Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is the birthplace of Garmin and the regional headquarters of Kiewit Construction. It is bordered by the cities of Shawnee to the north, Overland Park to the east, De Soto to the west and Olathe to the south.
History
Twelve years before the town of Lenexa was platted, James Butler Hickok staked a claim on at what is now the corner of 83rd and Clare Road. Filed in 1857, the claim was not far from the Kansas River, and was southwest of Westport, Missouri, and the start of the Santa Fe Trail. The trail meandered through this area on its way to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
On March 22, 1858, Hickok was elected one of the first four constables of nearby Monticello Township. Later, Hickok became a scout for the Free-State Army, a sharpshooter and eventually, one of the most famous folk heroes of the American West, Wild Bill Hickok.
At about the same time as Hickok filed his claim, a census of the Shawnee Indians living in the area was being taken, and one of the residents listed was Na-Nex-Se Blackhoof. She was the widow of Chief Blackhoof, the second signer of the 1854 treaty that ceded of the Kansas Shawnee Indian reservation to the United States government.
In 1865, the Kansas and Neosho Valley Railroad was organized to take advantage of favorable new land laws. It later changed its name to Missouri River, Ft. Scott and Gulf Railroad, and in 1869 purchased a right-of-way from C.A. Bradshaw in the area that is now Lenexa, with the stipulation that a depot be built on the property.
Bradshaw also sold to Octave Chanute, a railroad civil engineer, who platted the town in 1869. Legend states that the first town name proposed was "Bradshaw", but Bradshaw modestly refused and the name "Lenexa", a derivation of the name Na-Nex-Se, the name of Shawnee Chief Thomas Blackhoof's wife, was adopted.
Geography
Lenexa is located at (38.964689, -94.759535). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Demographics
2020 census
The 2020 United States census counted 57,434 people, 22,864 households, and 15,043 families in Lenexa. The population density was . There were 24,260 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 78.05% (44,827) white, 6.41% (3,681) black or African-American, 0.4% (232) Native American, 4.15% (2,381) Asian, 0.07% (38) Pacific Islander, 2.87% (1,650) from other races, and 8.05% (4,625) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 7.5% (4,086) of the population.
Of the 22,864 households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18; 54.3% were married couples living together; 25.7% had a female householder with no husband present. 27.8% of households consisted of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 2.9.
20.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 94.0 males.
The Census Bureau's 2020 5-year American Community Survey showed that the median household income was $90,487 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,777) and the median family income $110,925 (+/- $4,040). Males had a median income of $59,365 (+/- $4,837) versus $42,653 (+/- $1,613) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $49,977 (+/- $2,070). Approximately, 2.8% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under the age of 18 and 3.1% of those ages 65 or over.
The ancestry of Lenexa in 2020 was 25.5% German, 13.3% Irish, 13.2% English, 3.9% Italian, 2.3% French, 2.1% Scottish, 2.0% Polish, 2.0% Norwegian, and 1.9% Subsaharan African.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 48,190 people, 19,288 households, and 13,065 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 20,832 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.4% White, 5.8% African American, 0.4% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.0% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.3% of the population.