Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. Located in
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 609,863, making it the most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Olathe. Largely suburban, the county conta ...
, it is one of four
principal cities in the
Kansas City metropolitan area
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
and the most populous suburb of
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population of the city was 197,238.
History
In 1905,
William B. Strang Jr. arrived and began to plot subdivisions along an old military roadway, which later became the city's principal thoroughfare. He developed large portions of what would later become downtown Overland Park.
On May 20, 1960, Overland Park was officially incorporated as a "city of first class", with a population of 28,085. Less than thirty years later, the population had nearly quadrupled to 111,790 in 1990, increasing to 173,250 as of the 2010 census. Overland Park officially became the second largest city in the state, following
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
, after passing
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
in the early 2000s.
Population growth in the city can mainly be attributed to the traditional greenfield
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
development, appreciated on the city's annexation map. Overland Park's last annexation attempt, in 2008, garnered widespread news coverage after massive outcry from affected residents. Overland Park now has a combined land area of and spans nearly the full North-South length of
Johnson County. Since the expansion of Overland Park, state legislators have amended laws governing annexations to require a majority vote of affected residents in all future annexations over .
On April 13, 2014,
a pair of shootings committed by a lone gunman occurred at the local Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and Village Shalom, a local Jewish retirement community. A total of three people were killed in both shootings. The suspected gunman, described as a man in his seventies,
later identified as
Neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr.
Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. (November 23, 1940 – May 3, 2021), commonly known as Glenn Miller or Frazier Glenn Cross, was an American domestic terrorism, domestic terrorist and leader of the defunct North Carolina-based White Patriot Party (forme ...
, was taken into custody.
Geography
![Overland-park-map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Overland-park-map.gif)
Overland Park is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of
Interstate 435
Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States.
Route description
I-435, a loop route of I-35, is long and in ...
and
U.S. Route 69 immediately east of
Olathe, the county seat. The city center is roughly south-southwest of downtown
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
.
[
The city lies on the northern edge of the ]Osage Plains
The Osage Plains are a physiographic section of the larger Central Lowland province, which in turn is part of the larger Interior Plains physiographic division. The area is sometimes called the Lower Plains, North Central Plains,or Rolling Plains ...
a few miles south of the Kansas River
The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...
. One of the river's tributaries, Turkey Creek, flows northeast through the extreme northern part of the city. South of Turkey Creek, the majority of the city lies in the watershed of the Blue River. Several of the river's tributaries run east-northeast across the city; from north to south, these include Indian Creek, Tomahawk Creek, and Negro Creek. In the far southern part of the city, two more tributaries, Coffee Creek and Wolf Creek, join to form the main stem of the Blue River itself.
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of of which is land and 0.53 square mile (1.38 km) is water.
Overland Park is a principal city
In the United States, a principal city is the core city or cities in a metropolitan area. The largest city in each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area is designated a "principal city." Additional cities qualify if specified requirements ...
of the Kansas City metropolitan area
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
, and it borders other communities on all sides. These include Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
, to the north, Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
and Prairie Village to the northeast, Leawood
Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,902.
History
19th century
After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the area ...
to the east, Stilwell to the south, Olathe and Lenexa
Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is one of four principal cities of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is the ...
to the west, and Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
and Merriam to the northwest.[ Most of Overland Park, specifically the part of it lying north of 159th Street, lies within the area of Johnson County referred to as Shawnee Mission.
]
Climate
Overland Park lies in the transition zone between North America's humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
and humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
zones, typically experiencing hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters.
Surrounding cities
Demographics
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 173,372 people, 71,443 households, and 45,516 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 2,316.5 people per square mile (894.4/km). There were 76,280 housing units at an average density of 1,019.2 per square mile (393.5/km). The racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 84.4% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 4.3% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.3% American Indian, 6.3% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 2.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 6.3% of the population.
There were 71,443 households, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.3% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41, and the average family size was 3.04.
