Where is Kansas City & Why Are There Two Of Them?

Map grid from @FerusdeGeoIn the map above Kansas City is in grid B3, although there in fact two Kansas cities located there.

See this map:

Here’s the story behind the two Kansas Cities: one in Kansas and the bigger, older one in Missouri:

The origin: Kansas City, Missouri came first

In the 1830s-1840s, settlers established a trading post at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers.
This settlement was originally called Town of Kansas, named after the Kanza (or Kaw) Indigenous people and the nearby Kansas River, not after the future state of Kansas.
It was incorporated as Kansas City, Missouri in 1853, eight years before Kansas became a state (1861).

So, Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) existed first, and the name “Kansas” in it referred to geography and Native heritage, not the state.

When Kansas became a state, cities grew up on the Kansas side of the river, right across from the existing Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1886, several small towns on that side merged to form Kansas City, Kansas (KCK), deliberately choosing the same name to align themselves with the more established and economically strong Missouri city.

Essentially, Kansas City, Kansas was named after Kansas City, Missouri.

By the time Kansas City, Kansas was founded, the Missouri side already had the head start: railroads, river trade, and a booming economy.
It grew into the region’s major metropolis, what people usually mean when they say “Kansas City.”
Today, Kansas City, Missouri has about half a million people, while Kansas City, Kansas has about 150,000.

The two cities are part of a single, continuous metro area that spans both states.
People live, work, and travel back and forth across the state line daily, so it often functions as one big “Kansas City,” even though it’s split between Missouri and Kansas.

And finally for those wonder where St. Louis (Missouri’s other big city) is located here’s the answer:

Which Kansas City do you think is best?