Economy & Housing

Building a competitive regional economy for all with affordable housing options

Economic Research and Analysis Economic Development Housing Regional Prosperity Broadband and Digital Needs Workforce Development

Choosing how we grow to ensure all can thrive

MARC supports dialogue and collaborations to make Greater Kansas City a stronger community. We provide data, resources, insight and analysis to inform economic strategies and plans. We also bring together elected leaders, stakeholders and community members to take initiatives to the next level of impact — becoming a more prosperous region that makes data-driven decisions to adapt to and act on emerging opportunities

Recent highlights

Here are some of the recent highlights for MARC's work to enhance the performance of the region's economy.

Economic Development

With input from communities and the Regional Workforce Intelligence Network (RWIN) Strategy
Committee, MARC completed the 2024-2029 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Plan for the Kansas City metropolitan area. The MARC Board of Directors adopted the plan in September 2024. This plan and other actions enable MARC to maintain the Economic
Development Administration’s (EDA) Economic Development District designation.

MARC also completed a draft economic impact analysis for the Johnson County, Kansas, Education Research Triangle. Additionally, MARC provided information to support the advancement of two regional initiatives — BioNexus KC’s efforts to secure $75 million to advance the work of the KC BioHub, a regional technology and innovation hub, and the University of Missouri’s efforts to secure $160 million from the National Science Foundation to establish the Critical Materials Crossroads and become a leader in critical minerals processing.

A statue outside the Kansas City federal reserve bank

Workforce Analytics

MARC produced monthly workforce indicators and compared the Kansas City region’s economy to peer metros. MARC also convened the RWIN Strategy Committee on a quarterly basis, building relationships among economic and workforce development organizations on key regional economic strategies.

Family dancing outdoors at the Overland Park Farmer's Market

Census Data

In 2024, MARC improved and expanded digital tools to allow for easier access to demographic
data. The Population Explorer tool provides demographic, economic, household and health data in map, chart and tabular form.

The Community Views tool allows for easy download of city, county and regional data profiles. MARC’s Quick Stats tool helps users quickly access census data for the nine-county MARC region, by county or by city. Data points available include population, household, housing, workforce and at-risk populations.

Regional Housing Partnership Recent Highlights

Partnering with local leaders and community stakeholders, MARC continues to support a collaborative effort to address regional housing challenges. Along with LISC Greater Kansas City, MARC coordinates the Regional Housing Partnership (RHP), an initiative that mobilizes individuals and organizations to create and preserve more homes of greater variety and at different price points. In 2024, the RHP Strategy Committee identified long-term goals for future work focusing on improving regional coordination and awareness of housing challenges; expanding community outreach; producing and preserving quality, affordable housing units; and increasing access to housing options.

Over the past year, the partnership also implemented the community land trust consortium plan, created an advisory board for KCHousingLocator.com and produced 12 essential housing data stories, blogs, and visualizations highlighting topics such as single-family investor ownership patterns, under-developing housing and short-term rentals. MARC also received national recognition in 2024 for outstanding work with GIS technology in creating the Housing Data Hub. Esri, a leading mapping technology company, recognized the hub’s data-driven approach to addressing the region's housing shortage.