The median age in the city was 37.8 years. 24.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 27.6% were from 45 to 64; and 12.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.
The median income for a household in the city was $71,513, and the median income for a family was $93,293. Males had a median income of $65,210 versus $43,413 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $39,319. 4.9% of the population and 3.3% of families were living below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 6.5% of those under the age of 18 and 4.9% of those 65 and older.
Metropolitan area
Overland Park is a principal city of both the Kansas City, MO–KS Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Kansas City–Overland Park–Kansas City, MO–KS Combined Statistical Area.
Economy
The service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
constitutes most of the local economy. Health care, retail trade, professional and technical services, finance and insurance, and information technology are the city's five largest industries. Companies with headquarters in the city include Yellow Corporation
Yellow Corporation is an American transportation holding company headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. Its subsidiaries include national less than truckload (LTL) carrier YRC Freight, regional LTL carriers New Penn, Holland and Reddaway and f ...
, Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch (BV) is the largest engineering firm in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Founded in 1915 in Kansas City, Missouri it is now headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas It is a global engineering, procurement, construction ( EPC) and c ...
, Ash Grove Cement Company
Ash Grove Cement Company is a cement manufacturer based in Overland Park, Kansas. It is the sixth largest cement manufacturer in North America, and was the largest US-owned cement company until it was acquired in 2018 by CRH plc, a global build ...
, and Compass Minerals
Compass Minerals International, Inc is a public company that, through its subsidiaries, is a leading producer of minerals, including salt, magnesium chloride, sulfate of potash and other plant nutrition products. Based in Overland Park, Kansas; ...
. The city seeks to attract technology companies in particular, such as Netsmart Technologies which relocated its headquarters there in 2011. Restaurant chain Applebee's
Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...
was headquartered in the city from 1993 to 2007. It is also home to the Overland Park Xchange building, the 3rd largest office building in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
totalling 735,000 square feet of office space.
As of 2014, 71.8% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.1% was in the armed forces, and 71.7% was in the civilian labor force with 68.1% being employed and 3.7% unemployed. The composition, by occupation, of the employed civilian labor force was: 53.0% in management, business, science, and arts; 26.2% in sales and office occupations; 11.3% in service occupations; 4.0% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; 5.5% in production, transportation, and material moving. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: educational services, health care, and social assistance (22.5%); professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services (17.4%); and retail trade (10.7%). T-Mobile (former Sprint headquarters) is the largest employer in the city followed by Shawnee Mission School District
Shawnee Mission USD 512 is a public unified school district headquartered in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, United States. As of 2018, the district comprises five high schools, five middle schools, 34 elementary schools, and six instructional centers ...
, Johnson County Community College
Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County.
History
In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acco ...
, Blue Valley School District
Blue Valley USD 229 is a public unified school district headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, United States. Located in east central and southeast Johnson County, Kansas, covering of Overland Park including parts of Leawood and Stilwell, a ...
, Black & Veatch, OptumRx, the City of Overland Park, Yellow Corporation, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, and Waddell & Reed.[
The cost of living in Overland Park is below average; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the city is 88.2.][ As of 2014, the median home value in the city was $225,000, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,712 for housing units with a mortgage and $570 for those without, and the median gross rent was $974.]
It was home to the Sprint Corporation
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US, merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 ...
before its merger with T-Mobile
T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...
in 2020. Part of its former corporate campus was sold in 2019 to a firm named Occidental Management. Telephone company Embarq
Embarq Corporation (stylized as EMBARQ) was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States (below the Regional Bell Operating Company, Baby Bells), serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long-distance, high-spee ...
formerly had its national headquarters in Overland Park before its acquisition by CenturyTel
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
in 2009, and still employs several hundred people in Gardner.
