Kansas City Foundation Statistics 2026

Published November 2, 2026 · Sources checked November 2, 2026

Written by Arthur Smelyansky, Publisher, Stateline Level · Last updated: November 2, 2026

Kansas City housing statistics and Kansas-side foundation guidance need different geographic labels. The housing figures here describe Kansas City, Missouri; the climate record is Kansas City International Airport; the foundation document comes from Johnson County building officials. This reference presents ten dated findings without treating those boundaries as interchangeable. It helps homeowners and writers check the scale and source of a claim before applying it to a project. None of these figures counts houses needing repairs or determines the design for an address.

Every finding links to its original publisher. The year in the title is the review year; the data periods remain beside the numbers. For property-level questions, start with our local foundation repair guide.

Key Takeaways

• 221,979 households. U.S. Census Bureau (2020-2024 ACS).
• 55.4% owner-occupied. U.S. Census Bureau (2020-2024 ACS).
• 39.30 inches annual precipitation. NOAA NCEI (1991-2020 climate normals).
• May: 5.32 inches. NOAA NCEI (1991-2020 climate normals).
• 36-inch minimum frost footing depth in the cited guideline. Johnson County Building Officials Association (Guideline labeled 2020; retrieved November 2, 2026).
• Walls over 10 feet are among the guideline’s unusual conditions. Johnson County Building Officials Association (Guideline labeled 2020; retrieved November 2, 2026).

Contents

1. How large is the resident household base?
2. Who owns the occupied housing?
3. What is the housing value context?
4. What is the long-run rainfall baseline?
5. When is the wettest average month?
6. How concentrated is the wetter season?
7. How often does heavier daily rain occur?
8. What is the winter exposure?
9. What does the Kansas-side foundation guide specify?
10. Which site conditions exceed a standard detail?
11. Methodology and limits
12. Frequently asked questions
13. Sources

How large is the resident household base?

221,979 households is the Census estimate for Kansas City city, Missouri (KCMO only), based on the 2020-2024 ACS. It describes occupied households across the city rather than a count of detached houses, foundations or basements. U.S. Census Bureau.

This count is for Kansas City, Missouri, not Kansas City, Kansas or the two-state metropolitan area. A source can be accurate and still be misleading if the geographic label is shortened. Keep KCMO beside any reused household figure.

Table 1: ACS five-year estimate. U.S. Census Bureau; 2020-2024 ACS. City boundary only; includes renters and non-basement homes. Not a repair-demand count.

Who owns the occupied housing?

55.4% of occupied housing units were owner-occupied in Kansas City city, Missouri (KCMO only) in the 2020-2024 ACS. The denominator is occupied housing units; it is not all residents or all buildings. U.S. Census Bureau.

The rate describes tenure within occupied KCMO housing. It does not establish how many houses have basements, expansive-soil conditions or damaged foundations. It also should not be applied to a Kansas-side municipality as if it were the same population.

Table 2: ACS five-year estimate. U.S. Census Bureau; 2020-2024 ACS. Ownership share does not measure foundation or basement problems.

What is the housing value context?

$242,900 was the median value of owner-occupied housing units in Kansas City city, Missouri (KCMO only) in the 2020-2024 ACS. This is a housing-value estimate, not a sale-price series or an estimate of repair cost. U.S. Census Bureau.

This is a KCMO housing-value estimate. It does not describe Johnson County home values or the price of foundation work anywhere in the metro. Preserve the city boundary and the five-year data period when quoting it.

Table 3: ACS five-year estimate. U.S. Census Bureau; 2020-2024 ACS. Home value is not repair cost or ability to pay.

What is the long-run rainfall baseline?

39.30 inches is the annual precipitation normal for KANSAS CITY INTL AP, MO US, station USW00003947, for 1991-2020. Precipitation is a water-equivalent measure, including frozen precipitation; this figure is not an observation for 2026. NOAA NCEI.

The airport record supplies a consistent station baseline. It is neither a neighborhood rainfall survey nor a source of permitting authority. The Kansas-side foundation guidance below remains a separate source with a separate scope.

Table 4: Climate normal. NOAA NCEI; 1991-2020 climate normals. Airport station baseline, not a 2026 observation.

When is the wettest average month?

May, at 5.32 inches, has the highest monthly precipitation normal in the 1991-2020 series for KANSAS CITY INTL AP, MO US. The comparison uses all twelve monthly values from the same station and period. NOAA NCEI.

The highest monthly normal is a historical average, not a prediction that this month will be wettest in the coming year. It also does not tell a designer the short-duration rainfall intensity needed for a particular drainage calculation.

Table 5: Monthly normal comparison. NOAA NCEI; 1991-2020 climate normals. Average monthly total is not design storm intensity.

Chart: Stateline Level, using the linked NOAA monthly series for 1991-2020. Exact values appear in the table.

How concentrated is the wetter season?

25.80 inches is the sum of the March-August precipitation normals for KANSAS CITY INTL AP, MO US, using 1991-2020 data. This is our calculation from six published monthly values, not a separate NOAA seasonal statistic. NOAA NCEI.

Adding March through August gives a reproducible seasonal summary of the station record. The sum keeps the original units and period. It should not be described as a six-month observation from the current year.

Table 6: Derived seasonal sum. NOAA NCEI; 1991-2020 climate normals. Sum of six monthly normals; no damage inference.

Calculation: 2.36 + 4.05 + 5.32 + 5.25 + 4.58 + 4.24 = 25.80 inches. Each input is a published monthly normal; no annual share or damage estimate is inferred.

