More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Overland Park to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Overland Park are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Overland Park ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Overland Park area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Overland Park proper, although Mission Hills certainly tries.
We examined the 42 biggest suburbs of Overland Park to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Kansas lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Overland Park in terms of quality of life.
$62,165 median income · $170,941 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Sugar Creek, the absolute worst place to live around Overland Park according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Sugar Creek beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 4th worst in the Overland Park area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Sugar Creek.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
$72,611 median income · $298,497 median home price
Welcome to Edwardsville. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 14.8 miles to Overland Park. Income levels here are the 9th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $72,611 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$53,447 median income · $216,734 median home price
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Overland Park suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Grandview on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Overland Park suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
$60,339 median income · $208,158 median home price
Located in
Kansas
If you live in Independence, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 3rd lowest Overland Park suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 8th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Overland Park. Remember, we looked at 42 cities for this study.
Independence is about 22.7 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,006 median income · $468,190 median home price
Riverside has the distinction of being a Overland Park suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Riverside has the 35th lowest home values in the metro Overland Park area, where the median price is $468,190. The median income is $250,001.
Riverside has an unemployment rate of 6.5% which ranks 3rd worst.
$62,473 median income · $294,225 median home price
Harrisonville has 9,970 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 7.2%.
$68,840 median income · $205,243 median home price
Ah, Raytown. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Overland Park.
It’s the place with the 9th most out of work residents in the Overland Park metro area (5.6%).
$69,226 median income · $270,041 median home price
Belton is a city about 9.9 miles from Overland Park, but Overland Park probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Belton has the 8th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 13th highest unemployment rate (4.8%) in the entire Overland Park metro area.
Homes only cost $270,041 for a reason. That’s cheap for Overland Park standards.
$83,218 median income · $300,304 median home price
Located in
Wyandotte County, Kansas
If you absolutely have to live near Overland Park, then Bonner Springs might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Overland Park suburb.
About 2.5% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$74,662 median income · $371,666 median home price
Located in
Miami County, Kansas
Rounding out the ten worst Overland Park suburbs to call home is Paola.
Located 23.3 miles outside the city, Paola is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 18th highest unemployment rate (4.2%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kansas’s statewide median.
Kansas statewide median: $74,275
Kansas statewide median: $244,761
Kansas statewide median: 3.9%
Kansas statewide median: 11.3%
On the map
Where the worst Overland Park suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Overland Park for 2026
To figure out how bad a Overland Park suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Overland Park.
We also limited the analysis to places with 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 worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Overland Park.” We’re looking at you, Sugar Creek.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Overland Park.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Overland Park Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sugar Creek | 4.07 | 3,249 | $62,165 | $170,941 |
| 2 | Edwardsville | 5.50 | 4,724 | $72,611 | $298,497 |
| 3 | Grandview | 6.29 | 26,527 | $53,447 | $216,734 |
| 4 | Independence | 7.14 | 121,740 | $60,339 | $208,158 |
| 5 | Riverside | 8.43 | 4,276 | $52,006 | $468,190 |
| 6 | Harrisonville | 8.86 | 9,970 | $62,473 | $294,225 |
| 7 | Raytown | 11.07 | 29,445 | $68,840 | $205,243 |
| 8 | Belton | 12.29 | 25,008 | $69,226 | $270,041 |
| 9 | Bonner Springs | 13.43 | 7,839 | $83,218 | $300,304 |
| 10 | Paola | 13.86 | 5,770 | $74,662 | $371,666 |
| 11 | Louisburg | 14.21 | 5,094 | $68,824 | $400,547 |
| 12 | Gladstone | 16.14 | 27,207 | $79,271 | $266,727 |
| 13 | Tonganoxie | 17.71 | 5,891 | $80,109 | $373,875 |
| 14 | Liberty | 18.00 | 30,689 | $88,542 | $324,253 |
| 15 | Merriam | 18.36 | 11,085 | $73,600 | $326,709 |
| 16 | De Soto | 18.43 | 6,414 | $104,000 | $425,984 |
| 17 | Lansing | 18.50 | 11,246 | $102,786 | $321,293 |
| 18 | Pleasant Hill | 18.57 | 8,847 | $95,602 | $364,998 |
| 19 | Blue Springs | 20.50 | 59,965 | $88,920 | $307,947 |
| 20 | Peculiar | 21.43 | 5,958 | $94,519 | $357,230 |
| 21 | Gardner | 21.79 | 24,526 | $96,818 | $352,182 |
| 22 | Wellsville | 22.00 | 2,216 | $83,750 | $343,237 |
| 23 | Grain Valley | 22.79 | 16,271 | $89,649 | $326,296 |
| 24 | Mission | 23.64 | 9,915 | $75,534 | $330,951 |
| 25 | Basehor | 24.29 | 7,491 | $116,769 | $439,342 |
| 26 | Spring Hill | 25.36 | 9,120 | $112,428 | $419,142 |
| 27 | Pleasant Valley | 25.50 | 2,736 | $75,682 | $257,452 |
| 28 | Raymore | 25.64 | 24,526 | $104,447 | $356,402 |
| 29 | Roeland Park | 25.64 | 6,763 | $88,774 | $332,319 |
| 30 | Olathe | 25.86 | 145,057 | $114,009 | $433,117 |
| 31 | Eudora | 26.36 | 6,119 | $118,184 | $332,798 |
| 32 | Lee’s Summit | 26.50 | 103,656 | $102,531 | $389,364 |
| 33 | Shawnee | 27.57 | 68,542 | $109,940 | $424,763 |
| 34 | Lenexa | 29.00 | 58,384 | $103,239 | $477,848 |
| 35 | Lake Lotawana | 29.00 | 2,442 | $165,962 | $595,199 |
| 36 | Greenwood | 30.36 | 6,013 | $107,250 | $355,951 |
| 37 | Parkville | 30.71 | 8,366 | $171,271 | $578,744 |
| 38 | Weatherby Lake | 34.93 | 2,401 | $152,500 | $585,269 |
| 39 | Westwood | 37.07 | 2,093 | $118,250 | $438,325 |
| 40 | Leawood | 37.43 | 33,809 | $185,625 | $777,578 |
| 41 | Fairway | 39.14 | 4,159 | $152,574 | $634,208 |
| 42 | Mission Hills | 39.64 | 3,548 | $250,001 | $1,603,473 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 42 suburbs within 30 miles of Overland Park.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Overland Park where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Overland Park with Sugar Creek casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Overland Park are Sugar Creek, Edwardsville, Grandview, Independence, Riverside, Harrisonville, Raytown, Belton, Bonner Springs, and Paola.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Overland Park aren’t all bad. Mission Hills takes the cake as the best place to live around Overland Park. Not sold on Kansas? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Overland Park FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Overland Park?
Sugar Creek ranks as the worst suburb around Overland Park for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Edwardsville and Grandview are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Overland Park?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Overland Park are Sugar Creek, Edwardsville, Grandview, Independence, Riverside, Harrisonville, Raytown, Belton, Bonner Springs, and Paola. We scored all 42 places within 30 miles.
Why does Sugar Creek rank as the worst suburb?
Sugar Creek posts the roughest combined numbers of the 42 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $62,165, a median home value of $170,941, and a poverty rate of 14.6%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Overland Park?
Mission Hills lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Overland Park by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Overland Park list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