Top employers
According to the city's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Government
Under state statute, Overland Park is a city of the first class. Since 1963, it has had a mayor-council-manager form of government. The city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
consists of 13 members popularly elected every four years with staggered terms in office. For representative purposes, the city is divided into six wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
with two members elected from each ward. The mayor is the 13th member, elected at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
. The council sets policy for the city, annually identifies city priorities for the Kansas Legislature
The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...
and the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, and authorizes ordinances, resolutions, contracts, and agreements. The council meets on the first and third Monday of each month.[ The mayor presides over council meetings, appoints members to resident boards and commissions, meets with constituents, and signs ordinances, resolutions, contracts, and agreements authorized by the council.][ The ]city manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
administers city operations and implements policies set by the city council.[
Overland Park lies within Kansas's 3rd U.S. Congressional District, which is represented by ]Sharice Davids
Sharice Lynnette Davids (; born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes mos ...
. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is located in the 6th through 8th, 10th, 11th, 21st, and 37th districts of the Kansas Senate
The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members ...
and the 8th, 16th, 19th through 24th, 27th through 29th, and 48th districts of the Kansas House of Representatives
The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...
.[
]
Law enforcement
The Overland Park Police Department is the main agency to patrol all of Overland Park with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office also assisting with serving papers and other court documents to people who work in the city as well as patrolling the unincorporated parts of the county and other cities in the county. OPPD has 310 full-time employees and 255 commissioned personnel. The current police chief is Frank Donchez.
The Kansas Highway Patrol
The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Kansas. While the patrol's primary focus is maintaining the safety of State, Federal and Interstate highways, it also is charged with providing support for rural a ...
tends to patrol the various interstates running through the city including Interstate 35 in Kansas
Interstate 35 (I-35) is an Interstate Highway in the US that runs from the Mexican border near Laredo, Texas, to Duluth, Minnesota. In Kansas, the highway goes from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City at the Missouri border, with a length of ...
which runs through Overland Park along with U.S. Route 69 in Kansas which runs through Overland Park and Interstate 635 (Kansas-Missouri) Interstate 635 may refer to:
* Interstate 635 (Kansas–Missouri), a connector highway between Interstate 35 in Overland Park, Kansas and Interstate 29 in Kansas City, Missouri, signed as the Harry Darby Memorial Highway
* Interstate 635 (Texas)
I ...
on the Overland Park section being the main highways patrolled by KHP in Overland Park. However the KHP also does assist OPPD in instances such as car chases, traffic stops and other instances of officer needs assistance calls.
Education
Primary and secondary education
Overland Park spans four public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
districts. The portion of the city north of Interstate 435 lies within the Shawnee Mission School District
Shawnee Mission USD 512 is a public unified school district headquartered in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, United States. As of 2018, the district comprises five high schools, five middle schools, 34 elementary schools, and six instructional centers ...
(SMSD). SMSD, which is headquartered in Overland Park, operates thirty eight elementary schools, two middle schools, six high schools, and multiple support facilities in the city. Most of the city south of I-435 lies within the Blue Valley School District
Blue Valley USD 229 is a public unified school district headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, United States. Located in east central and southeast Johnson County, Kansas, covering of Overland Park including parts of Leawood and Stilwell, a ...
. Blue Valley, also based in Overland Park, operates 20 elementary schools, nine middle schools, five high schools, and one alternative high school
Alternative High School (AHS) is a public senior high (secondary) school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; which teaches grades 10 through 12. AHS is currently located at the Clinton Ford Centre, which was home to the former Clinton Ford Elementary Sc ...
in the city. A portion of western Overland Park lies within the Olathe Public Schools
Olathe USD 233, also known as Olathe Public Schools, is a public unified school district headquartered in Olathe, Kansas, United States. It is one of the major school districts in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and is one of the larger schoo ...
district which operates two elementary schools in the city. The extreme southwestern part of Overland Park lies within the Spring Hill School District.
There are more than 12 private and parochial schools in Overland Park. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas ( la, Archidioecesis Kansanopolitana in Kansas) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical province or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States of America.
