BlockBefore

Merriam, Kansas

37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Merriam City. It lies in ZIP code area 66203. The Survey maps it on the Shawnee quadrangle. 11,098 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 909 feet above sea level.

Merriam within Johnson County

On record in Merriam

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Merriam grew from 11,003 to 11,098 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201011,003
202011,098+95 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 37 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

224 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 224 fires within 5 miles of Merriam between 2007 and 2020, burning about 78 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 12 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined139
Debris and open burning24
Smoking17
Equipment and vehicle use13
Arson/incendiarism12
Fireworks6
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Natural2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2018Arson/incendiarismunder an acreKansas Forest Service2520092
8 September 2017Smokingunder an acreJohnson County2510188
5 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreJohnson County2480067
4 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service2470128
25 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service2680121
22 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKansas Forest Service2650077
20 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreJohnson County2630080
14 September 2017Smokingunder an acreJohnson County2570129

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Johnson County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Merriam: 4 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Lone Star Quarry & MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Monahan MineStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Muncie Creek Dredge & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Superior Sand & Gravel DredgeSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Johnson County

Storms near this place

32 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Merriam in 32 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 17 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 4 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2000Thunderstorm WindMerriam$50,000A fabric dome covering tennis courts was torn by thunderstorm winds. The dome was rated to withstand 85 mph winds.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindMerriam$25,000Severe thunderstorms moved across Johnson County. A 70 mph wind gust was observed at the intersection of U.S. Route 169 and 199th Street, and a 65 mph wind gust occurred near Stanley. Gusts up to 60 mph were recorded at the New Century Airport in Olathe, at the intersection of Interstate 435 and Johnson Drive. Thunderstorm winds knocked down numerous trees and limbs in Gardner and Shawnee. In Overland Park, a tree fell on a house and car, and a 60-foot tree was knocked down at 92nd and Switzer. Several streets were completely blocked by downed trees and limbs. A two-foot diameter tree also fell onto a house in Merriam, and trees, limbs, and power lines were downed in Spring Hill.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMerriam-Downed tree limbs and wires near 55th Street.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMerriam-Downed tree limbs and wires near 53rd Street. Time estimated from radar.
September 2025HailMerriam-Quarter sized hail reported near Shawnee/Merriam.
September 2025HailMerriam-Report of quarter sized hail.
September 2025HailMerriam-Quarter sized hail reported in Shawnee area.
September 2025HailMerriam-Social media photo of hail up to half dollar size on Knox Street in Shawnee area.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindMerriam-Several reports of downed tree limbs on 53rd Street.
May 2024HailMerriam-Golf ball sized hail was reported in Merriam.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindMerriam-Several large trees blown on to a house near Shawnee Mission PKWY and Antioch.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindMerriam-A large tree fell onto an outbuilding.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindMerriam-A 15 inch diameter tree was down near Merriam.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindMerriam-A power line was blown down and the transformer blew out as a result.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindMerriam-A tree was reported blocking the road at Craig Drive. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph.
September 2013FloodMerriam-Eight to ten inches of water was reported over the road, at the intersection of 60th Street and Slater.
June 2008FloodMerriam-Flooding was reported around Merriam due to heavy rains.
June 2008FloodMerriam-An underpass was reported full of standing water.
June 2008FloodMerriam-Driveway and yard was reported flooded due to the heavy rains.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindMerriam-Johnson County Emergency Management reported large trees and power lines down from severe thunderstorm winds in Merriam, Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission.
August 2021HailMerriam-no account filed
March 2017HailMerriam-no account filed
July 2008HailMerriam-no account filed
July 2008HailMerriam-no account filed
July 2008HailMerriam-no account filed
June 2008HailMerriam-no account filed
June 2008HailMerriam-no account filed
June 2008HailMerriam-no account filed
July 2007HailMerriam-no account filed
June 2006HailMerriam-no account filed
August 2001HailMerriam-no account filed
October 1998HailMerriam-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Johnson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Shawnee1.9 miles37
Mission2.0 miles37
Countryside2.1 miles37
Overland Park3.1 miles24
Fairway3.3 miles37
Roeland Park3.4 miles37
Elmhurst3.4 miles24
Prairie Village3.9 miles24

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on MerriamAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2597644The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 479213. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.