Ruskin Heights, Kansas City facts for kids

Ruskin Heights is a neighborhood in southeast Kansas City, Missouri, Jackson County. This neighborhood was made in the early 1950s as a postwar suburb on former farmland. It had a total population of 23,874 people in 2020, making it one of the most densely populated neighborhoods of Kansas City. It has a total land area of approximately 0.794 square miles (2.06 km²). It is mostly flat, but slightly elevated at some points. The ZIP Code is 64134. It is infamous for its high crime rates and poverty rates.

As of February 2021, Ruskin Heights has no known culture or media sourced from Ruskin Heights.

History

In May 1957, a tornado cut a significant path through major businesses and neighborhoods of Ruskin Heights. Rated an F5 on the fujita scale, the tornado was the largest of the May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak sequence, and is ofter called the Ruskin Heights tornado. The town has since been rebuilt.

As Kansas City's African-American population expanded, Ruskin Heights became more diversified during the 1970s and saw its first African-American families move into the area.

Today, Ruskin Heights is still a community with active businesses, churches and schools that serve a diverse lower and working-class population. Although not consistent, many of the homes are well-maintained thanks to caring tenants and an active homes association.

Modern day economy

The 1990s

The economy of Ruskin Heights in the 1990s was stagnating, mostly due to White Americans leaving, and higher crime rates. This is also when Bannister Mall began to stagnate in growth and development just like Ruskin Heights. Even though the dot-com crash of 1999 did not have a direct impact on Ruskin Heights, the 2007 financial crisis did have a direct impact on Ruskin Heights, making it sink deeper into poverty and crime. This decade is also where Ruskin Heights started to gain a bad reputation, because the stereotype of African Americans as criminals and thugs were at its peak in the 1990s.

Demographics

Racial statistics

In the 2020 U.S. Census, the racial composition of Ruskin Heights was as follows:

• Black or African American: 63.5%
• Whites or Non-Hispanic Whites: 24.1%
• Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 8.0%
• Other race: 2,4%
• Mixed (two or more races); 2.1%
• Asian: 0.0%

Male and female residents in Ruskin Heights as of 2020

• Male: 48.02%
• Female: 51.98%

There is no data for non-binary, transgender, and any other gendered residents as of 2020.

Employment in Ruskin Heights

• White collar workers: 70.8%
• Blue collar workers: 29.2%
• Self employed: 6.18%
• Working for private companies: 70.95%
• Governmental workers: 15%
• Working for non-profit companies: 7.88%