The archbishop's episcopal seat is locate ...
oversees five Catholic schools
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...
in the city including four elementary schools and St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
oversees two schools, Bethany Lutheran School (Grades
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also r ...
K–8) and Christ Lutheran School (K–8). The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...
oversees a third Lutheran school, Mount Olive Lutheran School (K–8). Other Christian school
A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization.
The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countr ...
s in the city are Kansas City Christian School
Kansas City Christian School is a private Christian school located in Prairie Village, Kansas. There are approximately 500 students enrolled from preschool through high school. It was formed on July 5, 1951.
There have been three main campuses ov ...
's Oxford Park Campus (PK–2) and Overland Christian Schools (PK–12). Overland Park also hosts one Jewish school, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (K–12). Non-religious private schools in the city include Accelerated Schools of Overland Park (4–12) and two Montessori school
The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...
s.
Kansas City Japanese School, a Japanese weekend educational program, is held at the Kansas Christian College in Overland Park.[北米の補習授業校一覧(平成25年4月15日現在)]
" () MEXT
The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community. ...
. Retrieved on May 5, 2014. "c/o Kansas Christian College, 7401 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66204, U.S.A."
K–12 schools:
* Blue Valley School District
Blue Valley USD 229 is a public unified school district headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, United States. Located in east central and southeast Johnson County, Kansas, covering of Overland Park including parts of Leawood and Stilwell, a ...
* Shawnee Mission School District
Shawnee Mission USD 512 is a public unified school district headquartered in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, United States. As of 2018, the district comprises five high schools, five middle schools, 34 elementary schools, and six instructional centers ...
* Olathe Public Schools
Olathe USD 233, also known as Olathe Public Schools, is a public unified school district headquartered in Olathe, Kansas, United States. It is one of the major school districts in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and is one of the larger schoo ...
* Spring Hill Schools
* St. Thomas Aquinas High School
* Ascension Catholic School
* Bethany Lutheran
* John Paul the Second
* Oxford Campus Kansas City Christian
* Overland Christian
* Mt. Olive
* Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy
* Holy Spirit
* Holy Cross
* Christ Lutheran
*Horizon Academy
Colleges and universities
* Cleveland University-Kansas City
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private university, private university in Overland Park, Kansas, United States. Cleveland University-Kansas City is known primarily for its chiropractic education, chiropractic doctorate program (D.C.) ...
(formerly Cleveland Chiropractic College)
* Ottawa University
Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...
– adult campus
* University of Kansas Edwards Campus
The University of Kansas Edwards Campus, also known as the KU Edwards Campus, is a satellite campus of the University of Kansas. The campus is located in Overland Park in the Kansas City metropolitan area; its four buildings are located on a s ...
* Johnson County Community College
Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County.
History
In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acco ...
* Baker University
Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Art ...
– satellite campus
* Emporia State University – satellite campus
* Kansas Christian College
* Rasmussen College
The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs is based in Overland Park; its competitive peer, the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education, is based in neighboring Lenexa
Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is one of four principal cities of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is the ...
.
Libraries
The Johnson County Library serves the entire county with 14 locations, three of which are in Overland Park (Blue Valley, Central Resource, and Oak Park).
Infrastructure
Transportation
Interstate 435 (Kansas), Interstate 435, the Kansas City area's beltway, and U.S. Route 50 in Kansas, U.S. Route 50 run concurrently east–west through central Overland Park. Interstate 35 (Kansas), Interstate 35 runs northeast–southwest through the city's northwestern and northern fringe. U.S. Route 56 (Kansas), U.S. Route 56 and U.S. Route 169 (Kansas), U.S. Route 169 run concurrently with I-35 through the city's northwestern fringe and then split off to the east as Shawnee Mission Parkway at interchange 226, running east–west through northern Overland Park. U.S. Route 69 (Kansas), U.S. Route 69 runs generally north–south through the city, merging with I-35, U.S. 56, and U.S. 169 at interchange 225 just northwest of the city. U.S. 69 then splits off to the east with U.S. 56 and U.S. 169 as Shawnee Mission Parkway before turning north again as Metcalf Avenue. In extreme northern Overland Park, U.S. 69 then re-merges with I-35. Metcalf Avenue continues north out of the city as Interstate 635 (Kansas), Interstate 635.
