About the Community
The greatest benefit of Raytown’s geographic location is its access to the entire greater Kansas City area. Serving as a crossroads to surrounding communities, the City of Raytown is 10.4 square miles located southeast of downtown Kansas City. Both the Chamber and the Raytown Quality Schools serve a larger area of 32 square miles. Raytown has outstanding access to interstates 435, 470 and 70. The 350 Highway link, in the ever-growing community of eastern Jackson County, makes Raytown an important economic development corridor
The Raytown area blends the best of urban and suburban life. Local, national and international businesses such as Evergy, The Results Company, Inc., and Shamrock Cabinets and Fixture Corp. are located here. Our central location, low tax base, and strong workforce provide the necessary tools for success. Opportunities abound here, and a pattern of redevelopment and growth is apparent.
Raytown has a higher than average number of churches, with over 60 churches serving the area. This brings into focus the family-oriented personality of Raytown. These churches not only serve the community in faith, but their leaders have also helped the city government, Chamber, and many civic groups lay a foundation of values and traditions that have defined Raytown.
Raytown’s stable and well-established community is located only minutes from downtown Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza, Nelson Art Gallery, Union Station, Lyric Theatre, Crown Center, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Kansas City Zoo, Starlight Theatre, Kansas Speedway, and the Music Hall-Bartle Hall. Sports fans can cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Mavericks, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Comets, Kansas City Monarchs and Sporting Kansas City. Raytowners are within minutes of the Truman Sports Complex, Cable Dahmer Arena, Municipal and the T-Mobile Center. These downtown facilities are home to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Roos basketball, and many concerts.
The Rock Island Trail is a 13.5 mile pedestrian and bicycle path spanning central Jackson County, owned and operated by Jackson County Parks + Rec. The northernmost point of the trail starts at the Truman Sports Complex, near parking lot L. From there, the trail runs southeast through Kansas City, Raytown and into Lee’s Summit. The trail currently ends near the intersection of Jefferson and Scherer roads in southern Lee’s Summit.
The trail is built on a former freight railroad corridor originally built in the early 1900’s by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company. Jackson County purchased the railroad corridor in 2016 in partnership with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) with the intention to construct a trail, while preserving the corridor for future transit needs. Jackson County is responsible for the trail, while the KCATA is responsible for all transit related improvements on the corridor.
Planning is underway to connect the Rock Island Trail to Greenwood and Pleasant Hill, MO, which would provide connectivity to the Katy Trail. Jackson County is also working with regional partners to connect the Rock Island to the MetroGreen System, including the Little Blue Trace Trail, the Blue River Trail, and the Brush Creek Trail.
For more information, please visit www.MakeYourDayHere.com. For any non-emergency safety or enforcement issues on the trail, please contact the Jackson County Park Ranger Division at 816-503-4890.