Is Kansas City in Kansas or Missouri? Yes. We explain ahead of another Chiefs Super Bowl

Kansas City has been increasingly in the spotlight over the past several years as the Chiefs make Super Bowl after Super Bowl.

And with that spotlight comes one question from all corners of the country, or even around the globe: Is Kansas City in Kansas or Missouri?

It appears as a trending Google search multiple times a year, and there’s nothing that’ll get a sports commentator or even a president in trouble with Kansas Citians like congratulating the state of Kansas for one of the Chiefs’ accomplishments, since the team is headquartered in Missouri.

Though it might not seem like it to locals, it’s sort of an understandable mistake. The Kansas City metro area sprawls over two states and several counties, with two cities that use the same name. So rather than roasting some more folks this postseason, let’s educate a little bit about this unintuitive geography.

Kansas City, Kansas, versus Kansas City, Missouri

As you might know, there are two towns named Kansas City: one in Kansas and one in Missouri.

Kansas City, Missouri, actually existed before the state of Kansas, and is considered to be the main city that folks are talking about when they talk about Kansas City. (When we say “Kansas City” in The Star, we usually mean KCMO, and we specify if we’re talking about Kansas City, Kansas, or the entire metro area.)

The most recent population estimate from the U.S. Census puts the Missouri city’s residents around 510,000 as of July 1, 2023. Kansas City proper stretches over about 310 square miles.

Kansas City, Kansas, on the other hand, is a smaller city. Its population sat around 150,000 in July 2023, and it takes up about 125 square miles.

The KCMO and KCK downtown areas are separated by the Missouri River. The state line runs along the river northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri, until the point near downtown KCK and KCMO where the Kansas and Missouri rivers meet. From that point, the line runs straight south until it hits Oklahoma.

The cities have totally separate governments. In KCMO, that’s the City of Kansas City, and in Kansas, there’s the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County.

There are a few agencies that cross the state lines, like the planning organization Mid-American Regional Council or the public transportation agency Kansas City Area Transit Authority. But mostly the cities operate separately.

What sports teams are in Kansas vs. Missouri?

Many of the things you might associate with Kansas City are on the Missouri side, since KCMO is the bigger city.

The Kansas City Chiefs play in Missouri, in the complex they share with the Kansas City Royals southeast of downtown KC.

That could change in the years to come, since both teams are exploring other options for their future stadiums after a failed tax vote in April. And Kansas is expected to work hard to woo at least one of the teams to their side of the area.

The other sports teams in the area divide evenly between the states: MLS team Sporting Kansas City plays at Children’s Mercy Park in KCK, and NWSL team the KC Current play at the new CPKC Stadium in KCMO. The minor league baseball team, the Kansas City Monarchs, plays in KCK, and the Mavericks hockey team calls the Missouri suburb of Independence home.

What attractions are in Kansas vs. Missouri?

Many of the area’s best known landmarks — Union Station, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the T-Mobile Center, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Liberty Memorial — are on the Missouri side, as are the well-known Westport and Power & Light entertainment districts, and KC’s Country Club Plaza shopping district.

KCK draws visitors with the Legends Outlets shopping district and the surrounding area, which is getting more and more development, including an upcoming Margaritaville hotel. And the city is known as one of the area’s hubs of Hispanic culture and has many popular restaurants and shops in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood.

Besides Kansas City itself, the other main population hub of the metro area is on the Kansas side. That’s Johnson County, Kansas, which is made up of many populous suburbs and is directly to the south of Wyandotte County, where KCK is located. Johnson County’s population (sometimes known locally as JoCo) is over 610,000, as opposed to 167,000 people in Wyandotte County.

Two-state metropolitan area

KC’s two-state divide leads to some funny quirks sometimes.

For example, sports gambling is legal in Kansas, but not yet Missouri (it was approved by voters, but regulators still need to set up the structure), so Missouri bettors are known to take a quick drive into Kansas to place their bets. The reverse can happen with dispensaries, since marijuana is legal for recreational use in Missouri, but fully illegal in Kansas.

And in many parts of the KC area, Kansas can have jurisdiction over one side of the road, while Missouri claims the other — a street cleverly named State Line Road.

As is happening with the stadium, the region has a history of economic development conflicts in which Kansas and Missouri compete for the same jobs or projects — a problem that was supposed to end years ago with a “truce” agreement. But the brewing fight over the Chiefs’ and Royals’ stadiums has raised the specter of “border war” again.

In the spotlight again

So on Sunday, Feb. 9, if the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, people in both Kansas and Missouri will be celebrating the win.

But if you want to congratulate the actual home of the Chiefs, that’s technically Missouri — at least for now.

This story was originally published February 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.