How often does heavier daily rain occur?

10.5 days per year is the station normal for days with at least 1.00 inch of precipitation at KANSAS CITY INTL AP, MO US, during 1991-2020. It is an average frequency, not a return period or a count of storms expected in a future year. NOAA NCEI.

The average counts station days meeting a precipitation threshold. It cannot establish a frequency of settlement, sewer problems or repair calls. An incident dataset would be needed to make a claim about any of those outcomes.

Table 7: Climate-normal frequency. NOAA NCEI; 1991-2020 climate normals. A historical average frequency, not a forecast or return period.

What is the winter exposure?

107.0 days per year is the normal for days with a minimum air temperature at or below 32°F at KANSAS CITY INTL AP, MO US, for 1991-2020. The measure counts cold days, not ground freeze-thaw cycles. NOAA NCEI.

This station measure counts days whose minimum temperature meets the threshold. It does not count freeze-thaw cycles in soil, measure frost penetration at a house or decide which municipality's footing requirement applies.

Table 8: Climate-normal frequency. NOAA NCEI; 1991-2020 climate normals. Cold days are not a count of ground freeze-thaw cycles.

What does the Kansas-side foundation guide specify?

36 inches below grade is the minimum frost footing depth in the cited Johnson County residential foundation guideline, in the file labeled 2020. Its scope and jurisdiction caveats matter; this page does not establish it as a metro-wide rule. Johnson County Building Officials Association.

This is a criterion in the cited Kansas-side guideline. It is not a rule established here for Kansas City, Missouri or every municipality in the metro. The document directs users to verify requirements with the jurisdiction where the work takes place.

Table 9: Guideline threshold. Johnson County Building Officials Association; Guideline labeled 2020; retrieved November 2, 2026. Kansas-side guidance with jurisdiction approval limits; do not call it a metro-wide rule.

Which site conditions exceed a standard detail?

Over 10 feet, measured from the top of the wall to the top of the slab, is one foundation-wall condition identified in the Johnson County guideline as requiring an architect- or engineer-designed wall. Other unusual site conditions are also listed. Johnson County Building Officials Association.

The guideline identifies several unusual conditions, rather than using wall height as its only limit. This threshold describes the document's scope. It is not a damage threshold, a measurement of an existing house or evidence that shorter walls never require engineering review.

Table 10: Guideline scope threshold. Johnson County Building Officials Association; Guideline labeled 2020; retrieved November 2, 2026. A document threshold, not the share of houses requiring repair.

Methodology and limits

Download the source ledger · Read the calculation inputs.

This reference uses primary-publisher material checked on November 2, 2026. The Census entries are 2020-2024 ACS estimates; weather values are 1991-2020 station normals; local documents retain their own dates. Figures were matched to their source rows or document sections. Census QuickFacts was checked against its publisher page; NOAA and Johnson County records were also retained for verification. The seasonal sum is calculated above. Ten headline findings are counted once each; repeated summaries, monthly input rows and program dates are supporting detail, not extra headline statistics. Rules and recommendations are labeled separately from measured activity.

Source mix: three Census findings, five NOAA findings and two Johnson County guidance findings. The original periods and source links appear beside each number.

What remains unknown: these sources do not establish local average repair prices, the number of affected homes, available jobs, lead volume or a forecast of 2027 repairs. No property diagnosis or project eligibility is inferred.

Changelog: November 2, 2026: published the initial ten-finding reference with dated sources, the monthly table and a reproducible seasonal calculation. The source periods are preserved. Updates will identify changes to the source or explanation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this page measure foundation-repair demand?

No. The 221,979 household figure is a city housing estimate for 2020-2024, not a count of affected buildings. Climate normals, permit totals and guidance thresholds also have different denominators. A repair-demand claim would need an appropriate incident or project dataset. U.S. Census Bureau.

Are the weather figures observations from 2026?

No. The 1991-2020 normals describe the published climate baseline at KANSAS CITY INTL AP, MO US. The 39.30-inch annual precipitation value is not this year's rainfall. The 2026 page date records when we checked and compiled the sources. NOAA NCEI.

How was the seasonal total calculated?

We added six monthly normals, March through August, from the same NOAA station and 1991-2020 period. The result is 25.80 inches. The inputs and arithmetic appear above and in the downloadable ledger. This is our reproducible sum, not a count of flooding or repair incidents. NOAA NCEI.

Do the Kansas-side guideline figures govern all Kansas City projects?

No. The 36-inch depth comes from the cited Johnson County document, not a rule verified here for every municipality. KCMO household figures and an airport climate series also describe different geographies. Confirm the governing authority for the address before using a construction detail. Johnson County Building Officials Association.

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau; 2020-2024 ACS. Checked November 2, 2026.
2. NOAA NCEI; 1991-2020 climate normals. Checked November 2, 2026.
3. NOAA NCEI; 1991-2020 climate normals. Checked November 2, 2026.
4. Johnson County Building Officials Association; Guideline labeled 2020; retrieved November 2, 2026. Checked November 2, 2026.

Definitions and project questions

plasticity index · expansive soil · differential settlement. These definitions explain the terminology. The glossary also links the other completed entries; a definition does not replace a property assessment.

Cite this resource

Suggested citation: Arthur Smelyansky. “Kansas City Foundation Statistics 2026.” Stateline Level. Updated November 2, 2026. https://statelinelevel.com/kansas-city-foundation-statistics/

When citing a specific number, retain its original publisher, geography and data period. Link to this page and the original source when using a figure.