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Two States.
Here’s the thing. We’re used to it.
The memory of “The Great State of Kansas” being congratulated after the Kansas City Chiefs, who play in Missouri, won Super Bowl LIV, is all too fresh in our minds. For those who live on the Missouri side of the city, explaining that you are not from Kansas is a rite of passage. Across the border, Kansans have a similar struggle.
We get it. It can be confusing. Of course, there is a Kansas City, Kansas. But, there is also a Kansas City, Missouri. Prepare to have your mind blown when you learn that both Kansas City, Kansas and the state in which it resides are actually named after Kansas City, Missouri.*
Kansas City is a sprawling metroplex that incorporates Bates, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray counties in Missouri. And, it also claims the counties of Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, and Wyandotte in Kansas. All 14 counties are Kansas City.
The Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), Kansas City Royals (MLB), and the Kansas City Current (NWSL) play their games in Missouri. Sporting Kansas City (MLS) and the Kansas Speedway (NASCAR) call Kansas home.
Yet, they all have a Kansas City address. They all play for the same city. This city.
*And Kansas City, Missouri (or as it was originally known, the Town of Kansas) actually took its name from nearby Kansa Native American tribes.
One City.
Getting the picture?
To outsiders, it may seem like we are two cities, divided by a clearly defined border. In actuality, we are one city united by that very same Stateline. More than Missourians or Kansans, we are two million people who are proud to call ourselves Kansas Citians.
KCMO? KCK? The first two letters are, unapologetically, KC.
We are incredibly loyal to our professional teams; almost to a fault. In the past 15 years, Kansas City has won the Super Bowl, World Series, US Open Cup, NWSL Championship, and the MLS Cup! We’ve also hosted the MLB All-Star Game, MLS All-Star Game, and the NFL Draft. Come 2026, we’re hosting the FIFA World Cup!
Kansas City has hosted the NCAA Final Four more times than any other city. We’re home to a hodgepodge of passionate and fierce collegiate allegiances. We have a world-class arena and entertainment district that makes the Big XII Tournament the ultimate party every March.
The Negro Leagues were founded here. “Playing under the lights”? Yeah, Kansas City invented that. The first nighttime professional baseball games were played here. The national monument to World War I? Also in KC. Mickey Mouse was conceived here. The Happy Meal was born here. And, as for jazz, the truest of American artforms? We revolutionized that here too.
We have more fountains than any city in the world except Rome. We have more boulevards than any city in the world except Paris. We have more barbeque restaurants than any city in the world except … well, us. You might’ve heard. We have the most. And the best.
Kansas City is the World Capital of Barbeque. We are the City of Fountains. We are The Paris of the Plains, Chiefs Kingdom, Cowtown, The Silicon Prairie, The Soccer Capital of America, Cradle of Jazz, The Gateway to the Southwest, Royals Nation, and The Heart of America. We are KC.
Everything you have heard about us is true. Well, except “Flyover Country.” We’re not that. Never that. Flyover Country is a myth.