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Compare towns

Liberty vs Gladstone

8 miles apart. The biggest differences: trails (6.3× in Liberty) and street grid (2.7× in Gladstone).

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Liberty, MOA history townMissouri · 30,689 people
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Gladstone, MOAn outdoors townMissouri · 27,207 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $380 more a month in Liberty

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Liberty$2,040/mo
Typical home $330K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.15% · or rent about $1,160/mo · Housing →
Gladstone$1,660/mo
Typical home $271K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.07% · or rent about $1,088/mo · Housing →

The difference: $380 a month, about $4,600 a year, between Liberty and Gladstone.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Liberty places higher on 13 of 23 MO lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Missouri ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
LibertyGladstone
Snow a year13″18″
January low19°F20°F
July high87°F88°F
Growing season (days)198d193d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)31st35th
Outdoors & history
LibertyGladstone
Trails13 mi2 mi
Conserved land2.7%4.5%
Settled1822—
National Register places151
Archive photos123
Famous people born here232
Community
LibertyGladstone
Library hours a week69 hrs69 hrs
Colleges in town1—
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined01

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

8 miles apart

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

LibertyGladstoneLibertyGladstone
Liberty ↔ Gladstone7.7 miles apart
Who commutes between them
620 Gladstone residents work in Liberty (4.6% of its workers)
Work & commute in Gladstone →
Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

LibertyGladstone
People
Population 30,689Highest 27,207Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +3.5%Lowest MO: +2.8% +6.5%Highest MO: +2.8%
Median age 37.8±1.7Lowest 3% below MO 41.9±1.8Highest 7% above MO
Kids under 18 24.5%±2.4Highest MO: 22.3% 20.5%±2Lowest MO: 22.3%
Liberty and Gladstone are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 15.9%±1.4Lowest MO: 17.9% 20.5%±1.9Highest MO: 17.9%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 39.6%Highest MO: 32.4% 31.7%Lowest MO: 32.4%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.4%±1Highest MO: 5.7% 2.9%±0.9Lowest MO: 5.7%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $88,542±$9kHighest 25% above MO $79,271±$6kLowest 12% above MO
Liberty and Gladstone are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $283,300±$10kHighest 23% above MO $231,500±$10kLowest about the MO average
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,160±$103Highest 12% above MO $1,088±$69Lowest 5% above MO
Liberty and Gladstone are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $3,267Highest 68% above MO $2,477Lowest 27% above MO
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 47.4%±8.8Highest MO: 45.6% 43.1%±7Lowest MO: 45.6%
Liberty and Gladstone are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 7%Lowest MO: 12.6% 11%Highest MO: 12.6%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 73%Highest MO: 68.1% 68.4%Lowest MO: 68.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1986Highest 8 yrs newer than MO 1973Lowest 5 yrs older than MO
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 23 min about the MO average 23 min about the MO average
Work from home 15.9%±2.5Highest MO: 13% 14.7%±2.8Lowest MO: 13%
Liberty and Gladstone are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 17.9%Highest 4.6%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.8 miHighest 9.8 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.35Highest 0.58Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Kansas City (33%)Kansas City (42%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Gladstone5% work in Liberty
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 2.7%Lowest 4.5%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 13.2 miHighest 2.1 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 miHighest 0.3 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 17Highest 13Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 40.9Lowest 109Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #57 of 226 in MO#102 of 226 in MO
School district LIBERTY 53DIVISION OF YOUTH SERVICE · NORTH KANSAS CITY 74
High school in town Liberty North High SchoolSTAR School
Students per teacherat that high school 17.4 —
Missouri average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Liberty neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Liberty’s Town Square.

Gladstone neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 6d

Gladstone Commute Time

1 neighbor in Gladstone can answer.

Add a town

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Bordering Liberty

Towns like Liberty

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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