Johnson County Transit, also known as "The JO", provides public transportation via multiple bus routes throughout the city. Several of these routes connect Overland Park with other suburbs and downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
Kansas City International Airport is located approximately north of central Overland Park.[ Johnson County Executive Airport, a public general aviation facility, is located immediately west of the city in Olathe.][
BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad each operate a freight rail line through Overland Park. The BNSF line runs roughly parallel with I-35 through the northwestern and northern fringe of the city. The Union Pacific line runs northeast through the extreme southeastern part of the city.][ Kansas City's Union Station (Kansas City, Missouri), Union Station, which is a stop on Amtrak's ''Missouri River Runner'' and ''Southwest Chief'' passenger rail lines, is located approximately northeast of central Overland Park.][
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Utilities
Evergy (formerly Kansas City Power and Light Company, Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L)) provides electric power. Google Fiber, AT&T, Spectrum (TV service), Spectrum, and SureWest, Consolidated Communications offer cable television, landline telephone, and broadband internet service. Local residents predominantly use natural gas for heating fuel; utility gas service is provided by Atmos Energy and Kansas Gas Service.[ WaterOne, an independent public utility, oversees water provision, distribution, and infrastructure maintenance. The Johnson County Wastewater department manages waste water collection, transportation, and treatment. Multiple privately owned trash haulers, evaluated and given permits by the city government, offer trash removal and recycling service.
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Health care
Three general medical and surgical hospitals which provide emergency services—Menorah Medical Center, Saint Luke's South Hospital, and Overland Park Regional Medical Center—are all located in Overland Park. In addition, Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Advent Medical Center is located in neighboring Merriam. There are also several specialty hospitals in Overland Park: Children's Mercy South, Heartland Surgical Specialty Hospital, Mid-America Rehabilitation Hospital, and Specialty Hospital of Mid-America, an acute long-term care facility.
Media
''The Kansas City Star'', Kansas City's main daily newspaper, provides coverage of local news and publishes an edition specific to Johnson County. In addition, two newspapers are published in Overland Park: the ''Campus Ledger'', the bi-weekly Johnson County Community College
Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County.
History
In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acco ...
student newspaper, and ''Kansas City Nursing News'', a weekly trade publication.
Overland Park is in both the Kansas City Media market#Radio, radio and Media market#Television, television markets. One radio station broadcasts from Overland Park: KCCV. It broadcasts on both 760 AM and 92.3 FM, playing a Christian radio, Religious format. KCCV is the flagship station of the Bott Radio Network, Bott Radio Network (BRN), a network of Christian radio stations which is headquartered in Overland Park.
Parks and recreation
Overland Park has more than of park land and open space. The city's 72 parks offer public golf, sand volleyball, hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, and reservable shelters.
Culture
Points of interest
The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is . The Oak Park Mall is one of the area's top shopping locations with nearly 200 stores.
The Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center houses the Johnson County Museum, KidScape, resident theatre company Theatre in the Park, a fine arts program, an emerging arts program, and the Overland Park Historical Society.
The Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead is a farm with animals, hay rides, a fishing pond, an early 1900s school house, and a children's gold mining camp.
The Overland Park Golf Division operates two public golf courses: St. Andrews Golf Club and the Sykes Lady Golf Club. These courses host more than 130,000 rounds of golf a year.
