza
 * The Great Mall of the Great Plains
 * Independence Center
 * The Landing Mall
 * Legends Outlets Kansas City
 * Metcalf South Shopping Center (closed October 2014)
 * Metro North Mall (closed April 2014)
 * Oak Park Mall
 * Park Place
 * Summit Fair
 * Summit Woods Crossing
 * Town Center Plaza
 * Town Pavilion
 * Ward Parkway Center
 * Zona Rosa

Local organizations

 * Irish Museum and Cultural Center
 * Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner
 * South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
 * Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City
 * ArtsKC Regional Arts Council
 * Central Exchange