Merriam, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Merriam (ˈmɛriəm) is a city
in the northeastern part of Johnson County
, located in northeast Kansas
, in the Central
United States
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,003. As a suburb
of Kansas City, Missouri
, it is included in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
. It is bordered by the cities of Overland Park
to the east and south, Shawnee
to the west, and Kansas City
, Kansas
to the north (in Wyandotte County
); the city of Lenexa
is less than a mile to the southwest. Merriam is included in the Shawnee Mission
postal designation.
The city was named in honor of Charles Merriam, a one-time secretary/treasurer of the then Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf railroad which ran through the area.
from less than a mile southwest of its junction with Interstate 635
south to 75th Street. Shawnee Mission Parkway, an east-west road, nearly bisects the city. U.S. Routes 59
and 69
follow the Interstate to the south of the city and follow Shawnee Mission Parkway to the east from its junction with the Interstate. Turkey Creek, following a roughly parallel path to the Interstate, flows through the city.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²), all of it land.
, there were 11,008 people, 4,839 households, and 2,903 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,550.9 people per square mile (983.8/km²). There were 5,042 housing units at an average density of 1,168.4 per square mile (450.6/km²). The racial makeup
of the city was 89.24% White
, 4.02% Black or African American
, 0.42% Native American
, 2.09% Asian
, 0.02% Pacific Islander
, 1.95% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races
. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 5.41% of the population. The ancestral makeup was 21.9% German
, 12.9% English
, 11.5% Irish
and 7.7% American.
There were 4,839 household
s out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household
in the city was $48,455, and the median income for a family was $54,639. Males had a median income of $37,358 versus $29,815 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $23,988. About 4.3% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
History
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in the northeastern part of Johnson County
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. The county is largely suburban, being part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, and containing many of its affluent southwestern suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 544,179. Its county...
, located in northeast Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, in the Central
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the Southern United States; the term is also sometimes used...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,003. As a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, it is included in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
. It is bordered by the cities of Overland Park
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
to the east and south, Shawnee
Shawnee, Kansas
Shawnee is a city located in northwest Johnson County, Kansas, United States and is a western suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 62,209. Shawnee's fur trading and pioneering heritage blends histories of these Kansas Territory townships: Monticello and...
to the west, and Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to the north (in Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County, Kansas
Wyandotte County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The county's population was 157,505 for the 2010 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City with which it shares a unified government...
); the city of Lenexa
Lenexa, Kansas
Lenexa is a city in the central part of Johnson County, located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 48,190. As a satellite city of Kansas City, Kansas, Lenexa is included in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
is less than a mile to the southwest. Merriam is included in the Shawnee Mission
Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Shawnee Mission, Kansas is a name created by the United States Postal Service to describe an area of Johnson County, Kansas that contains numerous towns. Parts of southern Overland Park are not part of Shawnee Mission as they were annexed from unincorporated Stanley and use zip code 66085...
postal designation.
History
Merriam was incorporated as a third class city on October 28, 1950, and established second class city status on January 18, 1957.The city was named in honor of Charles Merriam, a one-time secretary/treasurer of the then Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf railroad which ran through the area.
Geography
Merriam is located at 39°1′15"N 94°41′38"W (39.020888, -94.693784). The city straddles approximately three miles of Interstate 35Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
from less than a mile southwest of its junction with Interstate 635
Interstate 635 (Kansas-Missouri)
Interstate 635 is a connector highway between Interstate 35 in Overland Park, Kansas and Interstate 29 in Kansas City, Missouri, approximately 12 miles long. It is mostly in the U.S. state of Kansas, servicing the city of Kansas City, Kansas, but extends into Kansas City, Missouri as well...
south to 75th Street. Shawnee Mission Parkway, an east-west road, nearly bisects the city. U.S. Routes 59
U.S. Route 59
U.S. Route 59 is a north–south United States highway . A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, U.S. 59 is now a border-to-border route, Part of NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It parallels U.S. Route 75 for nearly its entire route, never much more than away, until it veers southwest...
and 69
U.S. Route 69
U.S. Route 69 is a north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus is in Port Arthur, Texas at an intersection with State Highway 87...
follow the Interstate to the south of the city and follow Shawnee Mission Parkway to the east from its junction with the Interstate. Turkey Creek, following a roughly parallel path to the Interstate, flows through the city.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the U.S. Census in 2000United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, there were 11,008 people, 4,839 households, and 2,903 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,550.9 people per square mile (983.8/km²). There were 5,042 housing units at an average density of 1,168.4 per square mile (450.6/km²). The racial makeup
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of the city was 89.24% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, 4.02% Black or African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.42% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, 2.09% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.02% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
, 1.95% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race were 5.41% of the population. The ancestral makeup was 21.9% German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
, 12.9% English
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
, 11.5% Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
and 7.7% American.
There were 4,839 household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
in the city was $48,455, and the median income for a family was $54,639. Males had a median income of $37,358 versus $29,815 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $23,988. About 4.3% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
Top employers
According to Merriam's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shawnee Mission Medical Center Shawnee Mission Medical Center Shawnee Mission Medical Center is a full service 383-bed Seventh-day Adventist hospital located in Merriam near Interstate 35 at 9100 W. 75th St in Johnson County, Kansas... |
2,700 |
| 2 | GE Money | 530 |
| 3 | First Student | 330 |
| 4 | Superior Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918... /Toyota |
281 |
| 5 | Seaboard Corporation Seaboard Corporation Seaboard Corporation is a diversified conglomerate that operates worldwide a number of agriculture and ocean transport businesses. In the United States, the company mainly engages in pork production and processing. Internationally, Seaboard also has operations in cargo shipping, commodity... |
190 |
| 6 | Shawnee Mission School District Shawnee Mission School District The Shawnee Mission School District is one of the major school districts in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Located in northeast Johnson County, Kansas, the school district enrolled approximately 40,000 students in the 2009-2010 school year... |
181 |
| 7 | CarMax CarMax CarMax is the United States' largest used-car retailer and a Fortune 500 company. The first CarMax used car auto superstore was opened in September 1993. In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2009, more than 350,000 cars were sold; as of August 2010 the company has 103 locations.- Concept :The... |
149 |
| 8 | The Home Depot The Home Depot The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain... |
143 |
| 9 | IBT | 142 |
| 10 | Aristocrat Motors | 140 |
Libraries
Johnson County Library serves residents of Merriam. The library's Antioch branch is located at the intersection of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch road. At one time, this branch served as the headquarters for the library system.Notable people
Scott P. Roeder, suspected domestic terrorist and alleged killer of George TillerGeorge Tiller
George Richard Tiller, MD was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He was the medical director of a clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy .Pro-life group Operation Rescue kept a daily vigil...
External links
Official sitesHistory