Overland Park has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of Overland Park without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of Overland Park: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Overland Park for 2026:
What’s the best suburb of Overland Park? Mission Hills ranks as the best suburb of Overland Park for 2026 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Mission Hills, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Overland Park ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Kansas:
The 10 Best Overland Park Suburbs To Live For 2026
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Mission Hills is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Overland Park area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Mission Hills.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $250,001 a year, which is the highest in the Overland Park region. And only 0.29% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,603,472 each.
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Fairway is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Overland Park for 2026.
It ranks 5th for incomes in the area and only 1.56% of residents lack insurance, good for 3rd best.
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Population: 33,809
Median Income: $185,625
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 3.1%
More on Leawood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Here in Leawood, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Overland Park metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Leawood.
My parents moved from Wichita to Overland Park then to Leawood. Leawood is a lovely city, near the Plaza. Thinking of moving there- I hope you are financially successful and secure.
4. Westwood, KS
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Population: 2,093
Median Income: $118,250
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 1.9%
More on Westwood: Movers
Westwood ranks as the 4th best suburb of Overland Park for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Westwood and the schools are some of the best around.
5. Weatherby Lake, MO
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Population: 2,401
Median Income: $152,500
Unemployment Rate: 1.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.4%
More on Weatherby Lake: Movers
Coming in as the fifth best is Weatherby Lake.
Weatherby Lake gets kudos for having the 5th most expensive homes in the Overland Park area, where houses sell for an average of $585,268. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 8,366
Median Income: $171,271
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on Parkville: Data | Movers
Parkville is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.4%.
According to online reports, Parkville is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Overland Park area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 6,013
Median Income: $107,250
Unemployment Rate: 0.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.2%
More on Greenwood: Data | Movers
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Greenwood.
Greenwood schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 19.5 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 58,384
Median Income: $103,239
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.4%
More on Lenexa: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Lenexa is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 3.47% of people lack insurance, good for 8th in the area.
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Population: 2,442
Median Income: $165,962
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.3%
More on Lake Lotawana: Data | Movers
Is ‘Everything Better In Lake Lotawana?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
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Population: 68,542
Median Income: $109,940
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Shawnee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is Shawnee.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Overland Park for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around Overland Park was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2020-2024 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Overland Park.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 42 suburbs to evaluate around Overland Park.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 42 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Overland Park.” We’re lookin’ at you, Mission Hills.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best Overland Park suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Overland Park ‘Burbs of 2026
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Overland Park are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Overland Park but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Kansas reading, check out:
Table: Best Overland Park Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mission Hills, KS | 3,548 | $250,001 | $1,603,472 |
| 2 | Fairway, KS | 4,159 | $152,574 | $634,207 |
| 3 | Leawood, KS | 33,809 | $185,625 | $777,578 |
| 4 | Westwood, KS | 2,093 | $118,250 | $438,325 |
| 5 | Weatherby Lake, KS | 2,401 | $152,500 | $585,268 |
| 6 | Parkville, KS | 8,366 | $171,271 | $578,744 |
| 7 | Greenwood, KS | 6,013 | $107,250 | $355,951 |
| 8 | Lenexa, KS | 58,384 | $103,239 | $477,847 |
| 9 | Lake Lotawana, KS | 2,442 | $165,962 | $595,198 |
| 10 | Shawnee, KS | 68,542 | $109,940 | $424,763 |
| 11 | Lee’s Summit, KS | 103,656 | $102,531 | $389,363 |
| 12 | Eudora, KS | 6,119 | $118,184 | $332,797 |
| 13 | Olathe, KS | 145,057 | $114,009 | $433,116 |
| 14 | Raymore, KS | 24,526 | $104,447 | $356,401 |
| 15 | Roeland Park, KS | 6,763 | $88,774 | $332,319 |
| 16 | Pleasant Valley, KS | 2,736 | $75,682 | $257,452 |
| 17 | Spring Hill, KS | 9,120 | $112,428 | $419,142 |
| 18 | Basehor, KS | 7,491 | $116,769 | $439,342 |
| 19 | Mission, KS | 9,915 | $75,534 | $330,950 |
| 20 | Grain Valley, KS | 16,271 | $89,649 | $326,296 |
| 21 | Wellsville, KS | 2,216 | $83,750 | $343,236 |
| 22 | Gardner, KS | 24,526 | $96,818 | $352,182 |
| 23 | Peculiar, KS | 5,958 | $94,519 | $357,230 |
| 24 | Blue Springs, KS | 59,965 | $88,920 | $307,946 |
| 25 | Pleasant Hill, KS | 8,847 | $95,602 | $364,998 |
| 26 | Lansing, KS | 11,246 | $102,786 | $321,293 |
| 27 | De Soto, KS | 6,414 | $104,000 | $425,983 |
| 28 | Merriam, KS | 11,085 | $73,600 | $326,708 |
| 29 | Liberty, KS | 30,689 | $88,542 | $324,253 |
| 30 | Tonganoxie, KS | 5,891 | $80,109 | $373,875 |
| 31 | Gladstone, KS | 27,207 | $79,271 | $266,727 |
| 32 | Louisburg, KS | 5,094 | $68,824 | $400,546 |
| 33 | Paola, KS | 5,770 | $74,662 | $371,665 |
| 34 | Bonner Springs, KS | 7,839 | $83,218 | $300,304 |
| 35 | Belton, KS | 25,008 | $69,226 | $270,040 |
| 36 | Raytown, KS | 29,445 | $68,840 | $205,242 |
| 37 | Harrisonville, KS | 9,970 | $62,473 | $294,225 |
| 38 | Riverside, KS | 4,276 | $52,006 | $468,189 |
| 39 | Independence, KS | 121,740 | $60,339 | $208,157 |
| 40 | Grandview, KS | 26,527 | $53,447 | $216,734 |
| 41 | Edwardsville, KS | 4,724 | $72,611 | $298,496 |
| 42 | Sugar Creek, KS | 3,249 | $62,165 | $170,941 |
