Travel – Lee’s Summit, MO

Lee’s Summit is a city in Jackson and Cass counties in Missouri, United States. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area and is a suburb of Kansas City, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 101,108, making Lee’s Summit the sixth most populous city in both Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is part of the Wooded Osage Plains region, characterized by rolling topography.

In 1865, the town was incorporated as Strother, remaining so until it was renamed Lee’s Summit three years later. Lee’s Summit began as an agricultural community and persisted as such until the mid-twentieth century. Upon the conclusion of World War II, with new highway infrastructure and an increased desire for single family housing, the city began to rapidly suburbanize and grow in population, transitioning into a commuter suburb of Kansas City. The city’s period of population and territorial growth lasted through the remainder of the twentieth century.

The Lee’s Summit public school district has consistently ranked among the city’s top employers, alongside federal government offices, healthcare facilities, and retail centers. Most residents, however, commute to other cities for work, often other nearby suburbs. The city retains its historic downtown and train station, while now also encompassing suburban developments, several human-made lake reservoirs, and numerous parks. The city’s relatively large size and location near major highways have made it a principal suburb of the Kansas City metropolitan area.