Johnson County, Kansas Totally Explained

Everything about Johnson County Kansas totally explained

Johnson County (county code JO) is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. The county's population—the fastest growing in the state of Kansas—was 451,086 at the 2000 census, and it was estimated to be }} in the year, Overland Park was ranked sixth, and Olathe was ranked 13th. 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 946 people per square mile (365/km²). There were 181,612 housing units at an average density of 381 per square mile (147/km²). 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.
   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

Laws

Johnson County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

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. The most affluent county in Kansas, Johnson County is solidly Republican. President Bush received 61% of the vote in 2004. Johnson County hasn't supported a Democrat on the Presidential ticket since Franklin Roosevelt.

State representation

Johnson County is home to 22 Kansas state representatives and 7 Kansas state senators. 19 out of 22 of Johnson County's representatives are Republicans, as are all 7 of the county's senators. Most Johnson County Republicans identify themselves as moderates, the more socially progressive and fiscally conservative faction of the Kansas Republican Party. Johnson County House and Senate members at times come into conflict with representatives from other areas of the state, most notably in 2004 in the debate over school finance.

Sales taxes

The current sales tax rate in Johnson County is 6.4%, slightly higher than the 6.3% rate in Wyandotte (where Kansas City, Kansas is located). The sales tax rates of each of the surrounding counties are nearly the same as the rate in Johnson County. ! City !! Commercial !! Real Property !! Motor Vehicle |- |-align="center" || De Soto ||3.20 || 1.47 || 3.84 |-align="center" || Gardner ||3.39 || 1.56 || 4.07 |-align="center" || Leawood || 3.39 || 1.56 || 4.07 |-align="center" || Lenexa ||2.75 || 1.26 || 3.30 |-align="center" || Merriam ||2.57 || 1.18 || 3.08 |-align="center" || Olathe ||3.09 || 1.42 || 3.71 |-align="center" || Overland Park||2.31 || 1.06 || 2.77 |-align="center" || Prairie Village||2.71 || 1.25 || 3.25 |-align="center" || Shawnee ||2.61 || 1.20 || 3.13 |}
Note: Some cities have multiple tax rates because they're divided among multiple school districts. The above rates are what exist for the majority of residents in the city.
Cities and towns
)]]
Incorporated cities
Name and population (2005 estimate):

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 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) 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's of a significant size.

Township FIPS Population
center Population Population
density
/km² (/sq mi) Land area
km² (sq mi) Water area
km² (sq mi) Water % Geographic coordinates

Aubry 03225 5,440 43 (112) 126 (49) 0 (0) 0.31%

Gardner 25450 2,143 21 (55) 102 (39) 1 (0) 0.53%

Lexington 39800 1,315 10 (25) 135 (52) 2 (1) 1.79%

McCamish 43625 878 8 (20) 112 (43) 0 (0) 0.34%

Monticello 47950 0 0 (0) 1 (0) 0 (0) 0 %

Olathe 52600 1,187 27 (70) 44 (17) 0 (0) 0.04%

Oxford 53825 2,020 121 (313) 17 (6) 0 (0) 1.54%

Shawnee 64525 0 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 %

Spring Hill 67650 2,059 29 (76) 70 (27) 0 (0) 0.30%

Sources:

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's 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
Central Resource Library
Antioch Library
Blue Valley Library
Cedar Roe Library
Corinth Library
DeSoto Library
Edgerton Library
Gardner Library
Lackman Library
Leawood Pioneer Library
Oak Park Library
Shawnee Library
Spring Hill Library
Olathe Public Library
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 and 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" like nearby Wyandotte County and the eastern parts of Kansas City, despite the fact that it's one of the safest and wealthiest counties in the nation.
Johnson County has been featured in several TV shows depicting Suburban life, such as Married to the Kellys.
The rock band Josephine Collective originates from Johnson County.Further Information
Get more info on 'Johnson County Kansas'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://johnson_county__kansas.totallyexplained.com">Johnson County, Kansas Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.