The 10 Cheapest Kansas City, MO Neighborhoods To Live In For 2024


The cheapest Kansas City neighborhoods are Oak Park Southwest and Vineyard Northwest for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: January 27, 2024
Worst Neighborhoods In Kansas City
Source: Wikipedia User | CC-BY-SA-3.0

Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Kansas City might be more expensive than living in rural Missouri, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

What exactly are those Kansas City neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Kansas City are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.

The Cheapest Neighborhoods In Kansas City For 2024

  1. Oak Park Southwest
  2. Vineyard Northwest
  3. West Blue Township
  4. Ivanhoe Northeast
  5. Brown Estates
  6. Eastwood Hills West
  7. Ivanhoe Southeast
  8. Northest Industrial District
  9. Norble And Gregory Ridge
  10. East Community Team South

What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Kansas City for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Oak Park Southwest looks to be the cheapest Kansas City neighborhood to live in.

At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Kansas City. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Kansas City that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Kansas City.

For more Missouri reading, check out:

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Kansas City For 2024

1. Oak Park Southwest

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,474
Cost Of Living Index: 74 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.5 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (9th cheapest)
More on Oak Park Southwest: Data | Real Estate

2. Vineyard Northwest

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,054
Cost Of Living Index: 77 (24th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.0 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (52nd cheapest)
More on Vineyard Northwest: Data | Real Estate

3. West Blue Township

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 915
Cost Of Living Index: 78 (32nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.7 (24th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (33rd cheapest)
More on West Blue Township: Data | Real Estate

4. Ivanhoe Northeast

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 866
Cost Of Living Index: 76 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.2 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (70th cheapest)
More on Ivanhoe Northeast: Data | Real Estate

5. Brown Estates

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 907
Cost Of Living Index: 78 (32nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.2 (48th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (18th cheapest)
More on Brown Estates: Data | Real Estate

6. Eastwood Hills West

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,462
Cost Of Living Index: 79 (42nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.7 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (55th cheapest)
More on Eastwood Hills West: Data | Real Estate

7. Ivanhoe Southeast

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,613
Cost Of Living Index: 76 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.9 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (8cheapest)
More on Ivanhoe Southeast: Data | Real Estate

8. Northest Industrial District

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 145
Cost Of Living Index: 73 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.8 (33rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.022 (66th cheapest)
More on Northest Industrial District: Data | Real Estate

9. Norble And Gregory Ridge

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,842
Cost Of Living Index: 73 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.8 (3cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (7cheapest)
More on Norble And Gregory Ridge: Data | Real Estate

10. East Community Team South

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,804
Cost Of Living Index: 76 (16th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.7 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.025 (87th cheapest)
More on East Community Team South: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Kansas City Hoods In 2024

To rank the cheapest places to live in Kansas City, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.

Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 124 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Kansas City.” We’re lookin’ at you, Oak Park Southwest.

We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Kansas City. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Kansas City

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Kansas City where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

The most affordable neighborhoods in Kansas City are Oak Park Southwest, Vineyard Northwest, West Blue Township, Ivanhoe Northeast, Brown Estates, Eastwood Hills West, Ivanhoe Southeast, Northest Industrial District, Norble And Gregory Ridge, and East Community Team South.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Kansas City aren’t all cheap. Blue Hills Estates takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Kansas City.

The most expensive neighborhoods in Kansas City are Blue Hills Estates, Oak Meyer Gardens, North Hyde Park, Country Lane Estates, and Ward Parkway Plaza.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more Missouri reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Kansas City For 2024

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Oak Park Southwest 74
2 Vineyard Northwest 77
3 West Blue Township 78
4 Ivanhoe Northeast 76
5 Brown Estates 78
6 Eastwood Hills West 79
7 Ivanhoe Southeast 76
8 Northest Industrial District 73
9 Norble And Gregory Ridge 73
10 East Community Team South 76
11 Blue Valley Industrial 75
12 Eastwood Hill East 80
13 South India Mound 78
14 Sheffield 76
15 Vineyard 78
16 Palestine West And Oak Park Northeast 78
17 Oldham Farms 81
18 Oak Park Southeast 78
19 North Blue Ridge 76
20 Western Hills 83
21 Sarritt Point 78
22 Sterling Acres 84
23 Robandee South 84
24 Blue Hills 79
25 Birdlespur 92
26 Santa Fe 75
27 Knoches Park 74
28 Faireway Hills 88
29 Marlborough Heights-Marlborough Pride 76
30 Saint Catherine’s Gardens 87
31 Stanford Estates 82
32 East Blue Valley 77
33 North India Mound 78
34 East Meyer 80
35 South Blue Valley 73
36 Santa Fe Hills 81
37 Mission Lake 88
38 Ruskin Hills 81
39 Tower Homes 90
40 Blue Vue Hills 89
41 White Oak 86
42 Linden Hills And Indian Heights 85
43 South Town Fork Creek 77
44 Self Help Neighborhood Council 78
45 Lea Manor 86
46 Ruskin Heights 79
47 Little Blue Valley 92
48 Hickman Mills South 84
49 East Community Team North 76
50 Stayton Meadows 83
51 Washington Weatley 80
52 Swope Parkway-Elmwood 79
53 Oakwood 80
54 Park Farms 84
55 Willow Creek 80
56 Hillcrest 81
57 Ingleside 79
58 Linwood Homeowner-Ivanhoe 76
59 Fairlane 81
60 Key Coalition 79
61 Armour Hills 100
62 Swope Park Campus 78
63 Royal Oaks 88
64 Oak Park Northwest 76
65 Marlborough East 76
66 Lykins 74
67 Morningside 96
68 West Blue Valley 76
69 Citadel 82
70 East Sqope Highlands 81
71 Ward Parkway 96
72 South Hyde Park 87
73 Plaza Westport 93
74 Bonne Hills 85
75 Indipendence Plaza 78
76 Hidden Valley 80
77 Highview Estates 96
78 North Town Fork Creek 78
79 Fairwood And Robandee 81
80 Westwood 104
81 Central Hyde Park 105
82 Bleheim Square-Research Hospital 78
83 Central Blue Valley-Park Tower Grade 74
84 Eastern 49-63 86
85 West Waldo 91
86 Martin City 88
87 Wendell Phillips 80
88 Riss Lake 82
89 West Plaza 96
90 Country Valley-Hawthorn Square 90
91 Longfellow 91
92 Westside North 89
93 Crown Center 97
94 Southmoreland 91
95 Volker 93
96 Unity Ridge 111
97 Loma Vista 80
98 Pendleton Heights 81
99 Manheim Park 77
100 Union Hill 100
101 Beacon Hills 84
102 Legacy East 76
103 Central Business District-Downtown 95
104 Holmes Park 92
105 Kirkside 83
106 Hickman Mills 82
107 Richards Gebaur 81
108 Hanover Place 81
109 Westside South 83
110 Roanoke 111
111 Western 49-63 103
112 Bannister Ares 89
113 Red Ridge South 92
114 Lewis Heights 81
115 Valentine 89
116 River Market 99
117 Ashland Ridge 80
118 South Plaza 112
119 Country Club Plaza 101
120 Ward Parkway Plaza 93
121 Country Lane Estates 90
122 North Hyde Park 88
123 Oak Meyer Gardens 102
124 Blue Hills Estates 106
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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