UPDATE: Check out our new 2023 Best Cities to Live in the U.S. list.
| liv score 615 How We Calculate Our Data |
|
|---|---|
| Civics | 38 |
| Demographics | 50 |
| Economy | 59 |
| Education | 59 |
| Health | 34 |
| Housing | 48 |
| Infrastructure | 54 |
#90. Kansas City, MO
Kansas City is having their moment. Whether they’re in the spotlight for winning the Super Bowl or making us tear up during episodes of Netflix’s hit “Queer Eye,” KCMO is suddenly the place to be. And we’re not just saying this: They added roughly 16,000 new residents between 2017 and 2018, with many of them being young professionals looking for a new opportunity in the vibrant, diverse and healthy economy comprising a mix of government, healthcare and traditional corporation jobs with companies like Sprint, Cerner and Hallmark.
In addition to all the economic success, KCMO has all of those big city amenities that we all love (museums, professional sports teams and unbelievable restaurants) without the big price tag—with a median home listing coming in at only $199,000.
Top Industries and Employers: Healthcare and the federal government are the two main sectors in KCMO, with thousands of government employees working at the Heartland Region Office and thousands more working at Cerner Corporation, which is a healthcare information systems company.
Best Coffee Shop: Second Best coffee shop in our opinion is the very best — with an espresso-centric menu and a staff that is committed to tinkering and researching to produce the very best coffee for caffeine lovers.
Best Local Beer/Brewery: You can’t get much more iconic KC than Boulevard Wheat from Boulevard Brewing Company — they were churning out craft beers long before it was cool.
Must-Have Meal: The Fab Five from Queer Eye may have made Jones BBQ a national household name, but KC residents have loved this barbecue spot for decades. Try their famous homemade sausage that has a secret blend of seasonings and spices.
Best Co-Working Space: PLEXPOD has a few locations around the KC area with amenities like private showers, podcast booths and photography studios.
Best Meetup Spot (When Meeting Up Is a Thing Again): Ultra chic and hip Monarch Bar, which won Cocktail Bar of the Year in the Nightclub & Bar Awards 2019
Creative Hub: Prospero’s Bookstore has three full floors of books, a calendar full of author signings and events and some of the best counter conversations you can find in the city.
Favorite Weekend Activity: Cheering on those 2020 Super Bowl-winning Chiefs or their 2015 world-series winning Royals (yeah, they’re a pretty big deal).
Free Way to Have Fun: See the city from a new perspective on the free-to-ride Kansas City Streetcar, which makes a 2.2-mile loop in different districts around town.
Local Dream Job: Museum curator at one of their world-class institutions like the World War I Museum and Memorial or the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.
Read More:
The Cost of Living Diaries: Kansas City, MO
5 Reasons Millennials Should Give Kansas City a Second Look
Beyond Silicon Valley: Kansas City is an Up-and-Coming Tech Hotspots
– Jamie Birdwell-Branson