Good Community Starts Here.

Good Partner: the City of Shawnee

Thanks to forward-thinking city leaders, Shawnee continues to grow with new opportunities. Public safety and public works protect and preserve this community while still keeping the city tax rate comparatively low. Good city planning and economic development practices have concentrated commercial and industrial development on major traffic arteries to protect quiet residential areas. Shawnee’s extensive park system allows residents easy access to a wide range of entertainment and recreational facilities. The City of Shawnee has won several awards for their visionary thinking. Most recently, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded the City of Shawnee the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its annual budget. This is a significant achievement as it reflects the highest principles of governmental budgeting. Together with the Shawnee Economic Development Council, the City of Shawnee continues to build on the industries already here and to recruit industries that will add to a diversified economy with new job opportunities for its residents.

Kansas City metropolitan area

Shawnee is one of the fastest-growing suburbs in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Kansas City boasts many great things such as jazz, barbeque, fountains and fun. There is much to see and do in the city that is home to the Kansas City Royals baseball, Chiefs football and Wizards soccer. Shop in history at the Country Club Plaza, visit the beautiful Nelson-Atkins Art Museum and see the only WWI monument and museum in the entire nation. By living in Shawnee, all of these great things to do are only minutes away. Another benefit of the Kansas City metropolitan area is that it consistently ranks among the most affordable housing markets in the nation. A common statement from those that move here from the east or west coasts say: “We bought twice the house for half the price.” Enjoy big-city living with a small-community feel when you live in Shawnee and become part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Johnson County

Shawnee is the most northern suburb in Johnson County, Kansas, one of the Midwest’s leading local economies that have become one of the nation’s premier locations to live and work. Johnson County has a tremendous quality of life that includes nationally recognized and renowned schools, clean air, low crime rates, beautiful neighborhoods, easy commutes and outstanding cultural and recreational opportunities that provide residents plenty to do. According to “The Johnson County Advantage,” a resource created by County Economic Research Institute, Inc. (CERI) using research from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are several characteristics that illustrate why Johnson County consistently ranks among the best metropolitan areas with population of at least one million:

• Johnson County’s population grew by over 100,000 to almost 534,000 – the 114th largest county in the nation.
• Johnson County has more residents than major U.S. cities such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, Miami, Minneapolis and St. Louis.
• Johnson County accounts for half the net population growth in the 15-county Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
• The Johnson County economy has experienced a net increase of 2,800 private sector employers accounting for 66% of the total business growth in the Kansas City MSA.
• Johnson County’s economy also created 95,000 jobs, representing 62% of the total job growth in the Kansas City MSA.

By living in Shawnee, you will become part of one of the best places to live in the Midwest and enjoy a tremendous quality of life as a resident of the Johnson County and the Kansas City metropolitan area.