What the metro is, and who governs what.

Two states. Nine counties. More than 100 incorporated cities. Two "Kansas Cities" that are different cities. One regional planning body. This page is the orientation that most of the metro never gets.

The nine MARC counties

Missouri side

Jackson County — KCMO sits mostly here. Independence, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Raytown. County seat: Kansas City (downtown) + Independence. Population ~720,000.
Clay County — Liberty, Kearney, Smithville, North KC, Gladstone, the Northland. County seat: Liberty. Population ~265,000.
Platte County — KCI airport, Parkville, Weston, Riverside, Platte City. County seat: Platte City. Population ~110,000.
Cass County — Belton, Pleasant Hill, Harrisonville, Raymore. County seat: Harrisonville. Population ~110,000.
Ray County — Richmond, Lawson, Hardin. County seat: Richmond. Population ~23,000.

Kansas side

Wyandotte County — Kansas City, KS (KCK), Bonner Springs, Edwardsville. Unified government: WyCo + KCK consolidated in 1997. Population ~170,000.
Johnson County — Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Leawood, Shawnee, Mission, Prairie Village, etc. The wealthy suburb belt. County seat: Olathe. Population ~625,000.
Leavenworth County — Leavenworth, Lansing, Tonganoxie. Federal penitentiary + Fort Leavenworth. County seat: Leavenworth. Population ~83,000.
Miami County — Paola, Osawatomie, Louisburg. County seat: Paola. Population ~35,000.

The state line

State Line Road is the literal boundary for much of the metro — a street where the east side is Missouri and the west side is Kansas. Police jurisdiction, tax obligations, voter registration, school districts, and Medicaid all change across that line.

The two states have very different politics. Missouri's KCMO is liberal-leaning and most of the rest of MO is conservative. In Kansas, KCK leans liberal, Johnson County is mixed (trending Democratic in suburbs), the rural counties conservative.

MARC — Mid-America Regional Council

MARC is a Council of Governments — voluntary cooperation between local governments. They do transportation planning, 911 dispatch coordination, aging services, and some data services. They do not have direct authority over any individual city or county.

Address: 600 Broadway Blvd Suite 200, KCMO 64105
Phone: 816-474-4240
Website: marc.org
Public data: datacommons.marc.org

Major cities in the metro

"Kansas City" (KCMO, in Missouri) and "Kansas City" (KCK, in Kansas) are two cities. Other key cities by side:

MO side: Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Liberty, Raytown, Gladstone, Belton, Grandview, Raymore, Harrisonville
KS side: Kansas City KS (KCK), Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa, Leawood, Shawnee, Mission, Prairie Village, Merriam, Roeland Park, Westwood

Visuals

For an actual map, see:

MARC's maps page
Census + demographic mapping
KCMO city map for city-limit boundaries (KCMO crosses four counties)