Scheels Overland Park Soccer Complex was named the top soccer facility in the nation by Livability because it is considered the only complex of its kind in the United States. It covers and offers 12 lighted, regulation size synthetic, turf fields with a cooling system to control turf temperature on hot days.
The city is also home to Overland Park Convention Center.
In 2015, Topgolf driving range and entertainment complex opened in Overland Park. It offers a driving range, bar, and restaurant complex, and employs more than 450 people.
Historic Downtown Overland Park contains a farmers' market, the clocktower plaza and a statue of Overland Park City founder William B. Strang Jr. It also hosts the Strang Carriage House and is home to the Overland Park Historical Society.
The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is on the campus of Johnson County Community College
Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County.
History
In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acco ...
.
The city has numerous public art works installed under the Public Art Program.
There are two community centers in the city: Matt Ross Community Center and Tomahawk Ridge Community Center.
Religion
Overland Park is highly populated by Protestants, reflective of the overall population of the state of Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. Large Baptist, Methodist, Church of the Nazarene, Nazarene and Pentecostal churches dot the landscape of Overland Park as well as its neighboring suburbs. Overland Park is also home to a relatively small Muslim population. The Islamic Center of Johnson County serves as a mosque and a community center for Muslims in Overland Park. There is also a growing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist population in Overland Park and surrounding areas.
Overland Park is also served by a number of synagogues: Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner, an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox synagogue established in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, in 1894.[BIAV History]
Synagogue website. Other Orthodox synagogues include the Chabad House Center which serves as the Chabad Headquarters for Kansas and Missouri, and the Torah Learning Center.[About Chabad House Center of Kansas City]
Chabad website. There are several other synagogues, too, including Kehilath Israel, Congregation Beth Torah, and The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah.
Also, Overland Park is home to a significant number of Roman Catholics. Overland Park falls within the boundaries of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Parishes such as St. Michael the Archangel, Holy Cross, Holy Spirit, Ascension and Queen of the Holy Rosary serve Catholics in Overland Park. Holy Cross offers a Spanish mass for the Hispanic community in the city.
In popular culture
The city has developed a positive reputation in American media as an affordable and family-friendly community. CNNMoney.com has consistently ranked it in the top 10 of its 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. In 2015 Forbes ranked the city among the 25 Best Suburbs for retirement. In 2015 Overland Park was named No 1 in the nation for "Top 10 Best Cities for Families". It was also recognized as No. 15 for "America's 50 Best Cities to Live " by 24/7 Wall Street. It was awarded the No. 1 city in the country for first time home buyers in 2015 by WalletHub, citing its low crime rate and outstanding schools. ''BusinessWeek'' ranked the city as one of "The Best Places to Raise Your Kids", and ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked it among "America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up". In 2014, ''Housing Wire'' ranked it number three in its list of "The 10 absolute best housing markets for families". In 2018, it was awarded "Best city to raise a family" by WalletHub and "One of the most popular cities for millennials" by CNBC.
Overland Park is the setting of the 2008 documentary series ''High School Confidential (TV series), High School Confidential'', the 2009–2011 television series, ''United States of Tara'', and the web series ''The Most Popular Girls in School''.
Notable people
People who were born in, or have lived in, Overland Park include film directors Michael Almereyda (''Hamlet (2000 film), Hamlet'') and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw (franchise), ''Saw''), actors Rob Riggle, Tom Kane, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Sarah Lancaster, John Lehr, Todd Bosley, David Dastmalchian, and eSports player Johnathan Wendel.
Sister cities
Overland Park has one sister city.
* Bietigheim-Bissingen, Baden-Württemberg, GermanySister City – City of Overland Park
. Opkansas.org. Retrieved on July 14, 2013.
References
Further reading
External links
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Overland Park - Visitor's Bureau
Overland Park city map
KDOT
{{Authority control
Overland Park, Kansas,
Cities in Kansas
Cities in Johnson County, Kansas
Cities in Kansas City metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1905
1905 establishments in Kansas