How dark is the sky in Kansas City, KS?

Kansas City reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Kansas City's sky is brighter than 64.5% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

How far Kansas City is from a meaningfully darker sky

Shawnee, KS, about 8 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Kansas City. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Shawnee, KS is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Kansas City against the rest of the dataset

Kansas City, KS counts roughly 156,752 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Kansas City ranks 2,056 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.