JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS

'Johnson County' (county code 'JO') is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the central United States. The county's population — the fastest growing in the state of Kansas — was estimated to be 516,731 in 2006, making it the largest in the state. Its county seat is Olathe, and its most populous city is Overland Park. Johnson County has the highest median income in the state and the nation's 43rd highest per-capita income and 62nd highest median household income. Most of the county is suburban, being a part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
In 2006 CNN/Money and ''Money'' magazine ranked two cities in Johnson County on its list of the "100 Best Cities to Live in the United States." Overland Park was ranked sixth, and Olathe was ranked 13th.

History

Johnson County is named for Rev. Thomas Johnson, and was one of the first counties established in the Kansas Territory in 1855. The Oregon-California and Santa Fe Trails, which originated in nearby Independence, Missouri, passed through the county. The renowned gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok settled for a time in the county, becoming constable of Monticello Township in 1858.
The county was largely rural until the early 20th Century, when communities such as Overland Park and Mission Hills were developed as suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri. Suburban development boomed after World War II and the later desegregation of the Kansas City, Missouri, schools.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,244 km² (480 mi²), of which 1,235 km² (477 mi²) is land and 9 km² (3 mi²), or 0.70%, is water.

Adjacent counties

★ Wyandotte County (north)

★ Jackson County, Missouri (east)

★ Cass County, Missouri (southeast)

★ Miami County (south)

★ Franklin County (southwest)

★ Douglas County (west)

★ Leavenworth County (northwest)

Demographics

Johnson County's population was estimated to be 516,731 in the year 2006, an increase of 62,089, or +13.7%, over the previous six years;^[1] it has the fastest growing and largest population in the state.
As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 451,086 people, 174,570 households, and 121,675 families residing in the county. The population density was 365/km² (946/mi²). There were 181,612 housing units at an average density of 147/km² (381/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.11% White, 2.83% Asian, 2.61% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.98% of the population. 25.1% were of German, 12.2% Irish, 12.0% English and 7.9% American ancestry according to Census 2000.
By 2005 85.8% of Johnson County's population was non-Hispanic whites. 3.7% of the population was African-American. An equal amount were of Asian descent. 0.4% of the population was Native American. 5.5% of the population was Latino.^[2]

Population pyramid

There were 174,570 households out of which 36.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 32.80% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $61,455, and the median income for a family was $72,987. Males had a median income of $49,790 versus $32,145 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,919. About 2.10% of families and 3.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.30% of those under age 18 and 3.60% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Federal representation

Johnson County is a part of Kansas's 3rd congressional district, which has been represented by Democrat Dennis Moore since 1999. The two U.S. Senators from Kansas are Republican Senator Sam Brownback and Republican Pat Roberts. Johnson County, like most Kansas counties, has historically voted Republican. Democrat Moore has been able to win elections in the district partially due to larger concentrations of Democratic voters who live in Wyandotte County and Douglas County, but also due to his bipartisan approach. Moore won a majority of votes in Johnson County in the 2006 election.

Sales taxes

The current sales tax rate in Johnson County is 7.525%, slightly higher than the 6.3% rate in Wyandotte (where Kansas City, Kansas is located).^[3] The sales tax rates of each of the surrounding counties are nearly the same as the rate in Johnson County.³ Individual cities also have additional sales taxes that are added on to these figures.

Property taxes

Property taxes are a conglomeration of state, county, city, and school district taxes. Property tax rates are generally lower in Johnson County because property values in the county are higher than in other counties throughout Kansas.

'Property tax rates by city in Johnson County (2005)^[4]'
City	Commercial	Real Property	Motor Vehicle
De Soto	3.20	1.47	3.84
Gardner	3.39	1.56	4.07
Leawood	3.39	1.56	4.07
Lenexa	2.75	1.26	3.30
Merriam	2.57	1.18	3.08
Olathe	3.09	1.42	3.71
Overland Park	2.31	1.06	2.77
Prairie Village	2.71	1.25	3.25
Shawnee	2.61	1.20	3.13

Note: Some cities have multiple tax rates because they are divided among multiple school districts. The above rates are what exist for the majority of residents in the city.

Cities and towns

Map of Johnson County ()

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2005 estimate):^[5]

★ Overland Park,
★ 164,811

★ Olathe, 111,334 (county seat)

★ Shawnee,
★ 57,628

★ Lenexa,
★ 43,434

★ Leawood,
★ 30,145

★ Prairie Village,
★ 21,454

★ Gardner, 14,317

★ Merriam,
★ 10,769

★ Mission,
★ 9,751

★ Roeland Park,
★ 6,975

★ Bonner Springs, 6,942, of which about 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) is inside the county with the majority being in Wyandotte County

★ De Soto, 5,170

★ Spring Hill, 4,494

★ Fairway,
★ 3,840

★ Mission Hills,
★ 3,523

★ Edgerton, 1,692

★ Westwood,
★ 1,488

★ Lake Quivira,
★ 919, of which a quarter of the city lies in Wyandotte County

★ Westwood Hills,
★ 365

★ Mission Woods,
★ 160

★ Cities included in Shawnee Mission, KS, a postal designation encompassing the cities in northern and eastern Johnson County. The main Shawnee Mission post office is in Mission.

