Olathe Real Estate and Relocation Information

Olathe Kansas Real Estate

Olathe (pronounced O-Lay'-tha) is a city located in northeast Kansas, and is the second most populous city and county seat of Johnson County. It is also the fifth most populous city in the state. As a suburb of Kansas City, it is the fifth largest city included in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by the cities of Lenexa to the north and Overland Park to the east.

In 2005 the city had an estimated population of 111,334. It is not only one of the state's fastest growing cities in terms of population for its size, but indeed one of the fastest growing in the nation. A 2005 article in the magazine Midwest Living named Olathe to be the second most livable city with a population larger than 100,000 in the Midwest. In 2006 CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Olathe 13th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.

This Olathe Real Estate Guide is an introduction to our city. Olathe Kansas is one of the most liveable cities in the world. In this guide you will find information on the Olathe real estate market, schools, neighborhoods, and entertainment.

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Geography

Olathe is located at 38°52′51″N, 94°48′11″W. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 141.1 sq km (54.5 sq miles), of which 140.3 sq km (54.2 sq miles) is land and 0.8 sq km (0.3 sq miles), or 0.55%, is water. Olathe has two public lakes: Lake Olathe with 172 acres (0.7 sq km) of water surface and Cedar Lake with 45 acres (0.2 sq km).

Economy

Many well-known companies such as Honeywell and ALDI are located in Olathe's numerous commercial and industrial parks. The GPS manufacturer Garmin is headquartered in this city. The United States Department of Transportation administers and maintains an Air Traffic Control center in Olathe, designated ZKC. Johnson County maintains an airport in Olathe, Johnson County Executive Airport, which is located on approximately 500 acres (2 sq km) of land with a 4,100 ft (1250 m) single runway, parallel taxiways, and a Federal contract air traffic control tower. The airport is the second busiest in the state of Kansas

Demographics

As of 2005, the city of Olathe has an estimated population of 111,334, which is an increase of 18,285, or 19.7%, since the year 2000. This is also an increase of 2,894, or 2.7%, from the prior year.
As of the census of 2000, there were 92,962 people, 32,314 households, and 24,623 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,716.4/sq miles. There were 33,343 housing units at an average density of 237.7/sq km (615.6/sq miles). There were 32,314 households out of which 45.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.24.In the city the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 36.7% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.The median income for a household in the city was $61,111, and the median income for a family was $68,498. Males had a median income of $45,699 versus $30,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,498. About 2.4% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

History

Olathe was founded by Dr. John T. Barton in the Spring of 1857. He rode to the center of Johnson County, Kansas and staked two quarter sections of land as the town site. He later described his ride to friends. "..[T]he prairie was covered with verbena and other wild flowers. I kept thinking the land was beautiful and that I should name the town Beautiful." Purportedly, Dr. Barton asked a Shawnee interpreter how to say "Beautiful" in his native language. The interpreter responded, "Olathe".

Olathe was not the first city established in Johnson County, but it quickly became the largest and was named county seat. The city's early days were filled with violence, as pro-slavery forces from nearby Missouri often clashed with local abolitionists. These conflicts were known on a large scale as Bleeding Kansas.

As the 1850s came to a close, and as Kansas entered the Union as a free state in 1861, the violence appeared to lessen. However, a year later Confederate guerillas from Missouri led by William Quantrill surprised the residents and raided the city on September 7, 1862, killing a half dozen men, robbing numerous businesses and private homes, and destroying most of the city in the process. Olathe was site to one of Quantrill’s raids because the people of Olathe were known for their staunch abolitionist stance.

Olathe served as a stop on the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail. Local stores and business were heavily dependent on travelers for their main source of income. The Mahaffie House was a popular resupply point for wagons headed westward.

After the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the trails to the west lost importance, and Olathe faded back into obscurity and remained a small, sleepy prairie town until the 1950s. With the construction of the Interstate Highway system and, more directly, I-35, Olathe was directly linked to nearby Kansas City and began an economic boom that accelerated in the 1980s and continues today.

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