Unincorporated places

★ Aubry
★
★

★ Bonita

★ Clare

★ Countryside, formerly a city, consolidated with the city of Mission in 2003.

★ Morse
★
★

★ Ocheltree

★ Stanley
★
★

★ Stilwell
★
★

★
★ These areas are today within Overland Park city limits, but were at one point unincorporated towns.

Townships

Johnson County is divided into nine townships. All of the cities are considered ''governmentally independent'' and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Transportation

Johnson County has a grid network through most of the county with a road every mile. The grid has facilitated rapid growth and easy access.

Major highways

★ I-35 - Southwest corner with Franklin County northeast through Edgerton, Gardner, Olathe, Lenexa, Overland Park, and Merriam to the northeast corner with downtown Kansas City

★ I-435 - Northern border with Wyandotte County south through Shawnee and Lenexa to K-10 then east through Overland Park and Leawood to the Missouri border

★ K-10 - Western border with Douglas County east through DeSoto, Lenexa, and Olathe to I-435

★ US-69 - Southeast border with Miami County north through Stilwell and Overland Park past I-435 to I-35

★ K-7 - Southern border with Miami County north through Spring Hill, Olathe, Lenexa, and Shawnee to Wyandotte County

★ US-56 Southwest border with Douglas County east though Edgerton and Gardner to I-35

Other major roads

★ Shawnee Mission Parkway - Interchange with K-7 in Shawnee east through Merriam, Mission, Fairway, and Mission Woods then joining up with Ward Parkway in Missouri

★ Metcalf Avenue - Runs parallel with US-69 from Miami County north through Stilwell and Overland Park past I-435 and Shawnee Mission Parkway to join up with I-635 and I-35 in Wyandotte County

★ 175/179th Street - Interchange with US-56 and I-35 as 175th St. east to Pflumm Rd. where it turns southeast to become 179th street then east to US-69 and Metcalf Ave.

★ 199th Street - Intersection with US-56 in Edgerton east through Spring Hill and Stilwell to the Missouri border

Navigation tips

★ Santa Fe ''Street'' is in Olathe, Santa Fe ''Trail Drive'' is in Lenexa, and Santa Fe ''Drive'' is in Overland Park, each of which go through their downtown areas. There is also a Santa Fe Street in Gardner that is parallel with 175th St..

★ Downtown Olathe and the County Courthouse are located at Santa Fe St. and Kansas St. apox. one mile west of I-35 on Santa Fe St..

★ Downtown Overland Park is the area around Santa Fe Dr. and 80th St, most easily accessed from I-35 on 87th Parkway east continuing northeast on Santa Fe Dr..

★ Most Kansas City Citizens refer to anywhere south or west of I-435 as Southern or Western Johnson County even though this is incorrect.

Libraries

★ Johnson County Library Free wireless [1]

★
★ Central Resource Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ Antioch Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ Blue Valley Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ Cedar Roe Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ Corinth Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ DeSoto Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ Edgerton Library

★
★ Gardner Library

★
★ Lackman Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ Leawood Pioneer Library 'Free wireless!'

★
★ Oak Park Library

★
★ Shawnee Library

★
★ Spring Hill Library

★ Olathe Public Library 'Free wireless!' [2]

★
★ Olathe Main Library

★
★ Indian Creek Branch

Education

Unified school districts

★ Blue Valley USD 229 (Web site)

★ Spring Hill USD 230 (Web site)

★ Gardner-Edgerton USD 231 (Web site)

★ De Soto USD 232 (Web site)

★ Olathe USD 233 (Web site)

★ Shawnee Mission USD 512 (Web site)

Colleges and universities

★ Johnson County Community College (Web site)

★ University of Kansas, Edwards Campus (Web site)

★ MidAmerica Nazarene University (Web site)

Pop Culture/Trivia

★ Johnson County is featured in the song Johnson County Rap, a parody rap song created by a local Kansas City D.J, Cabana Boy. The song mocks the county as being a "ghetto", despite the fact that it is one of the safest and wealthiest counties in the nation.

★ Johnson County has been featured in several TV shows depicting Suburban life, such as Meet the Kellys.

References

1. Annual estimates of the population to 2006-07-01. Released 2007-03-22. Six year change is from 2000-07-01 to 2006-07-01.
2. Johnson County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau, United States Census Bureau, 2007-05-07. Accessed 2007-08-22.
3. Kansas County Treasurer's Association Kansas Sales Tax Rates by County
4. Kansas City Area Development Council ThinkKC Property Taxes (accessed 6/7/06)
5. Annual estimates of the population to 2005-07-01. Released 2006-06-21.

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